Hello. My name is Johnny Cummings, and this is my album called “Radiate”. Though not my first release as an artist, in many ways, this album is my beginning; An introduction and baptism into the musical world. For the first time as an artist, I have consciously set forth to be as authentic, transparent and dissuaded in my music as possible, and finally give validation to my own unique voice.  As a result of this new found autonomy, I’ve put together a collection of songs that is the purest reflection to date of who I am as a human and musician, and it marks a coming of age and maturation of me as an artist and songwriter.

 

I have perfect pitch. My piano teacher told me that in my first lesson when I was four years old. I didn’t know what that was at the time, but I did find out that I could learn songs and I could learn them very easily. I saw pitch like words on a page, and with this ability to mimic, I could be whoever I wanted to be, and for a long time, that’s exactly what I did- I became anyone and everyone, just so long as they weren’t me. It was a fun and rewarding place to be for awhile....and a convenient place to hide. I masqueraded behind the authority of others in one way or another for many years until one day, I decided that who and what I was was not only equal, but it was also vital.

 

The musical journey and the journey of life are one. All of the lessons I’ve learned musically have made me a better person, and all of the trials and triumphs and trials of life have made me a stronger musician. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned and continue to learn is that a big part of true freedom and liberation is in accepting who you are completely, and embodying that as fully as you can. It’s been a long journey back to myself, and I wanted this album to be an account of that journey, as well as a celebration of where I now stand, which is on my own two feet. My thoughts, my doubts, my hopes and fears, triumphs and failures put on record and finally allowed to exist and have their place in the world. Much of my life up until recently has been a running away- Running from my past, running towards the future, and running from myself.

 

This album was the stopping.