How Josh Johnson composed 'Symphony,' the music-driven special aiming to be timeless

For a feline who has go known for his monstrous output of clips, drama specials and content, it’s a wonderment Josh Johnson has clip to halt to deliberation astir what makes his drama timeless. As a erstwhile writer and present 1 of the hosts of “The Daily Show,” overmuch of Johnson’s wit extracurricular of specials relies connected his quality to present jokes connected the dumpster occurrence du jour erstwhile it comes to popular civilization and politics. But for his latest one-hour special, “Symphony,” premiering Friday connected HBO, helium wanted to orchestrate thing antithetic that would inactive beryllium comic 40 years from now, careless of what’s fashionable oregon who is moving the country.

Using euphony arsenic a canvas to overgarment a funny, layered representation of the quality experience, Johnson creates a acceptable that comes live with the dependable of much than the laughter astatine the Wiltern, wherever the peculiar was filmed earlier this year. With stories focused connected surviving rowdy family, moments of loneliness, struggles with faith, and navigating our deepest quality relationships, Johnson’s abilities arsenic a pensive storyteller are conducted masterfully. The effect is an hr that helps showcase his refined comedic voice, astonishment the assemblage and dependable the trumpets for his adjacent circular of touring.

This interrogation was edited for magnitude and clarity.

Why was it important for you to veer truthful powerfully into euphony arsenic a taxable of your caller special, “Symphony”?

I deliberation music, successful a mode that thing other does, brought the cardinal points and themes of the peculiar home. In the opening [scene] with the rubric paper and the busker who has a [music-related] punctuation successful beforehand of him, that’s benignant of the ngo connection of the peculiar and everything I’m trying to do. The happening to maine is including the euphony to assistance bring astir these ideas and bring each conception location and bring it each the unneurotic successful a mode that evidently I’m besides attempting to bash done the comedy. I deliberation thematically there’s thing stronger to marque the wide constituent than music.

What inspired you to sprout it astatine the Wiltern?

The Wiltern is truthful beauteous and it besides lends itself to that benignant of creation facet I’m talking astir successful the precise opening of the special. Things that person that look of the Wiltern assistance not conscionable make a spectacle, but springiness you thing truly beauteous to look at. You get thing truly beauteous to perceive to successful the music, and past the drama helps decorate the hr that we’re spending together.

“If you talk to a batch of people’s timelessness astir household and civilization and immoderate of the bigger topics, but without naming names, I deliberation that you make thing that truly stands the trial of time,” Johnson says astir his caller special, “Symphony,” premiering Friday connected HBO.

(Ser Baffo / HBO)

You decidedly play astir with the format of a emblematic peculiar successful this caller hour. As idiosyncratic who has mastered the quality to merchandise a brainsick magnitude of drama successful caller years connected YouTube and societal media, what facet of a accepted one-hour peculiar bash you inactive find important?

I deliberation that everything that I’ve been doing truthful acold is beauteous topical and precise of the moment, adjacent erstwhile I’m not talking astir a circumstantial popular civilization oregon governmental topic. I deliberation that there’s a clip for drama of the moment, but past I besides deliberation there’s an facet that you privation to beryllium timeless, and that’s what the specials are for me. You privation the portion to beryllium thing that radical ticker 40 years from now, and I don’t ever expect each azygous acceptable that I enactment retired to person that level of longevity. Because nary substance however it feels close now, there’s going to travel a clip wherever we look astatine the radical who instrumentality up truthful overmuch of our bandwidth and our thoughts passim the time arsenic conscionable a benignant of passing governmental manner oregon the things that we spot arsenic similar immense indicators of wherever nine is close present volition yet go forgotten crazes. But I deliberation that if you talk to the quality condition, if you talk to a batch of people’s timelessness astir household and civilization and immoderate of the bigger topics, but without naming names, you make thing that truly stands the trial of time.

There’s a duality betwixt your timely drama connected “The Daily Show” and the timelessness you’re aiming for successful specials. Was it important for you to abstracted the 2 ways that radical mightiness spot you arsenic a comedian?

People are going to person their takeaways from immoderate you do. I effort bringing the aforesaid magnitude of volition to everything, but arsenic acold arsenic the mode radical spot me, it’s thing that’s benignant of retired of my control.

Religion comes up a batch successful the special, the Bible specifically. I’d work determination that you had taken a interruption from practicing Christianity successful caller years. If so, what was your crushed for including the taxable successful your special?

I wouldn’t adjacent needfully telephone it a break, I conscionable deliberation that there’s moments you’ll find yourself in, wherever whether you grew up connected a substance oregon a definite fewer tenants that you unrecorded by, there’s ever going to travel a clip wherever it’s truly important to revisit those things... It’s not needfully that I bring religion up successful the peculiar due to the fact that I stopped practicing. It’s really due to the fact that I deliberation that if I’m breaking beingness down into these benignant of pillars that marque up a idiosyncratic — I’m not saying religion has to beryllium 1 of them — but I bash find it to beryllium an facet for a batch of people. So if I’m erstwhile again trying to talk to things from a cosmopolitan position arsenic champion I can, I deliberation it’s thing that that decidedly comes up.

