Daniel Johnston Emerges From Reclusion
To Release New Album Is And Always Was, And Tour
Daniel Johnston |
Put the name Daniel Johnston into any Internet search engine and you'll find hundreds of pages about America's most unlikely pop phenomenon. Dating back to the earliest compilation of Songs of Pain in 1981, Johnston has spent nearly three decades exposing his heartrending tales of unrequited love, cosmic mishaps and existential torment to an ever-growing international cult audience. As a result, he has been hailed as an American original akin to blues-man Robert Johnson and country legend Hank Williams.
Johnston is a musician's cult hero, whose music is appreciated for its utter lack of artifice and undeniable simple brilliance. A wide range of notable artists have covered Johnston's songs, including Beck, Wilco, Sonic Youth, TV On The Radio, M. Ward, Flaming Lips, Tom Waits and Pearl Jam.
With the October 6 release of his latest work, Is And Always Was, Daniel adds another chapter to his artistic legend. His new album is a decided step away from the lo-fi homemade recordings for which Johnston is famous.
On this album, Daniel, now 48, allied with the musician and producer Jason Falkner, who is known for his own stellar solo career as well as his work with Beck, Air and Paul McCartney. With Jason manning the boards, Is And Always Was is a project that aimed to take the rock n' roll symphonies in Daniel's prolific musical brain and deliver fully-realized and professionally-produced recorded songs.
Tour Dates:
08/30/09 Sun Magic Stick Detroit, MI
09/03/09 Thu Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
09/04/09 Fri Neumos Seattle, WA
09/05/09 Sat Venue Vancouver, BC
09/07/09 Mon Knox United Church Calgary, AB
09/08/09 Tue Myer Horowitz Theatre Edmonton, AB
10/02/09 Fri Zilker Park Austin, TX
10/13/09 Tue 9:30 Club Washington, DC
10/14/09 Wed Highline Ballroom New York, NY
10/15/09 Thu Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA
10/16/09 Fri Ukrainian Federation Montreal, QC
10/17/09 Sat Mod Club Toronto, ON
10/22/09 Thu The Regency Ballroom San Francisco, CA
10/23/09 Fri Canes Bar and Grill San Diego, CA
10/24/09 Sat Henry Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, CA
For more on Daniel Johnston see our exclusive feature/interview here.
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