GMACGUFFIN: Southwest Storytime

The musical alter ego of San Diego’s T.C. Johnston—GMacGuffin—seems to serve the same kind of foil that the stage character Country Dick Montana provided Dan McLain or that Mojo Nixon gave to Kirby McMillan.

In his new CD, Southwest Storytime, GMacGuffin plays music that is more folk-oriented than that of either of those well-known personae, although his sardonic bordering on sarcastic take on country and folk isn’t too far afield from their own lyrical sensibilities.

These crazy tales of his—road trips and outlaws, love affairs and lost souls—are all wrapped in gorgeous melodies. The bright, sparkling music only deepens the sense of alienation in his lyrical narratives.

But the lyrics are literate, sometimes literary, and always clever.

From “Lee Valentine,” a matter-of-fact tale of an outlaw told by a rival:

Lee Valentine’s no friend of mine,
stuck me with a dagger
I doused the wound in rot-gut rye,
and hid it with some swagger
Fraught with indecision,
it’s so difficult to tell
Whether best to be in league with you
or drinking from your skull

Or consider “Trail of Blood” (sung in duet with Miranda Pearl)

There’s a trail of blood
leading into the wood
It was left by a scoundrel
Who was up to no good
Six bullet holes in him
He won’t get very far
If he don’t bleed out first
He’ll be up by a bar

Johnston has a confident, stylized half-spoken delivery to his vocals, which only gives his lyrics added impact.

The instrumentation is what might find on a Leon Redbone record: tuba and tin whistle, guitar and harmonica, even a washtub bass on one track.

It all adds up to quite the auditory stew, and it’s charming as heck.