Daniel Johnston

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daniel Johnston

Background information
Birth name Daniel Dale Johnston
Born January 22, 1961 (1961-01-22) (age 47)

Sacramento, California
Genre(s) Folk Rock, Alternative Rock, Outsider music
Years active 1978—present
Label(s) Yip Eye Music
Website http://hihowareyou.com

Daniel Dale Johnston (b. 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 a house adjacent to his parents' home in Waller, Texas.

Johnston has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.[1] His songs are often called "painfully direct," and tend to display a blend of childlike naïveté with darker, "spooky" themes. Johnston's earliest recordings present him singing in a high register. However, throughout the nineties his voice acquired a new character and tone and an altogether different style of delivery and diction. This may have been inspired by a mixture of the damage done by smoking, tooth loss and medication prescribed to control his disorder. His performances often seem faltering or uncertain; one critic writes that Johnston's recordings range from "spotty to brilliant."[2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Johnston was born in Sacramento, California and grew up in the northern panhandle of West Virginia between Ohio and Pennsylvania near Chester, West Virginia.

Johnston began recording John Lennon- and Beatles-inspired music in the late 1970s on a $59 Sanyo monaural Boombox, singing and playing piano and chord organ. He gave tapes of his music to anyone who would take them and created the comic book-inspired art that usually accompanied his recordings.

His early songs established a number of themes that would persist through Johnston's career: unrequited love, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and comic book superheroes, especially Captain America and Jack Kirby's other works. Many of Johnston's songs and art reveal a propensity to proselytize for his conception of Christianity, warning about the devil, and a fixation on the number 9.

Johnston spent his first year away from home at Abilene Christian University, where his bipolar disorder became more evident and problematic. It was noted that a few friends had gotten a call saying to come to the bridge near the campus where on arrival Daniel's friend noticed him splashing in the creek laughing hysterically. These events were thought to have been brought on by Johnston's recent introduction to LSD. He then left West Texas and attended the East Liverpool branch of Kent State University, which was closer to his hometown. Many of Johnston's songs throughout the years have dealt with his unrequited love for a woman named Laurie Allen, a classmate who encouraged Daniel's artistic endeavors. For Johnston, Laurie quickly assumed the role of the idealized female muse. When she married an undertaker named Pete Arner, Johnston felt prompted to write lyrics in which the Laurie figure becomes strongly associated with the imagery of death in addition to her original role as a muse. Laurie Allen has since divorced and filmmaker Jeff Feuerzeig arranged a meeting between Allen and Johnston, which is documented in a special feature on the DVD of The Devil and Daniel Johnston.

He suffers from Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

[edit] Music career

Johnston gained a cult following in Austin, Texas. A 1985 MTV special on Austin, part of the network's The Cutting Edge series, brought Johnston wider attention, and a number of record stores outside Texas began selling his cassettes.

During a tour with Sonic Youth, Daniel was arrested for scrawling the Jesus Fish across the inside of The Statue of Liberty. As he finished painting the inside, Daniel was seen wandering the streets of New York City. Eventually, after spending hours driving around the city, he was located by the members of Sonic Youth. On a bus ride home from that same trip, he observed cow skulls littering the desert of Texas and came under the impression that the state was under the control of Satan. After getting off at the wrong stop, Daniel wandered around a foreign city all night. After entering the home of an elderly woman he believed was possessed by demons, the woman jumped from her second-story window in fright and broke both of her ankles. Other manic behavior Johnston displayed includes hitting his manager in the head with a lead pipe, and forcing his brother, Dick, under a shower, under the impression that the water would rid his 'demons'[3].

In 1990, he played at South By Southwest, a music festival in Austin, Texas. On the way back to West Virginia on a small, private plane piloted by his father, Johnston had a manic episode and wrestled control of the plane away from his father, removing the key from the ignition and throwing it out of the plane. His father, a World War II fighter pilot, managed to successfully crash-land the plane in a wooded area. Although the plane was destroyed, Johnston and his father emerged unharmed. As a result of this episode, Johnston was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital.

