John Darnielle

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John Darnielle
Background information
Birth name	John Darnielle
Born	March 16 Bloomington, Indiana
Genre(s)	Folk Rock, Lo-Fi, Singer-Songwriter
Occupation(s)	Singer-Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Singing, acoustic guitar
Years active	1991-present
Associated acts	The Mountain Goats, The Extra Glenns, The Seneca Twins, The Bloody Hawaiians, The Congress, The Crunch Sisters, Chicken Damage, The Salvation Brothers

John Darnielle is an American musician, best known as the primary (and often solitary) member of the American lo-fi band The Mountain Goats. He is the writer, composer, guitarist and vocalist for the band.

1 Biography
2 Bands Darnielle has played in
3 Last Plane To Jakarta
4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Places Darnielle has lived

Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Darnielle moved at a young age and grew up in and around California. In his songs, he especially recalls living in Chino, California. Darnielle has also lived in Grinnell, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois. He currently resides in Durham, North Carolina.

[edit] Early Years

Darnielle grew up in Southern California and after high school went to work as a psychiatric nurse. For a couple years he lived on the grounds of a mental hospital, writing songs and playing his guitar when he wasn't working. During this time he began recording some of his songs onto cassette tapes using a Panasonic boombox. Shortly after his stint working at the hospital Darnielle attended Pitzer College from 91 -95 and earned a degree in English.

Throughout his college education he continued to record music and in 1992, Dennis Callaci, a friend of Darnielle's and owner of Shrimper Records, released a tape of Darnielle’s songs called "Taboo VI: The Homecoming." Around that time, The Mountain Goats were born and began touring with just Darnielle on guitar and a bassist, first Rachel Ware and then Peter Hughes.

[edit] Musical Career

Darnielle is best known for his role in the band The Mountain Goats. Since starting the band in 1991, he has gained a cult following. He has been noted for the 'low fidelity' of his earlier recordings, his nasal voice, and often simplistic guitar compositions. He is known for his prolific output and literary lyrics that many believe are matched by few other songwriters. In fact, The New Yorker magazine referred to him as "America’s best non-hip-hop lyricist".

Darnielle has several series of songs with similar titles or storylines. A series entitled "Going To..." features small stories about various places and includes songs such as 'Going to Cleveland', 'Going to Maryland', 'Going to Georgia', and 'Going to Queens', to name a few. This series explores the futility of running away from one's problems in stark and cryptic detail. His "Alpha" series is about a distressed couple's marriage and history, with such song titles as 'Alpha Incipiens', and 'Alpha Rats Nest'.

[edit] Bands Darnielle has played in

Darnielle is also a member or former member of the following bands:

The Extra Glenns (along with Franklin Bruno). Darnielle is "Glenn D", and Bruno is "Glenn B". They have released one full-length titled Martial Arts Weekend, as well as "Infidelity" a double sided 7" EP.

The Seneca Twins (along with Lalitree Darnielle and Chris Butler),

-The Seneca Twins - 9-song demo - (unreleased, 1995)

The Bloody Hawaiians (along with Joel Huschle (Furniture Huschle), Mark Givens (Wckr Spgt), Caroline)

- releases: The Magnificent Bloody Hawaiians, Bastard Son, "Lemon" on Cool Beans #4)

The Congress (along with Mark Givens and other anonymous members)

-releases: Election Year, Sleeping Under Angels' Wings, We All Fall Down, She Lies in Roses, The Farm Out Back, No Milk Since 1979, Full Term.

The Crunch Sisters

Chicken Damage

The Salvation Brothers

[edit] Last Plane To Jakarta

Darnielle is also the editor of and sole writer for the webzine Last Plane to Jakarta ([1]). He updates it roughly every week and has been known to write about everything from death metal to southern rap to confessional folk. He also maintains the website JohnDarnielle.com, often writing about his love for mixed martial arts and prizefighting.

Darnielle is a vegetarian.