RIP Trey

Beloved Dallas musician and music label co-founder Trey Johnson dies

RIP Trey.

Photo courtesy of Jason Janik

Beloved Dallas musician Trey Johnson, who was a founding member of rock band Sorta, died on January 31; he was 53.

Born Lewis Harlan Johnson III, Trey was a Dallas native, graduate of Greenhill School and the University of North Texas, and co-founder of State Fair Records, a Dallas music label that released albums by acclaimed artists such as Joshua Ray Walker, Kristy Kruger, and Eleven Hundred Springs.

Sorta was an Americana rock band that released four full-length records and garnered national attention when their songs were picked up for several television series. In 2007, the band parted ways after the untimely death of band member Carter Albrecht.

But Johnson continued to sing and record, including two solo albums Mount Pelée and Where The East Ends on Idol Records, and most recently an EP released on Christmas Day 2021 on State Fair Records called Home Again, Home Again, under the name Lewis III.

He worked as a commercial production director for 97.1 The EAGLE, and also taught music for several years at local music school Zounds Sounds.

In 2019, he and his wife Jen opened YAM Dallas, a space for yoga and the arts.

According to a family friend, Johnson had experienced heart problems within the past year that included a blocked artery.

Johnson was universally beloved, and the Dallas creative community came out in force to mark his passing with tributes on Facebook.

Radio industry veteran Billy MacLeod called him "North Texas' own confidante and friend to so very many," stating that "his music kept coming, but it was really his quiet conversations and the encouragement that he gave to others that will endure."

Music photographer Jessica Waffles called him "a pillar in the community, a kind supportive soul, and a real happy guy. ... So many people have been able to make it so far with your help. Thank you for everything you did. What a rockstar."

Musician Marcus Striplin recalled a point where he was feeling down and called Johnson. "Trey took my call on a late spring day and just listened to me. At the time I didn’t realize how much I needed for someone to listen to me and either say 'you're crazy and take this event as a sign to hang it up' or something else. Trey told me the something else. He encouraged me to focus and to not stray from it. He was a believer in my art and he was such a kind and gentle human."

Singer Becky Middleton said that "working in the studio with someone of his caliber and musicianship is always an honor. But to call him friend was the gift. He was the kindest person and leaves a beautiful legacy with his family and the Dallas music scene."

Musician and bar owner Reid Robinson described Johnson as a "friend, father, and total class act," calling him "one of the kindest, talented, and most earnest people around. Loved his big hearty laugh, and positive outlook no matter the circumstances. He reminded me of a gentle lion, caring and in control."

Musician and Eleven Hundred Springs founder Matt Hillyer said that Johnson was "one of those people who you just immediately felt like a kindred spirit with. He championed us and countless others. He always made us feel like the most talented important people in the room. In fact, his own talent as a musician was world class. I always breathed easier knowing he was on our side. Aside from business, he was fun to hang out with and talk to. The loss to the North Texas music world can’t be overstated on this one. This is really heartbreaking."

Courtney Wright Wells, operations manager for State Fair Records, said, "I never imagined having a partner like Trey, or working with someone that has such a genuine heart for musicians (and all artists), the industry, and selflessly, positively impacting this scene."

Musician Mike Daane recalled meeting Trey when they were students at North Texas State University. "Thus began a long friendship where we would cross paths on a regular basis in and around the Dallas music scene. Trey always had something cooking musically and formed many bands, exploring and learning, forging his own unique style in the process. It was a treat when our bands would share a bill and I could see what he was up to. Always engaged and in the moment, always a positive thing to say, always a big hello and a hug, always a 'I love you Mike Daane' when we parted. I love you too, Trey. You are going to be sorely missed by everyone."

Radio personality Josh Venable said that "today we lost one of the nicest imaginable. Trey Johnson was not just incredibly talented. Everyone who heard him play knew that. He was also genuine and sincere and gracious."

Vandoliers singer-guitarist Joshua Fleming said that Johnson "changed my life, gave me the chance to pursue my dream and believed in me. I wasn’t the only person or only band. He put in so work, so much faith in to all of us. I’m going to miss my friend so much. We all owe you so much. Thank you for giving us a home, thank you for taking care of us."