In 1991, Johnston was able to air his music on a radio show while being hospitalized at Weston State Hospital. While hospitalized, Johnston sent requests to his manager to have Yoko Ono produce his music and to contact PepsiCo about the possibility of becoming spokesman for the soft drink Mountain Dew. Johnston had written a song praising Mountain Dew during this hospitalization, in which he claimed to have been locked up because he "loved the Mountain Dew so much".

His music has been acclaimed by David Bowie, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Eddie Vedder, Beck, Spiritualized, The Flaming Lips, Sparklehorse, Justin Furstenfeld, Bright Eyes, and Matt Groening. Kurt Cobain praised Johnston's work, and often wore a tee shirt featuring the cover art of Johnston's 1983 release, "Hi How Are You?" The frequency with which Cobain wore the "Hi How Are You?" tee shirt exposed Johnston to an even wider group of music enthusiasts, especially when Cobain wore the shirt to the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards

In 1994, Johnston released Fun on Atlantic Records, his only major-label release. The record was produced by Paul Leary of Butthole Surfers, a group that had long supported Johnston, even inviting him to open a number of concerts for them. The record sold a little over 6,000 copies and Johnston was dropped by the label.

His disorder also cost him a contract with Elektra Records. Johnston was on the verge of signing a deal with Elektra VP of A&R Terry Tolkin, which included a generous advance and a clause that Johnston would not have to tour or make music videos. But he refused to sign with the label during a psychotic phase accompanied by religious preoccupation, claiming one of Elektra's bands, Metallica, was under the control of Satan. Interestingly, Johnston used a passage of Metallica lyrics in the song "Melody" on the Lucky Sperms collaboration with Jad Fair and Chris Bultman.

In 1995, Johnston contributed two songs to the soundtrack for Larry Clark's controversial film Kids, produced by Folk Implosion and Sebadoh's frontman, Lou Barlow.

Johnston covered Schoolhouse Rock!'s well-known "Unpack Your Adjectives" for a compilation of the popular education songs called Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks in 1996.

Johnston's songs have been covered by over 150 artists around the world including Tom Waits, Pearl Jam, Beck, Sparklehorse, Wilco, Yo La Tengo, M. Ward, fIREHOSE, Justin Furstenfeld, Bright Eyes, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Good, Mercury Rev, Built to Spill, Peter Kember (Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3), Spiritualized, and The Flaming Lips.[4]

The famous "Hi, How Are You?" mural in Austin, Texas
The famous "Hi, How Are You?" mural in Austin, Texas

In 2005, Texas-based theater company Infernal Bridegroom Productions received a Multi-Arts Production/MAP Fund grant[5] to work with Johnston to create a rock opera based on his music, titled Speeding Motorcycle.

Johnston often performs with fellow Waller residents Jason and Bridget Nightmare as Danny and the Nightmares.

[edit] Art career

In 1993, Johnston painted a mural of the "Hi, How Are You?" frog, also known as Jeremiah the Innocent after the Three Dog Night song, on the side of Sound Exchange in Austin, Texas. The site was converted into a Baja Fresh franchise in 2004. Although initial plans called for the mural to be torn down, public outcry persuaded restaurant owner John Oudt to let the mural stay, at a price of $50,000 in additional costs and lost revenue. The Baja Fresh has since closed and the space has remained vacant for several months as of April 2008. In May 2008, a Sushi restaurant opened in the space.

Johnston's drawings were featured in the 2006 Whitney Biennial. His artwork is shown in galleries around the world, including exhibits in London's Aquarium Gallery (April 28-May 20, 2006) and New York's Clementine Gallery (March 16-April 15, 2006).

In spring 2008, The "Jeremiah the Innocent" frog was immortalized as a collectible figurine. The frogs were released in limited runs of green (250), yellow (250) and white (350)[6].

