John K. Samson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John K. Samson performing in Montreal, 2004

John Kristjan Samson is a Canadian rock music singer-songwriter. He is a former member of punk band Propagandhi and a current member of The Weakerthans.

Aside from The Weakerthans Samson has a solo music career. In 1993 he released a fifteen-track solo album on cassette tape, entitled Slips and Tangles. He still often tours in support of his music. In 1995 G7 Welcoming Committee released a split John K. Samson/Painted Thin CD. Six of John's songs were on the disc, called Little Pictures. Samson's side of the split CD was rereleased online by G7 as a solo digital EP in 2006.

In addition to his musical pursuits, Samson is also a founding member of Arbeiter Ring Publishing, a Winnipeg, Manitoba publishing collective. Samson is active in the Winnipeg arts scene, collaborating on projects with artists such as Christine Fellows (to whom Samson is married) and Clive Holden.

Samson championed Miriam Toews' novel, A Complicated Kindness, in Canada Reads 2006. A Complicated Kindness won the competition. In the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, an "all-star" competition pitting the five winning advocates from previous years against each other, Samson will return to champion Heather O'Neill's novel Lullabies for Little Criminals.