Character Profile - TJ

"Teej was the fearless one. He always walked into every situation just... believing that everything would be okay. Even the guys in school who were always fuckin' with him, calling him fag, and all that jazz... he had this confidence that you can't touch." - Angel

After Angel, the most important person to the evolution of Valerian's Garden was Travis Johnson - nicknamed TJ. He developed as the band's bassist because he was Angel's best friend, and it was done in homage to the friendship between Marilyn Manson and bassist Twiggy Ramirez, and, later, between Otep Shamaya and Evil J of the band OTEP. Also, referring back to Eli Flair and Ivy McGinnis, I'm a fan of intergender friendships that more closely resemble family.

He did not start off nearly as fleshed out as Angel (who was not fleshed out to speak of at all, either) - the base details that I had for him were simply that he was Angel's best friend and the two of them co-founded the band.

After a while I decided he would be gay, just to throw more diversity into the group and illustrate them even more as a group of five completely separate people who manage to make incredible music together. I decided he would be a private person with a significant other in Los Angeles who does not appear in the story at all. Other than occasionally being called a faggot by unsympathetic antagonists, and "Aunt TJ" as a term of endearment by Mick when he talks to Angel's daughter Mariella (as in Aunt TJ and Uncle Mick), it does not play a role at all in the story of the band.

I liked the idea that Angel and TJ were opposites, so where Angel is goth, TJ is more glam. The golden age of music for him was in the 1970s, with the rise of glam and punk. His favorite musicians and groups include David Bowie, the NY Dolls, MC5, KISS, Tool, Alice Cooper, and Led Zeppelin. Where Angel is reflective and unsure of herself, TJ is impulsive and confident.

Angel and TJ became friends due to his outgoing nature. He aggressively pursued her after they met by chance, offering her copies of his favorite music and rides home in his brother's car, and always wanted to know what she was reading or listening to. Even with his confidence, he knew he didn't fit in in Spencer, and when he saw her he thought she didn't fit in, either - so he decided to see if they might be able to fit in together. His friendship gave Angel the confidence she needed to find herself again.

His family was also the opposite of hers. While Angel was an only child with parents who went back and forth between not really wanting her and not really caring about her, TJ had an older brother and two laid back, involved parents. As happens often, this family 'adopted' Angel into their lives pretty much without question.

It's safe to say TJ got his confidence from his parents. They were both flower children in the 1960s, and his father was an environmental lawyer and mother was a kindergarten teacher. They lived in Omaha for most of his childhood, but moved to Spencer when TJ was in highschool after his father had a series of heart attacks and his doctor suggested a change. They remain in Spencer to this day, and TJ takes care of them financially. Morgan and David Johnson were always tuned into their children. They discussed everything from drugs to sex to politics with them whenever any questions were raised by the kids directly, by television or newspaper, or by someone passing by. Their goal was to have well informed children who would be able to make informed choices based on what they knew and felt, not based on what society thought they should do. Their friends were always welcome at the house and there were plenty of full houses in Omaha, but for reasons unknown, they (Morgan in particular) took a particular interest in Angel. Perhaps it was because she seemed ended up as Rob and TJ's first completely mutual friend, or because she had such a strained relationship with her own parents. Regardless, 'home' quickly meant the Johnson house for Angel, and she spent many nights there whether TJ or Rob were home or not.

Part of his confidence probably came from his older brother, Rob. Rob is three years older than TJ, and at first glance, his total opposite. He has their mother's brown hair as opposed to TJ, who has their father's blonde hair. He was interested in fast cars and team sports and weightlifting, which helped him when he joined the school band as a drummer before the family moved. He and TJ always got along, despite their lack of common interests, and anyone who thought they would mess with TJ would always have to deal with inevitable retribution from his big brother. The fact that Rob always had his back allowed TJ to grow up as he wanted to without worrying about the impression other people would get from him.

It would have surprised him to learn that Rob was jealous of his confidence. Rob was a jock in high school as well as a band member, and he was constantly concerned with fitting in with his peer group. While TJ was part of the 'in' crowd due to his family ties, he never gave in to any form of peer pressure; quite the contrary, he acted as if he was above the very concept of it.

TJ's first love was music; the first major purchase he ever made for himself was a refurbished guitar that he taught himself to play. This was partly why Rob started playing drums: it gave him and TJ something in common that they could do together. Even before they moved to Spencer, they would get high and talk about starting a band, but TJ always got the sense that Rob wasn't as serious about it as he was.

Rob would eventually become involved with a girl named Sadie, who he knew from college. They would remain together through the Johnson brothers' move to Los Angeles, his substance abuse problem, and their return to Spencer. Currently they are married and run both a local newspaper and an all - ages club.

His problem would lead to one of the only moments that TJ doubted himself. As the band entrenched in Los Angeles, recruited Mick on guitars, and started to play shows, they all found themselves immersed in one illicit substance or another. All four drank, though Mick was fast on his way to becoming a professional, and all four smoked marijuana when playing and practicing. Angel and TJ discovered acid and ecstasy, while Rob and Sadie discovered crack. After a disastrous show on the band's first trip to San Diego, they made a pact that none of their extracurriculars would interfere with the band. Angel, TJ, and Mick managed to follow this at the time for the most part, but Rob continued to slip.

One night, Sadie called Angel, hysterical, because Rob wouldn't wake up. They called an ambulance, got him into a rehab program, and replaced him. To this day, TJ and Angel both feel incredible amounts of guilt over the decision, even though it was the right one. Even though Rob has since told them that they did what they had to do, and that he agreed that he needed to be out of the environment. TJ regards that as the day he failed his brother, and has never forgiven himself for it.

Onstage, he stands to Angel's left, in front of the keyboard riser. One of Angel's favorite tricks is to respond to a heckle of 'Show us your tits' by pulling TJ's shirt up to his chin and tugging on one of his nipple rings. It has gotten to the point where some of their hardcore fans have started to shout this solely because they know what the result will be.

Visually, TJ's look and playing style were modeled after John Lowry (John 5), currently playing with Rob Zombie. He is a highly skilled guitar player, and helps Angel fine tune most of her lyrics due to both his intuitive sense of rhythm and familiarity with Angel's style; he can see how she wants to say something sometimes before she does. In addition to his playing, TJ sings the backing vocals during live shows.

From the fans' perspective, TJ is 'second in command' of the Garden due to his co-founder status. He is the most accessable of the group due to the fact that many fans are too intimidated to approach Angel, and the fact that Angel occasionally feels overwhelmed by large groups. The other three members of the band are liked and respected just as much, but deference has always been paid.

From the band's perspective, Mick, Nine, and Sex defer to Angel and TJ just as much as Angel and TJ consider the band a democracy. All issues and decisions are made among the five of them, however, in the rare case that Angel and TJ disagree with each other, the other three will typically back off and let them work it out before they decide their course of action.

From his own perspective, TJ believes in two things: working hard and playing hard. He believes that the road, in and of itself, should be fun and should be treated like a paid vacation. However, as soon as they get to the venue, he's all business. He expects his bandmates, and himself, to start perfect and improve from there.

If Angel is the 'soul' of Valerian's Garden, TJ is most definitely the heart.