When Scott Albert Johnson graduated from Harvard in 1992, he didn't count on becoming a professional musician. In fact, it was nearly ten years before he picked up a guitar after the one he'd used for his entire college career got stolen, along with his band mate's car.

Suffice it to say, Scott's decision to return to his music has been a positive one for both him and his growing base of fans around the country. Rich, bluesy, and played with a heartfelt passion for the musical craft, his songs come as a refreshing challenge to a scene stifled by genre. His latest CD, Umbrella Man, is available for purchase through iTunes and on MySpace.

Describe your musical career before and during your time at Harvard.

In high school, I played in a couple of bands and sang in some choirs. I grew up in Mississippi, where a lot of people play music—it's kind of a standard thing to do there when you're growing up. Then, I was one of those kids who came to Harvard and thought I could do as many activities as I'd done in high school: I was a kicker for the football team, I wrote for the Harvard Independent, and I was in the Callbacks [a Harvard coed pop a cappella group]. Combine that with a pretty challenging course load, and I realized that what I was doing was insane. So I left the Callbacks, but I kept playing for the football team. I wasn't in a band until my junior year at Harvard, though I did play music when I went back home to visit.

What was your Harvard band like?

Well, as I said, I played in it for my junior and senior years—I was playing the bass, and someone else was writing the music. Halfway through my senior year, I'd left the bass in our singer's car, and then the car got stolen, so it was gone. By the time I was thinking about getting a new one, it was close to the end of the year, and I didn't have time to be playing—I had to figure out my life after college. I didn't end up buying another one for eight or nine years after that, actually. I just got back into it in the year 2000, when I was 30. But you don't have to mention my age, if you don't want (laughs).

(laughs) I'm sure no one is judging. So, how would you describe your sound?

Our drummer actually coined an excellent phrase for it: sophisticated Southern (laughs).

Intriguing. Elaborate.

Well, where I'm from—not just the city, Jackson, but also the entire area around it—has kind of been the cradle of American music. Jazz, blues, country, and to a large extent bluegrass were born just north of where I was. Growing up, I listened to the Police, U2, all kinds of rock and classic rock. So I'd say my sound is mainly rock ¡¥n roll, but with a lot of other influences. There's a heavy jazz component, some bluegrass, funk, even world music—one of our songs features a didgeridoo. We also incorporate some of the more singer/songwriter-friendly elements of jam bands—we don't play on for 10, 15, 20 minutes, but we do have improvisation. The musicianship is very strong. Everyone can play their instruments very well, which is not always the case with bands I like—some of what's out there, while it's good, is some pretty rudimentary stuff. Our music is a little more complicated.

So, when I hear "jam band sound," I think Bonnaroo. Have you ever played the festival circuit?

We haven't played in that scene yet, though we're hoping to get there. We've never done Bonnaroo, but we have actually played at the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

An honor just as prestigious. Jazz Fest seems like it would be perfect for your style. Have you explored the New Orleans music scene much?

To be honest, I wasn't in touch with the Southern jazz scene much at all after leaving Jackson for school. I was gone from Jackson for 15 years, starting with the first time I left for Harvard. I would go back for breaks between school programs, but I didn't live there full-time again until 2003. For the first couple of years after I moved back, I would go down to New Orleans a lot to play. I would just sit with people in a jazz club, meet musicians somewhere or another, and sometimes they'd invite me to play. Are you familiar with Frenchman Street?

Yeah...there are some great jazz clubs in that area.

Some of the best. I used to walk around there a lot. It got to the point where I knew a lot of people I'd encounter on the street over there. If I didn't have a gig in Mississippi, I'd just expand my musicianship that way. In fact, two out of the ten songs on Umbrella Man were recorded down in New Orleans, in studios in Algiers. I played with this legendary New Orleans drummer, the Galactic Drummer, they call him. New Orleans was definitely a part of my musical life.

Was?

Well, then Katrina happened. Before that, New Orleans was like a second home to me. Actually, I got married on the roof of the Royal Orleans.

No way! My aunt got married in that hotel.

