Jonny Fritz‘s sardonic, clever country rock has just landed him a record deal—signed in gravy at a local soul-food restaurant, natch—and his ATO Records debut, Dad Country, featuring backing from the boys in Dawes, has just hit shelves. He’s also trying to finish up paintings and leatherwork for a list of clients that reads like a who’s-who of the Music City hipsterati. Oh, and he got married to a woman he met at Mardi Gras. “I like to make the impulsive moves,” says Fritz, who used to go by the moniker Jonny Corndawg. Fritz will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on him.
Jonny: I don’t know much about Nicholson Baker. He’s a writer, probably from New York … I don’t know. A friend gave me The Fermata after I complained that I had finished Georges Bataille‘s The Story Of The Eye and was left wanting more. I was looking for something similar to The Eye with a bit more humor, maybe. I started The Fermata and quickly found that I got so excited I could only read a few pages at a time before becoming so pumped that I couldn’t sit still. Every page is like a cup of coffee. When I’m not reading it, I’m thinking about it. I dream about it often, and one of my biggest fears in life is finishing the thing. I don’t think there’s anything I could recommend with more intensity. Not sure I should try and describe the book, because I’m not really good at that. But I’ll tell you this much: If you have sense of humor, a raging libido and an imagination, this book is the one for you.
Video after the jump.
