Singer Martin Johnson dropped by Q104.3 New York's "Out of the Box" with Jonathan Clarke with his new project, The Night Game.
Johnson, who's also made a career for himself as a songwriter for several pop acts, tells the show his decision to lead a new band was part of his "natural progression" as an artist.
"Those guys [in Boys Like Girls] are my best friends in the world, but there was a moment when I really wanted to write and they wanted to take some time to do other things," Johnson says. "So I started writing and it led me to really want to kind of express differently."
Writing for other artists was a rewarding challenge, but Johnson began to feel he was "playing a character." So he decided a new band was the way to go.
"It wasn't a meltdown, but it was definitely a decision-making point in time where I was like, 'I really just want to lock myself in a room and see if I can create something that's real and that really means something to me.' And I started working on the Night Game record."
As far as how he'll release music with The Night Game, Johnson says right now he's leaning towards releasing songs one at a time.
Presently, the group has nine songs that Johnson feels are strong, including the lead single, "The Outfield," which has been making waves in alternative circles.
"Outfield" also made its way to the ears of John Mayer, who decided on a whim to ask The Night Game to tour with him this summer.
"He asked us to do the tour. And I was like, 'Whoa!' It happened really quick," Johnson said. "I don't know John. It was cool. It was like the least corporate musical kind of thing that I've ever seen happen. How classy to love a song and says, 'Cool, like, come out on tour,' and not have it be about some sort of phone call from a record label or whatever. I was blown away by it."
As for a label, The Night Game doesn't have one presently, though Johnson later acknowledged that the band is being courted by several. He's not yet convinced signing a record deal is the best move for his project.
Check out the entire interview above with the performance of a stripped-down version of "The Outfield."
Keep up with The Night Game on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!
1 of 8 2 of 8 3 of 8 4 of 8 5 of 8 6 of 8 7 of 8 8 of 8
Check out the official lyric video for "The Outfield":