I'm not surprised—it's a beautiful place. Mine was a small wedding, really, just family and a few friends. The creepy thing is that it was three months to the day before Katrina. So when the storm came, we were still in the "thinking about it" stage of our marriage—where we would end up and things like that. Our first boy was born two weeks after the storm, and with all that was happening down there—all that's still happening—it's not really a place to raise a family. We have two boys now, and we're happy to be in Jackson. It's a cool place. While it's not New Orleans, it shares the same cultural things, the same attitude. I still go down [to New Orleans] a fair amount—it took me a while after things happened, but I'll go down there occasionally now.

And have you visited Harvard at all since graduating?

Well, I was in Cambridge on July 4th for a show at TOAD, the place in Porter Square where we'll be playing the night of the 27th. On that trip, we were here for just long enough for me to show my band around campus—I showed them the stadium and everything. I also came back for my ten-year reunion in '02, but I missed my fifteenth because my second son was only a week old at the time. I was here for Harvard-Yale in '04, and I reunited with some friends from the football team, some friends from Mather House.

Ahh. So you're a Mather alum?

Yeah. I hear the housing is completely random now, but when I was an undergrad, the process was totally different. You got a lottery number, and you picked your top three choices. If your first one wasn't available, they skipped you and went on to a second round. And it kept going like that. Mather was our third choice. Back then, the houses had more—(laughs) perhaps a little too much—identity.

Sounds like navigating cafeteria tables in middle school.

Totally. Kirkland was full of jocks, Adams was artsy, Eliot had the snotty kids. These are all overgeneralizations, of course. That's just the reputation they had.

So, what excites you the most about coming back here to play?

Lots of things, really. It's always cool to play on a campus. I'm also going to get to see lots of people I haven't seen in a while—a bunch of folks I know are coming to the show at the TOAD. Beyond that, it's always nice to come back here—Harvard was four formative years of my life. The best thing about them for me, being from Mississippi, was definitely the people. It was a culture shock, especially at first. But later, it was the reverse. The best thing was definitely being around incredibly intelligent and interesting people from around the world. I had the best conversations for four years. It was a very special time (laughs). Not that I haven't enjoyed the rest of my life, but I met some wonderful people. I remember staying up until 3am freshman year with people I otherwise would never have met—before or after Harvard—it's something you appreciate and value more as time goes by.

And also the Cambridge Queen's Head—we didn't have anything like that. It'll be a highlight to see the place, even as much as Harvard and Harvard Square have changed since I went here. I mean, the process of gentrification started when I was an undergrad—the places I used to hang out are Banana Republics now. Hey, have you seen Good Will Hunting?

Yeah...I think I may have been about eleven...

Well, Matt Damon was in my graduating class, and you know the part in the movie where he gets into it with that snotty Harvard student? That was at the Bow and Arrow Pub. They used to call it Art Bar—it was changed into a student bar while I was in school, and they had all students working it. I was the doorman. It was great—very earthy, locals and students hanging out without a fight.

Matt Damon and the girl in the movie kissed at The Tasty, which had terrible hamburgers, really. It was right in the middle of the Square by Out of Town News. I don't even know what's there now—probably some clothing stores. But hey, you guys have a pub.

We do.

That's such a nice thing. I don't know if this has changed since I've been at Harvard, but it used to be a really fragmented social scene, and it's nice to know that there's a place to play where everyone can come to the show.

So, any advice for other multi-talented Harvard students out there looking to make the most of their experience?

Yes, there's a few things. One is to do what I did, and one what I didn't. My approach was that I wanted to take advantage of as many aspects of the Harvard experience as I could, so I focused more on that than working myself to the bone in the library after hours—that's definitely not what I did. On the one hand, it was good. I'm glad I had a well-rounded experience, that I took it all on. On the other hand, I wish I'd focused more on studying, not because of grades, but because the resources are so great at Harvard, and I feel like I let that slip. So appreciate everything, academically and otherwise—take advantage.

Beyond that, after you graduate, make sure that what you do keeps you fulfilled, not just carries out your degree. I wavered—it would have been better if I hadn't. But in the end, I did follow my heart. Harvard does make you a smarter and more well-rounded person whether you like it or not, so do what fulfills you afterwards.