John Darnielle
Encyclopedia
John Darnielle is an American musician, best known as the primary (and often solitary) member of the American band The Mountain Goats
, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, and vocalist.
, at a young age Darnielle moved and grew up in and around San Luis Obispo, California
. He has also lived in Grinnell, Iowa
; Tallahassee, Florida
; Colo, Iowa
; Ames, Iowa
; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon
; Milpitas, CA and Denton, Texas
. He currently resides in Durham, North Carolina
with his wife Lalitree Darnielle, a photographer who was featured playing the banjo
in the band's 1998 EP New Asian Cinema, and son Roman. He has mentioned in recent shows in the Los Angeles area (at the El Rey, 23 Jun 2011) that he is very happy to be back where he grew up.
) and after high school, he 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 to 1995, earning a degree in English.
Throughout his college education he continued to record music. 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
.
. 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. Sasha Frere-Jones
, writing in The New Yorker
, referred to him as "America’s best lyricist". In its June 2006 issue, Paste
magazine named Darnielle one of the "100 Best Living Songwriters".
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", "Alphabetizing", and "Alpha Rats Nest". The band's 2002 album Tallahassee
was exclusively about the couple; there have subsequently been no more "Alpha" songs.
Darnielle has stated that all songs written up to and including those on Tallahassee
are fictional, but that The Sunset Tree
is autobiographical.
in Watkins Glen, New York. He performed again at Farm Sanctuary in 2009.
's song "Coffee" (from the hip-hop artist's 2007 album None Shall Pass
) and appears in the corresponding music video. Additionally, Aesop Rock remixed The Mountain Goats' "Lovecraft in Brooklyn".
In 2008, Darnielle announced the release of a tour-exclusive EP entitled The Black Pear Tree, the result of a collaboration with tourmate Kaki King
. In 2009, Darnielle released a collaborative recording with his tourmate John Vanderslice
.
On September 20, 2010, Darnielle appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
with the band Superchunk
(Whose drummer is also in The Mountain Goats). They performed the song Digging for Something with a big reception.
every month.
-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 Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats is an American indie rock band formed in Claremont, CA by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker....
, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, and vocalist.
Places Darnielle has lived
Born in Bloomington, IndianaBloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, at a young age Darnielle moved and grew up in and around San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...
. He has also lived in Grinnell, Iowa
Grinnell, Iowa
Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,218 at the 2010 census. Grinnell was named after Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and is the home of Grinnell College.- History :...
; Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
; Colo, Iowa
Colo, Iowa
Colo is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States. The population was 868 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a part of the larger Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area.-Geography:...
; Ames, Iowa
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
; Milpitas, CA and Denton, Texas
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
. He currently resides in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
with his wife Lalitree Darnielle, a photographer who was featured playing the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
in the band's 1998 EP New Asian Cinema, and son Roman. He has mentioned in recent shows in the Los Angeles area (at the El Rey, 23 Jun 2011) that he is very happy to be back where he grew up.
Early years
Darnielle grew up in Central California with an abusive stepfather by the name of Mike Noonan. (1940-2004) (as referenced frequently in The Sunset TreeThe Sunset Tree
The Sunset Tree is the ninth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2005 by 4AD.-Notes:While We Shall All Be Healed focused on Darnielle's years as a teenager involved with other methamphetamine users, The Sunset Tree focuses on his childhood, and a recurring theme is domestic...
) and after high school, he went to work as a psychiatric nurse at the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, California
Norwalk, California
Norwalk is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 105,549 at the 2010 census, up from 103,298 at the 2000 census, making it the 58th most populous city in California and the 255th nationally....
. 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
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
boombox
Boombox
Boombox is a colloquial expression for a portable cassette or CD player. Other terms known are ghetto blaster, jambox, or radio-cassette. It is a device capable of receiving radio stations and playing recorded music , usually at relatively high volume...
