I first found John Strohm when I stumbled across a piece he had written about Uncle Tupelo for his terrific Substack, Ready For Nothing. In the piece John described his experience falling in love with the Belleville, IL trio that blended hardcore and roots music, and how that love eventually became the inspiration behind his 1996 alt-country album Caledonia with backup band The Hello Strangers.
While I had thought that I was wholly unfamiliar with John and his music, I quickly realized reading the piece that he had co-founded the Boston indie outfit The Blake Babies, and he has also been an integral part of The Lemonheads. In a matter of minutes I found myself learning about a great writer on Substack who had made records with bands I adored, and he’d even made a record in honor of Uncle Tupelo, one of my favorite bands of all time. With no further hesitation, I messaged him to ask for an interview.
John spends most of his time these days as a lawyer in the music industry. He largely focuses his efforts on developing new and upcoming artists. The roster of talent that he has worked with reads like a highlight list of some of the 21st century's finest songwriting talents. With a roster of clients that includes Bon Iver, Sturgill Simpson, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Alabama Shakes, Billy Strings, The Civil Wars, and Dawes it’s easy to see that John Strohm is a guy with a good ear and a great sense of how to help make the most of an artist’s talents.
From 2017 to 2022, John was the President of the famed folk and bluegrass label Rounder Records. During his time there he helped to steer that legacy brand to release a new slate of albums by a host of artists that are helping to define the sound of the current era.
During our chat we hit upon how John grew up a hardcore kid in the midwest and his falling in love early with country music. We cover the booming indie scene of Boston in the late 80s and even hear a behind the scenes story of how Evan Dando sneakily engineered John as a replacement drummer for The Lemonheads. John and I debate the virtues of the streaming economy, and delve into the different forms of gatekeeping and opportunity that streaming might be able to offer emerging artists.
This is an amazing talk with a guy who has spent a life and career in the music business yet it’s obvious that John is hopeful for and excited about the future of the music industry, even in the age of streaming. John even made me a little more hopeful too.
In a recent piece about his new entertainment law firm Meitus Strohm, John talked about his path from musician to lawyer. He said, “I felt called to find a way to serve creative people, and a law degree seemed like a good way to invent a career on the business side of music.”
It’s clear that over that career and throughout this conversation that John has put his immense set of talents to work serving artists and the musical culture at large. It was a treat to spend some time with a guy that has helped to foster so many careers and even made a few great albums himself.
Here now is my chat with musician, lawyer, label head, tastemaker, and writer, John Strohm.
Cheers,
Matty C