[edit] Recent news

In 2005, Dutch broadcasting organization VPRO recorded a documentary about Johnston for their TV series R.A.M.. In 2007, this documentary was shown again on the Dutch theme channel /Geschiedenis.

In December 2005 Johnston's song, "McDonald's on the brain", was published in (translated) Hebrew in Maayan Magazine for poetry and art.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006) is a documentary by Jeff Feuerzeig about Johnston's life and music, and won the Director's Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It is now available on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. As shown on the DVD's extra features, at a screening of the film, Johnston reunited with Laurie for the first time in decades and proposed. In 2006, Johnston collaborated with Osaka Popstar, supplying backing vocals on their upcoming album. They also covered his song "Wicked World."

In April 2006, Filter Magazine reported that the Johnston family's Eternal Yip Eye Music label would soon release Johnston's first greatest hits compilation, Welcome to My World.[7]

In May and June 2006, Houston-based theater group Infernal Bridegroom Productions created and performed the rock opera Speeding Motorcycle, based on Johnston's music and in partial collaboration with Johnston; his late-2005 health crisis limited his input, however.

In 2006 Johnston appeared as the musical guest on The Henry Rollins Show and performed "Mask" and "Care Less" (the latter was exclusive to the internet). Both can be viewed in the video section of the IFC page for the show.[8]

Daniel Johnston played the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead, Somerset England in May 2007. His performance was warmly received and he played two extra sets and reprised 'Speeding Motorcycle' with Yo La Tengo.

Bright Eyes covered Johnston's song "Devil Town" for their b-sides and rarities album Noise Floor, released in 2006.

Hospital Music - the most recent album by Canadian musician Matthew Good - features a cover of Johnston's track "True Love WIll Find You In The End".

In December of 2006, animator, cinematographer and 3-D photographer M. Henry Jones of SnakeMonkey Studio in NYC visited Daniel Johnston in his Galveston, Texas home and shot several hours of video for a music video collaboration involving one of Daniel's "Jesus" songs.

In 2007, The Capitol Years covered Johnston's "True Love Will Find You in the End".

On Feb. 22, 2008 at the Trocadero Theater in Philadelphia, Johnston performed the Beatles' I'm So Tired as well as John Lennon's Isolation for the first time with The Capitol Years performing as his backing band.

In 2008, Beach House featured a cover of "Some Things Last A Long Time" on their album Devotion.

The 2008 romantic comedy movie "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" features a character played by Jonah Hill named Matthew whom at one point in the movie wears a black "Hi How Are You?" frog t-shirt. A picture of him with it on can be seen in a banner on the MySpace page set up for his character. (www.myspace.com/matthewthewaiter1)

  • In 2008 Daniel announced in an interview that he has become a half millionaire.

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Full length

  • Songs of Pain (Stress Records cassette, 1981)
  • Don't Be Scared (Stress Records cassette, 1982)
  • The What of Whom (Stress Records cassette, 1982)
  • More Songs of Pain (Stress Records cassette, 1983)
  • Yip/Jump Music (Stress Records cassette, 1983; CD issued on Homestead, 1989)
  • Hi, How Are You (Stress Records cassette, 1983; issued with Continued Story on Homestead, 1989)
  • Retired Boxer (Stress Records cassette, 1984)
  • Respect (Stress Records cassette, 1985; 10" on Spain's Munster label)
  • Continued Story with Texas Instruments (Stress Records cassette, 1985; reissued with Hi, How Are You on Homestead, 1989)
  • A Texas Trip (Caroline Records, 2 Songs, 1987)
  • Merry Christmas (Stress Records cassette, 1988)
  • Live at South by Southwest (Stress Records cassette, 1990)
  • 1990 (Shimmy Disc, 1990)
  • Artistic Vice (Shimmy Disc, 1991)
  • Frankenstein Love recorded live in 1992 (Stress Records cassette, 2000)
  • Fun (Atlantic, 1994)
  • Why Me? recorded live at the Volksbühne in Berlin, 6 June 1999 (Trikont, 2000)
  • Rejected Unknown (Gammon Records/Pickled Egg Records, 2001)
  • Fear Yourself with Mark Linkous (Gammon Records, 2003)
  • Lost and Found (Sketchbook Records, UK, 2006)

