Daniel Johnston
| Daniel Johnston | |
|---|---|
 Johnston in December 2006 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daniel Dale Johnston |
| Born | January 22, 1961 Sacramento, California, United States |
| Origin | West Virginia, United States |
| Genres | Folk rock, alternative rock, outsider music, lo-fi music |
| Occupations | Musician Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | Yip Eye Music Atlantic Records |
| Website | hihowareyou.com |
Daniel Dale Johnston (born January 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas.
Johnston has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder which has been a recurring problem throughout his life.[1][2] One critic from Pitchfork Media writes that Johnston's recordings range from "spotty to brilliant."[3]
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Early life
Johnston was born in Sacramento, California, and grew up in the northern panhandle of West Virginia between Ohio and Pennsylvania near Chester and New Cumberland, West Virginia . He began recording Beatles-inspired music in the late 1970s on a $59 Sanyo monaural Boombox, singing and playing piano and chord organ. Following graduation from Oak Glen High School, Johnston spent his first year away from home at Abilene Christian University in West Texas. Later he attended the East Liverpool branch of Kent State University, which was closer to his hometown.
Music career
Johnston's musical work gained some notoriety when he moved to Austin, Texas. Johnston began to attract the attention of the local press and gain a following augmented in numbers by his habit of handing out tapes to people he met. Live performances were well-attended and hotly anticipated.[4]
His local standing led to him being featured in a 1985 episode of the MTV program The Cutting Edge featuring performers from Austin's "New Sincerity" music scene.[5] Subsequently he performed at the 1985 Woodshock music festival in Austin, where he was featured in a short documentary of the festival, Woodshock.
In 1988, Johnston visited New York City and recorded 1990 with producer Kramer[6] at his Noise New York studio. It was released in 1990 on Kramer's Shimmy-Disc labe. This was Johnston's first experience in a professional recording environment after a decade of releasing home-made cassette recordings. His mental health further deteriorated during the making of 1990.
Interest in Johnston increased when Kurt Cobain was frequently photographed wearing a t-shirt featuring the cover image of Johnston's album Hi, How Are You. In spite of Johnston being resident in a mental hospital at the time, a bidding war to sign him ensued. Atlantic Records won and released Fun, produced by Paul Leary of Butthole Surfers in 1994.[7]
Johnston contributed two songs to the soundtrack for Larry Clark's controversial 1995 film Kids, produced by Folk Implosion and Sebadoh's frontman, Lou Barlow. Johnston later covered Schoolhouse Rock!'s "Unpack Your Adjectives" for a compilation of the popular education songs called Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks in 1996.
In 2004, he released The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered, a two-disc compilation. The first disc featured many artists, such as Jad Fair, Eels, Bright Eyes, Calvin Johnson, Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips and Tom Waits covering songs written by Johnston. The second disc featured Johnston's original recordings of the songs.
In 2005, Texas-based theater company Infernal Bridegroom Productions received a Multi-Arts Production/MAP Fund grant[8] to work with Johnston to create a rock opera based on his music, titled Speeding Motorcycle.
A 2005, Dutch documentary about Johnston for the TV series R.A.M. was followed in 2006 by The Devil and Daniel Johnston. Jeff Feuerzeig's documentary, four years in the making, collated some of the vast amount of recorded material Johnston (and in some case, others) had produced over the years to portray his life and music. The film won high praise, receiving the Director's Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. The film also inspired more interest in Johnston's work, such as the film's theme song, I Had Lost My Mind, and increased his pull as a touring artist.
In 2006, Johnston's own Eternal Yip Eye Music label released his first greatest hits compilation, Welcome to My World.[9] He also appeared as the musical guest on The Henry Rollins Show on which he performed "Mask" and "Care Less" (the latter was exclusive to the internet).
