Waves and Means

When you hang out together, is it a good-vibes, positive-life-energy, at-one-with-the-universe sort of lovefest? Or do you sometimes like to trash hotel rooms together?
[Static] It's breaking up... [static] When we hang out it's always a good time...

Do you ever trash hotel rooms?
Do we play music in hotel rooms?

No, do you ever trash hotel rooms -- you know, for fun?
Oh, trash hotel rooms! No, no. It's very anti-rock star with that crew. [Static] usually play Boggle.

Your song ''Bubble Toes'' is about your wife Kim, right? How does she feel about being called Bubble Toes?
Do you mind, Kim? Being known as Bubble Toes? She doesn't mind. Everybody wants to see her feet. Sometimes, people think [I'm talking about] little bubbles [all over her toes]. She doesn't have warts all over them.

When you write songs, do you just gently strum your guitar on the beach? Or do you hole up, get drunk, tear your hair out, and abuse the waitstaff?
No, it's a pretty easy process for me. I'll go for two months without writing any songs because I'll be busy surfing. And then sometimes, usually when I'm on a surf trip, I write music because I'm off on a boat or some place far away from other people and phone calls.

Does anything ever stress you out?
Not really. The people who go out on tour with us are all really good friends, which keeps it low stress. But I guess I can get stressed if there are too many shows in a row. I don't always feel like getting in front of people or entertaining a crowd. But once I get up, the energy from the crowd is always so good, I have fun.

What do you wear to work?
Slippers or sandals -- whatever you call them. In Hawaii they call them slippers. Once in a while I'll put on some shoes, like if we're traveling in Michigan or something. But then once we're playing in the venue, I'll put my slippers back on because all the lights are hot.

My friend told me that a guy he was talking to at a cafe in D.C. had you confused with Joe Jackson. Is that okay with you?
Uh, Joe Jackson...I know that name. [Static] There are actually a bunch of Jack Johnsons. There's Big Jack Johnson, who is an old blues musician. There's Black Jack Johnson, which is Mos Def's side project. Then there's a rock group from the '80s or '90s called Jack Johnson. A lot of people buy that record and trip out. They're like, ''I got your first record, it's so different, it's really rock.'' I just kind of laugh about it.