John Darnielle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Darnielle | |
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 Darnielle in 2007
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| 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, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, and vocalist.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Places Darnielle has lived
Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Darnielle moved at a young age and grew up in and around California. He has also lived in Grinnell, Iowa; Ames, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; and Denton, Texas. He currently resides in Durham, North Carolina with his Thai-American wife Lalitree Darnielle, an amateur photographer who was featured playing the banjo in the band's 1998 EP New Asian Cinema.[1]
[edit] Early years
Darnielle grew up in Southern California and after high school went to work as a psychiatric nurse at the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, California. For a couple of years he lived on the Metropolitan State grounds, 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 working at the hospital, Darnielle attended Pitzer College from 1991–1995, earning 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. Despite being dubbed a low fidelity artist, Darnielle has always dubbed his work "bi-fi", pointing out that recordings such as his couldn't be made without modern technology. He is known for his prolific output and literary lyrics. In fact, The New Yorker magazine referred to him as "America’s best non-hip-hop lyricist".[2] In its June 2006 issue, Paste magazine named Darnielle one of the "100 Best Living Songwriters".[3]
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". 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".
Darnielle has stated that all songs written up to and including those on Tallahassee are fictional, but that the two that followed (We Shall All Be Healed and The Sunset Tree) are autobiographical.[citation needed]
[edit] Vegetarianism
Darnielle has been a vegetarian since 1996.[4] In 2007 he performed at a benefit for the animal rights organization Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York.
[edit] Collaborations
Darnielle is featured on Definitive Jux hip-hop artist Aesop Rock's song, "Coffee," on his 2007 album None Shall Pass.
[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 has a blog titled Last Plane to Jakarta.[5] He also maintains the website JohnDarnielle.com, often writing about his love for mixed martial arts and prizefighting.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- TheMountainGoats.net
- Mountain-Goats.com
- JohnDarnielle.com
- Last Plane to Jakarta
- Interview with 3:AM Magazine
- Roundtable between Darnielle and authors Jonathan Lethem and Rick Moody on the crossbreeding of music & literature (3/2006) From LA Weekly
- Note Books essay at Largehearted Boy
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Darnielle, John |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Singer-Songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 16 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bloomington, Indiana, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