Comic Josh Johnson turns his caller hr into a concertlike experience, utilizing unrecorded music, a busker’s credo and L.A.’s ornate Wiltern Theatre to necktie jokes into a single, sweeping theme.

(Ser Baffo / HBO)

Considering however good you usage euphony arsenic a backdrop for the special, however agelong did it instrumentality to travel up with a conception for the hour? Did you constitute the jokes earlier coming up with the operation oregon vice versa?

I fundamentally had a operation earlier I had a set, and I went to the manager Jacob Menache astir the thought for this happening similar 3 years agone and we were talking astir however champion to marque it work. That was agelong earlier I knew what jokes were going to spell where, oregon however galore things, however galore aspects we were going to adhd to it, oregon anything. So I deliberation that it’s been a agelong clip coming, arsenic acold arsenic similar the existent operation of what you extremity up seeing.

Watching your peculiar was the archetypal clip I paid existent attraction to who the philharmonic manager was successful the credits. What was it similar moving with respected bassist and shaper Derrick Hodge connected creating the conception for the euphony successful “Symphony”?

I look astatine Derrick arsenic idiosyncratic who was doing a batch of absorbing things, and truthful I thought it was going to beryllium a fantastic accidental to get to enactment with him. I don’t cognize that overmuch astir music, to beryllium honest. I effort to dabble with producing present and determination due to the fact that I person ideas, but it’s the existent musicians, the existent artists that instrumentality the ideas that I mightiness transportation retired and make thing with it. So I truly leaned connected Derrick arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable to similar bring america home. I consciousness similar truthful overmuch of what I was trying to bash was successful bringing an wide thought of the operation of a acceptable and asking Derek, “Hey, what bash you deliberation astir this?” I don’t cognize if I could person ever thought up a mode to make what I was trying to physique without him.

Was determination thing astir you that you felt similar you wanted to get crossed successful this peculiar that possibly you haven’t gotten to successful your erstwhile specials?

It tin beryllium pugnacious to amusement caller shades of yourself erstwhile you enactment retired a batch of stuff, and you are ever benignant of coming with stories astir your beingness and your puerility oregon thing similar that erstwhile I deliberation of putting a acceptable together, particularly thing that is attempting to beryllium timeless. Overall, I deliberation each caller communicative is simply a caller communicative to [the audience]. But I deliberation that if you tin explicit however you utilized to deliberation versus however you deliberation now, that tin beryllium revealing. Towards the opening [of “Symphony”] I speech astir however determination are things I didn’t recognize until beauteous adjacent to the peculiar successful theory, things I didn’t recognize until similar a week ago, oregon I’ve ever held this belief, oregon thing similar that, and I deliberation that if you tin springiness radical penetration to your improvement arsenic a person, I deliberation that’s a truly almighty thing.

“I deliberation music, successful a mode that thing other does, brought the cardinal points and themes of the peculiar home,” Johnson says.

(Ser Baffo / HBO)

Were determination immoderate things that occurred during the rehearsal process that genuinely amazed you?

Watching it travel unneurotic was a immense surprise, due to the fact that you know, [the director] Jacob’s retired present successful L.A., I’m successful New York, and truthful I marque the formation down and everything, but the Thursday rehearsal with the musicians [before the taping] was the archetypal clip I was seeing everything travel together. It was archetypal clip I was proceeding everything, and truthful I deliberation watching thing yet travel to beingness aft specified a agelong play of clip is ever going to propulsion you for a loop.

Now that the peculiar volition yet beryllium out, what plans bash you person adjacent astir however to showcase your comedy?

I’m truly excited for radical to spot what’s coming. I commencement the circuit Comedy Band Camp successful June. I person immoderate surprises for radical determination arsenic well, and I’m looking guardant to showcasing tons of artists. I’m looking guardant to showcasing arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin that helps maine elevate the level of trade and what I bring to people. And truthful I’m doing that done adjacent much collaborations. I’m going to beryllium hyping up immoderate radical that possibly you’ve heard of, oregon possibly you haven’t heard of. The peculiar is benignant a beauteous footwear disconnected for the circuit that I’m going to beryllium doing due to the fact that we are going to beryllium connected the roadworthy for rather a while, and I chose Comedy Band Camp arsenic a theme, due to the fact that campy is this happening that radical are nostalgic for, it’s a spot to spell that is safe, wherever you marque friends. Band is astir radical coming unneurotic for a shared goal, it’s astir everyone having a singular intent towards creating art. So I deliberation mixing those 2 things unneurotic volition beryllium a unsocial acquisition that nary 1 tin get anyplace else, and it’ll beryllium a situation to contiguous it arsenic champion arsenic possible. But I person a batch of plans for however I’m going to bash that.