From bands to Producer and the No1 documentary on Netflix “Michael Johnson” had lots interesting chat for Music Promotions during our interview which you can read in depth below.
Congratulations on the Netflix documentary making number 1 and for creating something so deep, emotional, and real and getting that story told.
How long did you spend making Dirty Pop?
Thank you very much. It was a long labor of love and to see it out in the world reaching number one in so many territories is breathtaking.
How does it feel to have this story now out there in the world?
There were many generations and iterations of this project. Having lived it very closely with my band “Natural” and being close with Lou Pearlman in such a unique way, I knew that there was a much bigger story to be told than had ever been told before.
All of these bands – Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, O-town, LFO, Take Five, CNote, Innosense, even Britney Spears, and our band Natural, all of our bands had a global fan base that connected to our music in a way that was very deep and very meaningful. I wanted to tell the origin story of how all of this came to be and within that origin story were very dark and nefarious tales about how all these bands were put together and promoted through criminal activity orchestrated by Lou.
It’s not very often that crimes can create something so positive. The unique aspect of this story is that the criminal activity launched bands that connected with fans globally who had deep relationships with the bands and other people that they met at the concerts and met because they all related to each other due to that whole scene. It’s similar to Swifties now. It was that same type of phenomenon with the boy band fans of that time, and even to this day. It’s hard to comprehend that there was such darkness and criminality at the heart of the origin story of these boy bands. However, we wanted to showcase the bands’ ongoing pop culture relevance and how the connection between the bands and the fans is still so strong.
How long did you spend on the making of Dirty Pop?
I, personally, spent over a decade trying to get the story told. The more I kept digging and digging, trying to understand the breadth of the story, the more the story kept growing and evolving.
The more people I talked to, the more documents I uncovered, the more inside subjects that finally decided to talk and compare stories, the more the story came into focus. The journey took over 10 years. When I finally got it to a point where I understood the scope of this story, I teamed up with Time Studios, which is the film division of Time Magazine. Along my journey, I had gathered some insiders that you see in the series that were willing to tell their side of the story.
A very important part of this was telling the story from the inside out, not having some sort of outsider narrate what they think the story is, which has been done several times on this subject.
How hard was it to film and relive what you all went through?
Honestly, a few people have reached out saying “I’m so sorry you had to go through all that” because of the emotions that came out of me on screen in my interview. It is very conflicting because those times of my life were some of the best times I’ve ever had. They were incredibly exciting. Being a teenager touring the world was like the greatest thing you could ever do. It was the dream. However, throughout the process of making the documentary series, I got to speak at length to people whose lives were deeply affected negatively. They were people that I care about a lot and people I got to know even more through the production process.
So, grappling with the best experiences a kid could ever dream of with the understanding of what allowed me to experience those things were people’s life savings and the investments from very close people to Lou, seeing the pain they went through was highly emotional for me.
Is there nothing else left to talk about with that or is that side of the documentary now finished and you are moving into the next project?
For this for this exact subject, we have put it to bed in the documentary format.
Netflix gave us three episodes for the story to take shape. The story is so massive that there were things that had to wind up on the cutting room floor, which was difficult for all of us in the post production process. But we wanted it to be an entertaining three episodes to let people relive the epic rise of these bands through archival material and true insiders of this polarizing global story.
I also have a scripted series about this story that is in the works right now at another network with some big writers and amazing stars attached.
The music industry has changed so much since “Natural” first came onto the music scene, more artists are Independent, what are your thoughts?
Back when we were doing it in the ’90s and early 2000s you couldn’t really do it on your own. Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music didn’t exist.
I remember we were connecting with our fans through chat rooms on our website. We would go answer questions every week on a damn website, but now artists can go straight to their fan base and interact in a way that was not possible for us then. We needed to rely on our label and manager which is where things can get messy; I always tell new artists, the more people you add to your team, the more people who can mess it up so just try to maintain as much ownership as possible and try to keep control of your career. It’s so awesome that artists now can connect directly to fans. It’s great.
Netflix aired this documentary what is the process of connecting with the platforms to arrange the whole distribution and who will air it?
That’s an interesting story, it was not always going to be with Netflix. We originally sold it to another network but Lance Bass had a documentary about Lou that came out on YouTube right around the time that we sold ours to the other network.
We knew that the access we had to the insiders and the access that I had through my experience with Lou and Transcon Records was very different to the story that Lance would tell. Once Lance’s project came and went, we pitched our project to Netflix who jumped on board with us. Teaming up with Netflix was really exciting because it’s such a big platform and such a great viewer base. Collaborating with Netflix, who knows their viewer base so well, was really exciting.
How do you get into producing film and music collectively?