[edit] EPs and singles

  • Casper The Friendly Ghost (1988)
  • The River Of No Return (1991)
  • Big Big World recorded 1986 (Seminal Twang, UK, 1991)
  • Laurie (Seminal Twang, UK, 1992)
  • Happy Time (1994)
  • Dream Scream (Pickled Egg Records, 1998)
  • Impossible Love (2001)
  • Sinning Is Easy (Pickled Egg Records, 2002)
  • Mountain Top (Rough Trade, 2003)
  • Fish (Sketchbook Records, UK, 2003)

[edit] Side projects and collaborations

  • with Jad Fair: It's spooky (50 Skidillion Watts, 1989; reissued on Jagjaguwar, 2001)
  • with Yo La Tengo: Speeding Motorcycle single (1990)
  • Danny and the Nightmares (Eternal Yip Eye Music, 1999)
  • with Ron English and Jack Medicine: Hyperjinx Tricycle (Important Records, 2000)
  • with Chris Bultman and Jad Fair as The Lucky Sperms: Somewhat Humorous (Jagjaguwar, 2001)
  • Danny and the Nightmares: Natzi single (2001)
  • with Hyperjinx Tricycle: Long Lost Love single (2002)
  • with Okkervil River: Happy Hearts off the album Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See(Jagjaguwar, 2002)
  • with Hyperjinx Tricycle: Alien Mind Control 3" CD (Important Records, 2003)
  • Danny and the Nightmares: The End Is Near Again (Cool Beans, 2003)
  • with Rule of Thirds: "Rin Tin Soldier" (Eternal Yip Eye Music, 2003)
  • Danny and the Nightmares: Freak Brain (Sympathy Records, 2005)
  • with Jack Medicine: The Electric Ghosts (Important Records, 2006)
  • Danny and the Nightmares: The Death of Satan (Munster Records, 2007)

[edit] Compilations and tribute albums

  • The Lost Recordings (Stress Records, 1983) cassette
  • The Lost Recordings II (Stress Records, 1983) cassette
  • Please Don't Feed The Ego (Eternal Yip Eye Music, 1994)
  • Dead Dog's Eyeball by Kathy McCarty (1994)
  • My So-Called Life - contributed "Come See Me Tonight" (1995)
  • Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks - contributed "Unpack Your Adjectives" (1996)
  • The Early Recordings of Daniel Johnston Volume 1 (Dualtone, 2003) - Reissue of Songs of Pain and More Songs of Pain
  • The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered (Gammon Records, 2004) - Tribute album along with disc of original versions plus one new song
  • White Magic: From The Cassette Archives 1979-1989 (Eternal Yip Eye Music, 2004)
  • Welcome To My World (Eternal Yip Eye Music, 2006)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Zacharek, Stephanie. ""The Devil and Daniel Johnston"", Salon.com, 2006-03-31. Retrieved on 2007-02-02. 
  2. ^ Kristin Sage Rockermann. "Interview: Daniel Johnston", Pitchfork Media, 2002-01-01. Retrieved on 2007-02-02. 
  3. ^ The Devil and Daniel Johnston
  4. ^ The Devil and Daniel Johnston
  5. ^ MAP Fund | Infernal Bridegroom Productions
  6. ^ Daniel Johnston Frog Becomes Collectable Figurine
  7. ^ Filter-Mag.com
  8. ^ IFC.com: Official site of the Independent Film Channel

[edit] External links

[edit] Official

[edit] Other


Persondata
NAME Johnston, Daniel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnston, Daniel Dale
SHORT DESCRIPTION American musician
DATE OF BIRTH January 22, 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Sacramento, California, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH