When fans saw the header "NEW MUSIC COMING SOON" on Jamey Johnson's official website last month, they took to social media to celebrate the forthcoming project, Johnson's first full studio effort since 2010, theboot.com reported. But the fans didn't realize Johnson was also going to surprise the country music community with the announcement of a new, independent label: Big Gassed Records and a holiday album!
"I've kind of always wanted to do my own label," Johnson told Rolling Stone. "When we released That Lonesome Song on the Internet, we turned around and got a label deal offered to us by one of the majors, and decided we'd do a deal with Mercury. I feel like I've worn out my welcome over there... might've stayed a little longer than I anticipated. But this is gonna be fun. It's gonna be a lot of work, but it's gonna be fun work."
Oh, and that new music he promised? It's a holiday EP titled The Christmas Song.
"It's Christmas music," Johnson said. "And maybe I didn't get it out there as early as I should have. I think we might've missed the window to bring it to retail. If so, then we'll just be selling them off the website, or using a couple of online sales points."
But there's apparently more to come...
"To answer the question that the fans have been asking: 'When are we gonna put out new music?'" Johnson said. "We're gonna start putting it out now, starting with this Christmas EP. And then you can look for another release from me after the start of the year. And you can look for more releases from me as the year progresses. We don't have to go through the same waiting process that other artists might have to, stand in line and wait to get their music out. We'll just kind of fall in line where we fit for retail - and if we don't fit there, we don't fit there. It's not a problem to me."
Back in September, Johnson successfully joined in the movement to save Nashville's Studio A.
"It's a matter of prayer and faith," Johnson told the Nashville Scene. "And it's also a matter of getting the community organized. Nashville's music fan club - and I'm talking about all music, not just country music, but all music - Nashville's music fan club needs to come together and organize and get a clear plan. Once we have a clear plan of action, it's gonna be easy to walk through the steps and save this building.
So excited to announce new music: "The Christmas Song" EP. It's available here: https://t.co/xlq5NDE4et
— Jamey Johnson (@jamey_johnson) November 25, 2014