I got into the production world in music initially when I was in ‘Natural’. On tour, we would be in our hotel rooms between gigs writing songs and figuring out how to record music on our own. That started to give us a way to claim our creative identity because in the beginning we were given songs to record. We started understanding songwriting through the songs we were playing that were written by the biggest producers in the world. We took that knowledge and applied it to our creative flow. We figured, if we can control this aspect of our lives, there’s a lot more fulfillment there and we can connect with our fans on a whole new level.
When I was touring I saw other artists that I loved that needed to record their music, I would team up with them and produce their record to put that out. So from songwriting to producing music, the natural progression in storytelling for me was in film, television and documentaries and it’s translated really well.
As a producer what is a typical studio day like for you?
I still dance between producing music or scoring films and developing, packaging and producing documentaries and scripted projects. It’s always about honing in on a story, whether it’s writing a song or developing a documentary or series. The DIY mentality of bringing a story or concept to life has carried me through music and film. Just doing as much as humanly possible on my own and not waiting on anyone is the only way that has really worked for me.
What was some of your highlights from being in Natural?
Touring the world with my best friends and getting to play music for people is something I wish everybody could experience. Those were my formative years being 15/16 years old when I got signed and then through my early 20s. It is easy to take for granted, you’re playing big shows and think it’s going to happen forever. Looking back on it, I was able to collaborate with my best friends, tour the world and play music for people that were receptive to it and connected to it which is something I’ll never forget. It was the foundation of my life in the entertainment business and it couldn’t have been better.
With bands reuniting could we see a Natural reunion happening?
I wouldn’t rule it out but we are all scattered around the world. I’m certainly not closing the door on it, it would be an absolute blast. I’ve been revisiting the music as we’ve been re-releasing it. It really would be fun to play in front of people again.
How does it feel to finally have your music on Spotify after all this time?
It has been heartbreaking for the past 20 years or so to not have our music out there for fans to connect with.
Through the process of making the documentary Dirty Pop, we realized that nobody owned the second Natural record. When Transcontinental Records went down in flames, the ownership of that record was just floating in space and we couldn’t even license the music for the documentary because there was no owner to license it from. We got together as a band and we said okay, we have to get this out on streaming platforms. The second record we made was the record that we wrote as a band and we were very heavily involved in the production. We just wanted to see that work have a life out in the world. We started with one EP which is the first volume called ‘It’s Only Natural: Volume 1.’ There will be more singles coming and the the second half of that record will be released in the fall.
As you are a drummer, do you still play drums? Do you get the time to play now?
It’s tough because even after ‘Natural’ I toured in other bands for almost 20 years. I stopped five years ago to focus on producing TV and film projects. However, through the TV and film world I still compose original scores for some of the projects that I do with my music partner ‘Chad Shlosser’. I play drums in the studio for the scores of the film projects, so it’s like all worlds converging through my drumming days and my music production days converging with my television and film production life. I certainly miss the energy of a live concert, playing drums in a club or an arena is one of the most satisfying feelings ever.
Any solo Music on the horizon?
No solo music for me. I enjoy keeping my musical juices flowing by composing film scores. It’s a very fulfilling process for me now.
Have you got any projects coming up that you could talk about?
I have a project that I produced which is making the rounds on the international film festival circuit called “Neo Dome”. We’ve won some awesome awards at festivals like SXSW, SeriesFest and others. I’m also producing a feature documentary about ‘Colonel Tom Parker’, Elvis Presley’s manager. I am doing that with Leonardo DiCaprio’s company “Appian Way” and some other amazing filmmakers, which is exciting. Since “Dirty Pop” came out, it’s been very nice to hear from studios and awesome producers that want to work with me on new things, so there are a few things that are being developed.
What music are you currently streaming?
I love a band from your side of the pond called ‘Fontaine’s DC’. As a music listener, I like 90s alternative, so anything that reminds me of that I’m in!
I love a new kind of cool genre like female-fronted alternative music.
I like a band called ‘Bully’,’ Men I Trust’, ‘Soccer Mommy’.
I’ve been connecting with a lot of outlaw country music and singer-songwriters who are just very organic and real.
‘Steven Wilson Jr’ is one of my new favorite songwriters and performers. John Moreland is another incredible artist. The Cactus Blossoms are constantly on the rotation.
Final Messages from You?
Since the release of Dirty Pop, I’ve heard from some people who were fans of ‘Natural’ back in the day or connected to the music that I’ve made over the years, It’s been very humbling to know that whether it was millions or thousands or even hundreds of people, I was able to connect with them through music and creativity.
As you get older and think about your life and your place in the world, the fact that I’ve been able to have those connections through music is just an unbelievable thing and I’m excited to have had the opportunity to connect with people in that way.
I cherish the connection that I’ve received back from people.
