Chicago area musicians Ray Johnson and Dave Bieritz team up again for the album "Other Times And Other Places"

By ERIC SCHELKOPF

On their latest album, "Other Times And Other Places," Ray Johnson and Dave Bieritz continue to make a good team. 

They originally played together in the band Saldo Kreek, which dissolved in 2002. Johnson and Bieritz resumed their musical partnership in 2019.

Johnson, a St. Charles singer-songwriter, has his own publishing company, Soon To Be Famous Publishing LLC, and is responsible for all distribution and promotion of his work. He makes music out of his home studio in St. Charles. 

I had the chance to talk to Johnson about the new album. We spoke last year about their album "Appealing To Angels."

Q –  You just released "Other Times And Other Places" in August and I understand you're already working on your next album. Is that because you have so many songs brewing?

Ray Johnson

 

Yeah, it basically is that. We really don't ever take a break with the writing.

Either we are finishing songs for an album or writing new material immediately afterwards for the next album.

Q – And that's another way to keep your name out there too.

It is. Your chances are better at creating and keeping an audience through doing that.

Everything has an expiration date to some degree. 

Q – It seems like there is a story behind the album's name.

There's an instrumental song on the album called "Other Times And Other Places." There was just something that rang true in my head about the title being "Other Times And Other Places."

And the music itself is reflective of things gone by in a style that kind of reflects '60s jangle pop that is also heavy on the storytelling and songwriting of the songwriters from the '70s, which is my biggest inspiration. 

 

Dave Bieritz

So that's kind of where the title came from. It's a mesh between the two, history and the future.

Q – Do you have any favorite songs on the album?

One of my favorite songs on there is "Words We Didn't Say (Friday Afternoon)." The song is almost 7 minutes long. 

https://open.spotify.com/track/70TsX7BLRAXs5axOQMq2MG 

It's very cinematic. It's a really good song that would work in TV or film. 

It's a really beautiful song. It's probably one of my favorite songs, if not my favorite song, on the album.

The album is a great listen, from the start to the end.   

Q – Why do you and Dave work so well together?

Dave, like me, enjoys the whole experience of writing and creating one's own music. And he's so creative.

His contributions tie everything together. We're also really good friends and do other things outside of music.

But what really keeps us together and focused is the music. The whole process of creating a song is just exhilarating to the both of us.

Q – What should people expect from the new album that you are working on?

I think people will see additional development and growth in what we do. 

More information about Johnson's music can be found on his website, ray-johnson.com.