. Shortly after working at the hospital, Darnielle attended Pitzer College
Pitzer College
Pitzer College is a private residential liberal arts college located in Claremont, California, a college town approximately east of downtown Los Angeles. Pitzer College is one of the Claremont Colleges....
from 1991 to 1995, earning a degree in English.
Throughout his college education he continued to record music. In 1992, Dennis Callaci, a friend of Darnielle's and owner of Shrimper Records
Shrimper Records
Shrimper Records is an independent record label based in Upland, California. It was founded in 1990 by Dennis Callaci.-Bands:* Ah Bus* Amps for Christ* The Aum Rifle* The Babies* Bingo Trappers* Bugskull* Joey Burns * The Bux...
, released a tape of Darnielle’s songs called "Taboo VI: The Homecoming
Taboo VI: The Homecoming
- External links :*...
". 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
Peter Hughes (musician)
Peter Hughes is a multi-instrumentalist currently with the band the Mountain Goats. During live performances, he accompanies leader John Darnielle on bass. His first official recording with the band was 2002's Tallahassee, but he also sang backup vocals on the song "Cubs in Five" from the 1995 EP...
.
Musical career
Darnielle is best known for his role in the band The Mountain GoatsThe Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats is an American indie rock band formed in Claremont, CA by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker....
. Since starting the band in 1991, he has gained a cult following. Despite being dubbed a low fidelity
Low fidelity
Low fidelity or lo-fi describes a sound recording which contains technical flaws such as distortion, hum, or background noise, or limited frequency response...
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. Sasha Frere-Jones
Sasha Frere-Jones
Sasha Frere-Jones is an American writer, music critic, and musician. He has written for Pretty Decorating, ego trip, Hit It And Quit It, Mean, Slant, The New York Post, The Wire, The Village Voice, Slate, Spin, and The New York Times...
, writing in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, referred to him as "America’s best lyricist". In its June 2006 issue, Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
magazine named Darnielle one of the "100 Best Living Songwriters".
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", "Alphabetizing", and "Alpha Rats Nest". The band's 2002 album Tallahassee
Tallahassee (album)
Tallahassee is an album by the Mountain Goats. It was the band's second new album to be released in 2002, and it marked quite a few changes...
was exclusively about the couple; there have subsequently been no more "Alpha" songs.
Darnielle has stated that all songs written up to and including those on Tallahassee
Tallahassee (album)
Tallahassee is an album by the Mountain Goats. It was the band's second new album to be released in 2002, and it marked quite a few changes...
are fictional, but that The Sunset Tree
The Sunset Tree
The Sunset Tree is the ninth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2005 by 4AD.-Notes:While We Shall All Be Healed focused on Darnielle's years as a teenager involved with other methamphetamine users, The Sunset Tree focuses on his childhood, and a recurring theme is domestic...
is autobiographical.
Veganism
Darnielle went vegetarian in 1996 and stated in a 2007 interview with Vegan Radio that he was vegan. In the same year, he performed at a benefit for the animal rights organization Farm SanctuaryFarm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is an American animal protection organization, founded in 1986 as an advocate for farm animals. It promotes laws and policies that support animal welfare, animal protection and vegetarianism/veganism through rescue, education and advocacy...
in Watkins Glen, New York. He performed again at Farm Sanctuary in 2009.
Collaborations
Darnielle is featured on Aesop RockAesop Rock
Ian Matthias Bavitz , better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop artist and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it...
's song "Coffee" (from the hip-hop artist's 2007 album None Shall Pass
None Shall Pass
-Personnel:Contributing artists*Allyson Baker – guitar *Carson Binks – bass guitar *Derek Layes – bass guitar *Big Hollis – additional vocals *Camu Tao – additional vocals...
) and appears in the corresponding music video. Additionally, Aesop Rock remixed The Mountain Goats' "Lovecraft in Brooklyn".
In 2008, Darnielle announced the release of a tour-exclusive EP entitled The Black Pear Tree, the result of a collaboration with tourmate Kaki King
Kaki King
Kaki King is an American guitarist and composer. King is known for her percussive and jazz-tinged melodies, energetic live shows, use of multiple tunings on acoustic and lap steel guitar, and her diverse range in different genres.In February 2006, Rolling Stone released a list of "The New Guitar...