Through the next few years Johnston toured extensively across the world, and continued to attract press attention. In 2008, Dick Johnston, Daniel's brother and manager, revealed that "a movie deal based on the artist's life and music had been finalized with a tentative 2011 release."[10] He also said that a deal had been struck with the Converse company for a "signature series" Daniel Johnston shoe.[10] Later, it was revealed by Daniel's brother Dick Johnston that Converse had dropped the plan.[11] In late 2008, Adjustable Productions released Johnston's first concert DVD, The Angel and Daniel Johnston – Live at the Union Chapel, featuring a 2007 appearance in Islington, London.[12]
On January 31, 2009, Daniel Johnston joined the band The Swell Season on a broadcast of Austin City Limits (previously recorded on September 28, 2008) to perform the song "Life in Vain".
His latest album, Is and Always Was, was released on October 6, 2009 on his Eternal Yip Eye Music record label. It was recently announced that Daniel has been chosen by Matt Groening to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he is curating in May 2010 in Minehead, England.
Art career
His artwork is shown in galleries such as in London's Aquarium Gallery and New York's Clementine Gallery. both in 2006, and the 2008 Liverpool Biennial. Currently his work is being exhibited as "The Museum of Love" at Verge Gallery in Sacramento, California.
Johnston painted a mural of the Hi, How Are You? frog (also known as "Jeremiah the Innocent") on the side of Sound Exchange located on the corner of 21st and Guadalupe (the "Drag"). Locals have successfully endeavored to preserve the image when the building subsequently changed ownership to a Baja Fresh restaurant and more recently to a sushi restaurant called Crave. In Spring 2008, a Jeremiah the Innocent collectible figurine was released in limited runs of four different colors.[13]
New Media
Daniel Johnston worked with Dr. Fun Fun and Smashing Studios to develop an iPhone platformer game called "Hi, How Are You". The game is similar to Frogger, but features Johnston's art and music.[14]
Discography
References
- ↑ Burr, Ty (2006-04-07). ""His life is troubling, his fame disturbing"". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2006/04/07/his_life_is_troubling_his_fame_disturbing/?rss_id=Boston%2BGlobe%2B--%2BTy%2BBurr%2B%2Bcolumns.
- ↑ Seitz, Matt. ""The Devil Goes Down to Texas"". New York Press. http://www.nypress.com/19/13/film/MattZollerSeitz.cfm.
- ↑ Kristin Sage Rockermann (2002-01-01). "Interview: Daniel Johnston". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/31391/Interview_Interview_Daniel_Johnston. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Barry Shank, Dissonant Identities: The Rock'N'Roll Scene in Austin, Texas (Wesleyan University Press, 1994), ISBN 9780819562760, p. 157-58 (excerpt available at Google Books).
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ Robinson, John (August 20, 2005). "Personal demons". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/aug/20/edinburghfilmfestival2005.popandrock. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ↑ MAP Fund | Infernal Bridegroom Productions
- ↑ Filter-Mag.com
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Austin Chronicle article: "Off the Record: Music News".
- ↑ http://monsterfresh.com/2009/06/16/daniel-johnston-converse-shoes-photos-unreleased/#more-3588
- ↑ http://www.prlog.org/10134907-the-angel-and-daniel-johnston-live-at-the-union-chapel.html
- ↑ Daniel Johnston Frog Becomes Collectable Figurine
- ↑ Work of Daniel Johnston, Texas Artist, Inspires Video Game Retrieved 2009-10-01
External links
Official
- Hi How Are You: Daniel Johnston's official website (maintained by the Johnston family)
- Daniel Johnston's official fan website (also maintained by the Johnstons)
- Daniel Johnston's digital download site (also maintained by the Johnstons)
- Daniel Johnston's Book "Hi, How Are You?" (maintained by Jack Medicine)
Other
- Daniel Johnston at the Internet Movie Database
- New York Times article on Daniel Johnston (Feb 2006)
- Daniel Johnston on MusicAustin
- Secret Tones review of The Devil and Daniel Johnston (by John Barron)
- "Songs of Pain" interview with Daniel Johnston (Apr. 2008) on MonsterFresh.com
- Daniel Johnston, Paris, 2007
- Exclusive Images of unreleased Daniel Johnston signature model Converse
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