Johnny Irion

Dirty Linen

This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #132 (October/November 2007).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.

Johnny Irion

With a Little Help From His Friends

by Philip Van Vleck

Singer/songwriter Johnny Irion has most recently become known as 50% of the duo formed with his wife, Sarah Lee Guthrie. His most recent recording project, however, is a solo shot titled Ex Tempore, which was released in early August. With a new album in the racks, Irion is presently building a house with Sarah Lee.

"We bought a hundred acres up here in Massachusetts last summer," Irion explained during a recent phone conversation. "It's about two hours west of Boston on the pike, right near Stockbridge. It's four miles from where Sara Lee grew up -- her dad's farm.

"I've never built a house before," he observed. "It reminds me of producing a record. If you hire the right people and get the magic, co-ordinate everyone's time, and, of course, watch the budget, you get a good result."

That formula does indeed sound like producing an album. In fact, it sounds exactly like what happened with Ex Tempore. Irion tapped into his longstanding Chapel Hill connection in creating the new CD. His collaborators have major connections to the Chapel Hill scene and include Irion's childhood compadre Zeke Hutchins (Tift Merritt), Ryan Pickett (co-producer), Greg Readling (Chatham County Line), Jay Brown (Tift Merritt), John Teer (Chatham County Line), and Greg Humphreys (Hobex).

[cover #132]