Johnny Polygon Puts the 12 Steps to Music
Johnny Polygon is an enigma. He croons as well as he raps, over tracks that could have been designed by a bedroom doodler if said doodler had arenas on his mind — and on his horizon. We’re talking art house sound for Top 10 radio, dig? Songs that are as seriously astute as they are fun for everyone.
They’re also personal, albeit playfully so. Meaning he generally keeps some distance between himself and the subject at hand.
Not anymore though. See, with The Program all that has changed for Johnny Polygon. Call it a natural progression or the nature of the beast, but whatever it is, it’s rooted in AA’s nearly 100-year history. A history that revels in digging as deeply as possible into whatever it is that ails you.
News On 6 Interview with Johnny Polygon
The team from Tulsa’s News on 6 got with Johnny Polygon earlier this week; here’s how the chat played out:
How long have you been performing and writing music?
“I’ve been performing since I was 14 or 15.
What do you love about it?
“I love the freedom of expression and somehow people pay me for it now.”
What would you say are your biggest successes?
“My biggest accomplishment is being able to make music for a living and support my family without ever selling my soul.
When did your struggle with addiction begin and how did it impact your life?
“My addiction (like many others) was progressive. It started out fun, until it wasn’t.”
At the age of 39, what inspired you to get clean from alcohol and drug use?
“I had what I like to call ‘back problems.’ My girl was on my back. My family was on my back. My doctor was on my back and my landlord was breathing down my neck.”
What do you love about writing music now? How is that different from before you were clean?
“The freedom of expression and the power of sharing.”
What are you working on now?
“I’m in a 12-step recovery program and I recorded a song for each step along the way. 12 steps. 12 songs.
The album is called <i>The Program<i>.
What is <i>The Program</i> about?
“It’s my redemption record. My music has always been autobiographical; a snapshot in time.”
What advice would you give to someone struggling?
“If there’s anyone out there struggling, there is a better life and resources to get there. You just have to ask for help.”
Johnny Polygon: On Background
Polygon, born John Willima Armour, seems to split his time between NY and L.A., but wherever he is he flies the Tulsa flag as high as he can get it. In fact, In an interview published in April 2011, he revealed that a San Francisco label had once offered him a record deal on the condition that he transplant himself to the Bay Area and represent it as his hometown. Polygon declined out of loyalty to Tulsa.
That was long before the Congestive Heart Failure that would uproot him 2018. In the video of “The Fall”, a quietly sizzling banger from 2014’s I Love You, Goodnight, Polygon actually foreshadows the disease that would get him into the Program four years later, and that would eventually lead to The Program
.Polygon went on News on 6’s Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages segment and said that with The Program he’s trying to take the stigma out of addiction and recovery. “Shame has never been a part of my story,” he told the Arca Porch people. “I’m trying to turn my message to my message and hopefully use my music as a Trojan Horse and get to places where other people need help.”
In Addition
In addition to AA, part of that help seems to come from Portland, Oregon’s Black Men’s Wellness, which is designated to the health of Black and African-American men across the country. That BMW is based in Portland is probably no coincidence considering Polygon’s cross-cultural appeal. After all, the City of Roses has been bursting with blended allure since its inception. Yet, like its nickname, there’s always the chance of getting pricked by its beauty.
That’s where Polygon excels; the sharpness on the edge of town. That place where the point gets made with piercing radiance. Polygon’s gift is wicked transcendence, something akin to euphoria, with all of its inherent risk and reward.
Of course, reward is always contingent upon risk. The more of the latter the greater the other. That’s the promise behind AA’s Program; it’s also the premise of Polygon’s The Program. The sheer unadulterated ratio of risk and reward. Fortunately, the mad risk has made the project all the more rewarding.
And all the more ready to help people – as promised.
If you’re seeking help with substance abuse, please give us a ring and we’ll sort you out. And if you’re seeking a soundcheck for recovery, then check out Johnny Polygon’s The Program. It’ll put you in just the right frame of mind.