. In 2009, Darnielle released a collaborative recording with his tourmate John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice is an American musician and songwriter. Previously a member of the band Mk Ultra, he now records and performs as a solo artist.-Early years:...
.
On September 20, 2010, Darnielle appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
with the band Superchunk
Superchunk
Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, consisting of singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the bands that helped define the Chapel Hill music scene of the 1990s...
(Whose drummer is also in The Mountain Goats). They performed the song Digging for Something with a big reception.
Book
Darnielle's first book, Black Sabbath: Master of Reality, was published in April 2008 as part of the 33⅓ series.Magazine contributions
Darnielle writes the "South Pole Dispatch" feature in Decibel MagazineDecibel magazine
Decibel is a monthly heavy metal and extreme music magazine published by the Philadelphia-based Red Flag Media. Since October 2004, Decibel has featured a plethora of extreme metal bands and musicians. Its sections include Upfront, Features, Reviews, Guest Columns and the Decibel Hall of Fame...
every month.
Bands in which Darnielle has played
Darnielle is also a member or former member of the following bands:- The Extra Lens (along with Franklin BrunoFranklin BrunoFranklin Bruno is an American singer-songwriter, academic, writer, and blogger originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986....
). They have released two full-lengths titled "Martial Arts WeekendMartial Arts WeekendMartial Arts Weekend is an album by indie-rock band The Extra Glenns, which features members of The Mountain Goats and Nothing Painted Blue...
", "UndercardUndercard (album)Undercard is an album by indie-rock band The Extra Lens, which features members of The Mountain Goats and Nothing Painted Blue. The album was released on October 19, 2010.-Track listing:# "Adultery"# "Cruiserweights"# "Only Existing Footage"...
", as well as "Infidelity" a double sided 7" EP. - The Comedians (along with John VandersliceJohn VandersliceJohn Vanderslice is an American musician and songwriter. Previously a member of the band Mk Ultra, he now records and performs as a solo artist.-Early years:...
). The band's only studio recording was credited to "The Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice". - The Seneca Twins (along with Lalitree Darnielle and Chris ButlerChris Butler (musician)Chris Butler is an American musician led the experimental new wave 1980s band The Waitresses . Butler grew up in the U.S. state of Ohio and majored in sociology at Kent State University...
), whose 9-song demo, recorded in 1995, is still unreleased. - The Bloody HawaiiansThe Bloody HawaiiansThe Bloody Hawaiians were a band made up of John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats and members of Wckr Spgt. They formed in 1985, the same year they recorded their first album, The Magnificent Bloody Hawaiians. Darnielle played drums on the record, but he also did vocals on other releases...
(along with Joel Huschle (Furniture Huschle), Mark Givens (Wckr SpgtWckr SpgtWckr Spgt is an American musical band, that formed in 1981 in Claremont, California. Their influences include dadaism and punk rock, and they were part of an early movement focused primarily on experimental home recording and cassette culture that eventually evolved into lo-fi and indie rock...
), Caroline) Releases: The Magnificent Bloody Hawaiians, Bastard Son, The ThreegosThe Threegos-Track listing:# "Times For"# "Heavenly Love"# "Livin' in Bridgeville"# "When Love Is Unlikely"# "Clown Boy Division"# "Bastards"# "Dragonfly Fence"# "After Kisses"# "War In The Hills"# "No Time To Lose"# "Heir Baby"# "Heart Song"# "Love Factory"...
, "Lemon" on Cool Beans #4) - The Congress (along with Mark Givens and other anonymous members)(Darnielle was singer / songwriter)
-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 (performed one show, all recordings were lost)
- Chicken Damage (Darnielle played live drums)
- The Salvation Brothers (Darnielle played live drums)
- The Orange Trees
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
- The Songwriter as Storyteller: An Interview with John Darnielle from InDigest Magazine