來自英國倫敦的歌手,Johnny Flynn是個演員,同時也是一個詩人,當然還是一個唱作人.他自稱深受著名詩人葉芝和莎士比亞的影響. When Clash catches up with Johnny Flynn and a couple of other members of The Sussex Wit he is in a car on the way to a wedding. In the background I can hear what Johnny describes as a “story-tape” and which he later informs me is The Picture of Dorian Gray although it takes quite a few broken conversations before it is finally switched off and I can actually hear what Johnny is trying to say. Listening to the words of Oscar Wilde strikes me as a very Johnny Flynn thing to do, though I’m not exactly sure why. He speaks softly and almost with a stutter like a nervous teenager but I don’t think it’s nerves which affect his speech – I think it’s just his way. On the other hand, maybe he’s just really stoned. The frequent lost sentences and apparent confusion at what he has just said would perhaps suggest some form of inebriation although he sounds so sweet and innocent that I am too scared to ask for fear of causing offence. Johnny Flynn definitely isn’t your average Rock and Roll Star. “I’m quite aware of my own sense of music and the mystery in my mind that surrounds the music that I love."Born in South Africa, the Flynns left for England when young Johnny was three. A combination of fleeing the apartheid regime and the fear that stemmed from the shooting of his cousins at the hands of the government authorities meant that Johnny was brought up in London, its surrounding counties, Pembrokeshire and that most un-Rock and Roll of institutions, the English public school. It was through the benefit of a music scholarship that Johnny Flynn went from opposing the established regime in South Africa right into the heart of the establishment in his new home. And it obviously had an impact on his musical education. “I grew up listening to a real mixture of stuff, some quite odd stuff really,” he explains. “It was a very classical musical education – playing in church and touring with a professional choir there was a lot of nuts and bolts English choral stuff. My Dad’s an actor and a show singer so I grew up listening to things like Cole Porter and he loves swing and big band stuff. My childhood was all that kind of thing.” It is clear from the songs he writes that, thanks to these early influences and the latter discovery of country and bluegrass, Johnny’s musical style has moved in a direction where you can really hear those classic story-telling qualities of more traditional music. “That’s really important to me,” he agrees. “I’m quite aware of my own sense of music and the mystery in my mind that surrounds the music that I love. I’m quite aware that there’s a lot projected onto your framework of a song so even if I’m quite clear on the stories that I write people are gonna come along with something completely different that will grow and change.” How far does Johnny see his stories taking him in the music scene? “I don’t know – it’s part of the game for me. I never sent off any demos or anything like that. Every step on the way has just been prompted by someone or something. As soon as I stop getting encouraged I’ll just lay off or do something else.” Sometimes it’s nice to hear from a band that doesn’t want to rule on the world.