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 … Continue reading GMACGUFFIN: Southwest Storytime