Johan Rodrigues Discusses The Guitar That Started It All

posted in: Music News

We spend a lot of time covering the biggest pop acts here in the United States, but considering the fact OurStage welcomes artists and fans from all over the world we thought it would be fun to begin introducing a few world music new tidbits into the magazine as well. If you’re an international artist with a new song, video, or tour announcement, email jshotwell@ourstage.com with a link to your material. We cannot guarantee every submission will be featured on the blog, but we will reply to every message we receive.

In Portugal, if you’re looking for male pop artists you would be hard pressed to find a more notable person than Johan Rodrigues. His latest EP, Um, has been garnering praise the world over, and his latest single “Bad Girl” is so catchy it hurts. Johan recently took time from his busy schedule to discuss the gift that started his interest in music, the creation of Um, and developing as an international talent. You can read an excerpt from the piece below, then click here to read the full interview.

I read that you originally started getting involved with music when you were given a guitar for your 15th birthday. Do you still have that guitar today?

Yes I still have the guitar. I don’t play it anymore because it broke one day but I’ve kept it for sure. It’s all full of stickers and scratches and some of the ink has fallen off but I think it actually should look like that. If an old guitar looks new then it means you haven’t used it right, it hasn’t been doing what it was built to do. It’s a piece of wood with history. I mean, I wrote my first song with it when my heart got broken the first time, I recorded my first demos onto a tape recorder with it, so yes, I’m definitely keeping this guitar for the rest of my life.

How would you say your songwriting and musicianship has developed since that day you first received the gift?

This may sound a bit cliché but it’s gotten more of an own style. I believe the more you write and the more you practice your craft it will become yours only. You get better at it if you dedicate your time and put your heart into it. This is what I believe to be true.