He's survived by his mother Betty Dicken, his wife Jen, his daughter Dylan and son Will, his sister Ginna, and his brothers James and Scott.

UPDATE 2-3-2022: Services will be held on Sunday, February 6 at 2 pm at Sparkman Hillcrest, 7405 W. Northwest Hwy. The in-person service is reserved for family and friends. For all others who wish to pay their respects, join the service via livestream at vimeo.com/672931736.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Trey Johnson Scholarship Endowment at the UNT College of Music, so that Trey's legacy may live on through generations of music students in perpetuity. You may make a gift to this fund in two ways:

Online. Visit one.unt.edu/giving/college-of-music. Choose "other" from the "Area of Support" drop-down menu. Type "Trey Johnson Endowment" in the "other" box.
Check. Make a check out to "University of North Texas" with "Trey Johnson Endowment: in the memo line, and send to: University of North Texas; University Advancement, Gift Administration at 1155 Union Circle #311250 Denton, TX 76203

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Movie Review

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma gives horror a surreal twist

Photo courtesy of MUBI

Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.

The horror genre really ramped up in the 1970s and ‘80s, bringing with it a new subgenre - the slasher - that gave audiences new visuals of gore, but also a reliance on sexism and homophobia that would come to define the era. The new film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma wrestles with that legacy in ways that are funny, thought-provoking, and downright strange.

Kris (Hannah Einbinder) is a queer filmmaker who has been hired to reboot the moldy IP that is the Camp Miasma franchise, one that was fresh in the 1970s but which numerous shlocky sequels have rendered irrelevant. In an attempt to get to know the property better, Kris has scored a meeting with the reclusive Billy (Gillian Anderson), the star of the original film who has shunned the public eye for decades.

Turns out that Billy lives deep in the woods at Camp Rivoli, which served as the location for the first film. As Kris tries to get to know Billy and convince her to be a part of the new film, she starts to fall under Billy’s spell and the lore of the franchise as a whole. That includes believing that the movie’s villain, Little Death - a transgender person who has an air conditioning vent as a head/mask - may not just be a character created for the movies.

Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow), the film at first feels like it’s going to go the straight-up comedy route, with comic explosions of blood, a strange fascination with candy brands, and a production design that does nothing to hide that the two main actors are on a movie set with painted backdrops. This is backed up by Kris’ phone conversations with her girlfriend, Mari (Jasmine Savoy Brown) and her agent (Sarah Sherman), as well as numerous other details.

But the film starts to go down the surreal route the longer Kris stays at the camp with Billy, especially when they sit down to watch the original Camp Miasma. An extended sequence shows a good amount of that film-within-the-film, demonstrating why Kris and Billy have a love/hate relationship with the property. For Kris, though, the lines between the film and the real world start to blur, and Schoenbrun uses a variety of out-there elements to drive the point home.

The final act of the film can barely be described as Kris goes deeper down the rabbit hole, with Schoenbrun using her film to comment on the horror genre as a whole, its treatment of women and LGBT people, the movie industry, and more. All the while the “camp” of Camp Miasma maintains a presence, with candy wrappers showing up everywhere and the tongue-in-cheek references to Little Death (the French term La petite mort, which means “the little death,” is a euphemism for orgasm).

Einbinder, an Emmy winner for Hacks, is the perfect person to inhabit her role. Her established real-life and fictional personas color everything she does in the film, with her enthusiasm and curiosity shining through. Anderson leans heavily into another reference - Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard - to create a character that is as mysterious as she is alluring. Supporting actors like Brown, Sherman, Patrick Fischler, Dylan Baker, and Eva Victor keep the movie at the right pitch all the way through.

While other films have made fun of horror movie tropes before, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma finds a wholly unique way of doing so. It’s a funny and daring trip into the psyches of two women who may be victims of their own obsessions, and of the movies that made them that way.

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Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is now playing in select theaters

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