Jack Johnson’s latest album reflects life-changing events

When Jack Johnson came off a tour with tales about life on the road, his father wasn’t interested in hearing about the celebrities he’d met or the fancy rock-star perks.

Instead, he’d ask about the sights Johnson saw in Paris, or how the waves were in Australia.

“All he ever wanted to hear about was the days off or if we went on a hike or something like that,” recalls Johnson, who comes to The Gorge on Saturday. “He was more interested in seeing me do adventures that had nothing to do with being in front of people.”

The 35-year-old Johnson – already known as perhaps the most laid-back, mellow rocker on Earth – is even less interested in the pop world’s pomp and circumstance these days.

His latest album, “To the Sea,” was recorded after his 65-year-old father, Jeff, who was a surfer like Jack, died of cancer last summer.

Johnson’s third child, a daughter, was born a month later. (Her name, like those of his sons, hasn’t been revealed to the media.)

Grappling with life’s transitions became a focal point.

“The title track (is) a story about a father leading his son to the sea, so that is both my dad, and me looking down at my kids,” Johnson says.

“I guess I’m at a turning point here. I’m having to find the father in myself now, and the album has a lot to do with that, trying to understand yourself, trying to lead your children to understand themselves. At a time when I’m still learning the way of the world to try and be teaching that to the kids.”

His friend and manager, Emmett Malloy, expected Johnson to take a break.

“I just thought it was feeling like a year that he was just gonna want to be with his family and take a year or more off to figure out what he wanted to do,” Malloy says. “Instead I think he took all these life-changing events and really got inspired.”

“To the Sea” isn’t morose; there’s still that signature beach feel, with the acoustic guitar strumming and Johnson’s low-key vocal delivery paired with cheerful-sounding melodies.

On first listen, “Turn Your Love” sounds like it could be about a fleeting lover. But the lyrics suggest something more serious: “Why should I be sad when I’m just you?” he asks.

Johnson said the song puts his father’s death in perspective.

“We’re all part of him, and to explain that to the kids and to be able to show them, here’s your new little sister and she’s a part of grandpa as well, and to explain how life carries on through family, was a way that was a lot easier for me to understand it all, feel OK about it,” he said.

“To the Sea,” on his own Brushfire Records, is the fifth studio album for Johnson, the Hawaii native, surfer and filmmaker.

His previous album, “Sleep Through the Static,” sold about 1.7 million copies. His biggest-selling record is “In Between Dreams,” which sold 3 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

There are big hopes for “To the Sea,” but Johnson sees any radio play as a gift, saying he already had his moment with “In Between Dreams.”

“I never expected it to grow half this big. I never expected it to grow 1/16th this big,” he says.

“The slow downhill is nice, to be able to keep going off playing my music to crowds,” he jokes. “At least you didn’t fall off a cliff.”

Like he did last year, Johnson is donating 100 percent of the profits from the current tour to the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation that he set up with his wife, Kim. The foundation supports environmental efforts, art and music education.

“We make a decent living, and it seemed that there was more than I needed there,” he says. “When you bring people together, it just seems to be a real natural thing to have that be a fundraiser for something else.”

Malloy says the gesture underscores what makes Johnson unique.

“The biggest thing to note about Jack is he’s a very simple individual,” he says. “I don’t think Jack ever really cared to be famous or popular in any way, and that has never really changed.”