A Rare Interview with Flashback to Never Producer Brian Johnson!

The following is a rare interview with the incredibly busy producer of Flashback to Never, the one and only Brian Johnson. It has been lightly edited for space and clarity.

Who are you, and what is your role in the production of Flashback to Never? What exactly is it that you bring to the table?

HI! I'm Brian Johnson, producer of Flashback to Never. In this case producer is just a catchall term. I write songs, scripts, and even direct certain episodes. I like to think I bring a good amount of the levity to the show. In some of my songs I took real world examples and explored my problem with those tunes. For instance, even as a kid I didn't like the Bobby Darin song "Splish Splash." A grown man is taking a bath, then a party unexpectedly breaks out in his house, then -- without mentioning getting dressed, only putting on his dancing shoes -- he joins the party and starts dancing. I assume still naked and wet. So I wrote "Shower Party" in response to that. A song about a guy having some much fun in the shower he invites his friends. 

I also really enjoyed the character arcs I brought to season one. Out of everything, I might be most proud of the journeys Skit, Jenny, and Bucky took throughout the season. 

Pretend we just met at a (shower) party, I’ve never listened to Flashback to Never, and you want me to listen to this little podcast of yours - what do you say?

Do you like good music? Interesting characters? And in-depth alternate history? Well then, have I got the show for you!

In all seriousness, describing the show to potential new listeners is one of the hardest things I do. The elevator pitch is much longer than usual because our show has so many working parts. A lot of people are interested to find out it's scripted -- I think the shows of two guys talking to each other have reached a saturation point -- but then you add in the original music AND the world where Elvis was never born? It's a complicated show, but usually if I can get someone interested in hearing what I have to say in the first ten seconds or so, they definitely want to find out more.

How did you get involved with this show?  And do you regret it?

I've been involved since the very beginning. It was July of 2017 when I got a message from David inviting me to lunch. He laid out his idea, which was a much simpler idea than the show eventually became, and we were off. For the next few months we planned the show, expanded the world, and started writing songs. The first episode dropped in January of 2019, so that was a year and a half of working before anyone even heard the show. You think explaining the concept to people is hard? It was damn near impossible before we could refer them to anything. 

Flashback is the hardest I've ever worked on anything. Ever. Period. I threatened to quit at least twice during the process. I was writing every single night after working a full day and we were still months out from anyone hearing it. I was so stressed I just walked out of my office and said to my [then] girlfriend, "Fuck it. I quit." Then I took a few breaths and got back to work. Seriously, that happened twice.

No, I don't regret it at all. I probably did during the first season. We were so behind the eight ball that I was cutting together episodes just days before they were released. I didn't think it would ever end, but we got there and with the additional writers we brought on for season two things calmed down. I think this show has the potential to be a hit, but even if it's not, even if we have to stop making it, I'll still be able to point to it and say, "I did that." And that is as optimistic as I get. 

Which DJ on the fictional AM radio station WF2N do you most identify with?

Hmm, I'm a decent mix of Skit Fitchard and Jerry Deluca. My demeanor is more aligned with Skit -- I was supposed to play him originally -- but I definitely have the environmental concerns of the granola eating Jerry.  

Who is your favorite fictional 1960s artist from the Flashback to Never world? Do they bear any resemblance to your favorite real world 1960s artist?

My favorite has to be Jesse Presley. Only because the most fun David and I had in making the show was coming up with ideas of how badly we could treat that character. I mean, come on! He's not a talented musician. He's not a talented actor. Then, we had him buy solid gold shoes. And after all that, he was mugged and his shoes were stolen. Plus, you know, I did end up playing him in the documentary, so I have to pick him, right? He doesn't bear any resemblance to his real world brother, Elvis. We designed him to be the exact opposite. 

Thanks for sitting down with me, Brian. Any parting thoughts?

I think Flashback came out exactly at the right time. It's something David and I have talked about. Scripted shows are becoming more popular. I'm seeing more of them all over the place, but the truth is I haven't heard anything like Flashback to Never. Some shows have music, some have in depth plots, but I still haven't found one that combines all the elements that we've brought together. I'm the last guy to pat myself on the back, but it's the best thing I've ever been a part of.

Check out Flashback to Never, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every other week - for anyone who thinks that they just don’t make music like they used to!