John Darnielle

John Darnielle
Darnielle playing a solo show under the name of the Mountain Goats at the Harvest of Hope Fest in St. Augustine, FL in 2010.
Background information
Born (1967-03-16) March 16, 1967
Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, novelist
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active 1991–present
Associated acts

John Darnielle (/dɑːrˈniːl/ dar-NEEL;[1] born March 16, 1967)[2] is an American musician and novelist best known as the primary (and often solitary) member of the American band the Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist.[3]

Early life

Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Darnielle grew up in San Luis Obispo, California with an abusive stepfather[4] (as referenced frequently in The Sunset Tree). He attended Claremont High School. He lived in Portland, Oregon for a short time after high school, where he developed an addiction to intravenous methamphetamine and other hard drugs (as referenced in We Shall All Be Healed). Afterwards, he returned to California and 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.

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. Sasha Frere-Jones, writing in The New Yorker, referred to him as "America’s best non-hip-hop lyricist".[5] In its June 2006 issue, Paste magazine named Darnielle one of the "100 Best Living Songwriters".[6]

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 We Shall All Be Healed, The Sunset Tree, and other more recent work are partially autobiographical.

Collaborations

Darnielle is featured on Aesop Rock'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".

He collaborated with John Vanderslice on lyrics for the 2005 album Pixel Revolt, and in 2009, Darnielle released a collaborative recording titled Moon Colony Bloodbath, after a shared tour with Vanderslice. They toured under the collective name The Comedians, though their recording is attributed to "the Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice".

In 2008, Darnielle released a tour-exclusive EP entitled Black Pear Tree EP, the result of a collaboration with tourmate Kaki King.

On September 20, 2010, Darnielle appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with the band Superchunk (whose drummer, Jon Wurster, is also in the Mountain Goats). They performed the song "Digging for Something" with a positive reception.

Darnielle appeared on Kimya Dawson's 2011 album Thunder Thighs, featured on the song "Walk Like Thunder."

Writing

Darnielle's first book, Black Sabbath: Master of Reality, was published in April 2008 as part of the 33⅓ series.[7] Unlike other entries in the series, which are non-fiction books that focus on an album's production or legacy, Darnielle's book on Master of Reality was instead a fictional narrative in the form of a novella, centering around a young man held in a psychiatric facility in the mid-1980s who is attempting to retrieve his confiscated Walkman and tape of the album.[8]

Darnielle's first novel, titled Wolf in White Van was published on September 16, 2014,[9] and was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction two days later.[10] His second novel, Universal Harvester, was published on February 7, 2017.[11]

From 2004 to 2011 Darnielle created and wrote the webzine Last Plane To Jakarta,[12] citing other projects as the reason for its abandonment.[13] He writes the "South Pole Dispatch" feature in Decibel Magazine every month.[14] Darnielle also guest edited the poetry section of The Mays, an anthology of the best creative work coming out of Oxford and Cambridge..

Podcasting

In 2012, Darnielle guest starred in John Hodgman's podcast Judge John Hodgman serving as an expert witness[15][16][17] and musical guest.[17] Since 2017 he has co-hosted the podcast, "I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats" with Joseph Fink. Each episode of the podcast covers one Mountain Goats song in great detail.[18]

Personal life

Darnielle has lived in Grinnell, Iowa; Colo, Iowa; Ames, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; and Milpitas, California. He currently resides in Durham, North Carolina with his wife Lalitree Darnielle, a botanist and photographer (who was featured playing the banjo in the band's 1998 EP New Asian Cinema[19]), and sons Roman and Moses.

Darnielle prays regularly but does not "strictly" identify as Christian. His music often includes religious themes, including The Life of the World to Come (album), on which each song is named after a Bible verse. He is a fan of Christian singers Amy Grant and Rich Mullins.[20]

Activism

Darnielle became a vegetarian in 1996. In a 2007 interview with Vegan Radio, he said that he was vegan.[21] In the same year, he performed at a benefit for the animal welfare organization Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York. He performed again at Farm Sanctuary in 2009.

In 2011, Darnielle performed solo in support of Planned Parenthood, at the Stand Up for Women's Health Rally in New York City.[22] In an interview with BuzzFeed, Darnielle identified himself as a feminist, and was described as a "frequent Twitter commentator on women's issues, social justice, and heavy metal."[23]

Bands in which Darnielle has played

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

  • The Extra Lens formerly known as The Extra Glenns (along with Franklin Bruno).
  • The Comedians (along with John Vanderslice). The band's only studio recording was credited to "the Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice".
  • The Seneca Twins (along with Lalitree Darnielle and Christopher Butler), whose 9-song demo, recorded in 1995, is still unreleased.
  • The Bloody Hawaiians (along with Joel Huschle (Furniture Huschle), Mark Givens (Wckr Spgt), Caroline)
    • Releases: The Magnificent Bloody Hawaiians, Bastard Son, The Threegos, "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 (played one show in Evanston which was attended by about five people)

References

  1. ↑ uhm, John Darnielle? the Mountain Goats Forums.
  2. ↑ The Mountain Goats [@mountain_goats] (16 March 2013). "@credfm thank you! '67 though!!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ Denney, Alex (January 15, 2008). "Playing for Pride: John Darnielle speaks out on the Mountain Goats' new record". Drowned in Sound.
  4. ↑ Rodrick, Stephen. "God & Worshipper: A Rock-and-Roll Love Story, of Sorts". NYMag.com. New York Magazine. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  5. ↑ Frere-Jones, Sasha (May 16, 2005). "The Declaimers". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Paste's 100 Best Living Songwriters #81-90". Paste. June 14, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  7. ↑ https://openlibrary.org/books/OL16897294M/Master_of_reality
  8. ↑ "Book Review: 33 1/3: Black Sabbath's Master of Reality by John Darnielle". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  9. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-White-Van-A-Novel/dp/0374292086
  10. ↑ "2014 Longlists for the National Book Awards". National Book Foundation. September 18, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Mountain Goats' John Darnielle details new novel, Universal Harvester". 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  12. ↑ "Last Plane to Jakarta | Archive". lastplanetojakarta.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  13. ↑ "Did you abandon the Last Plane to Jakarta?". William Caxton Fan Club. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  14. ↑ "South Pole Discharge: John Darnielle's Metal Covers Set Is Nigh | Decibel Magazine". Decibel Magazine. 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  15. ↑ MaxFun Intern (30 August 2012). "Judge John Hodgman Episode 73: Gavelbangers Ball". Maximum Fun. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  16. ↑ MaxFun Intern (6 September 2012). "Judge John Hodgman Episode 74: The Split Screen Decision". Maximum Fun. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  17. 1 2 MaxFun Intern (2 January 2013). "Judge John Hodgman LIVE at SF Sketchfest". Maximum Fun. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  18. ↑ http://www.vulture.com/2017/06/night-vale-studio-debuting-two-new-nonfiction-podcasts.html
  19. ↑ New Asian Cinema (album)
  20. ↑ Shellnut, Kate. "The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle Loves Amy Grant, Rich Mullins, and the Book of Jonah". Christianity Today. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  21. ↑ "John Darnielle". Vegan Radio. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  22. ↑ Berihan, Tom (2 March 2011). "Video: The Mountain Goats and Kathleen Hanna Support Planned Parenthood at New York Rally". Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork Media, Inc. Retrieved July 2015. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  23. ↑ Darnielle, John (13 September 2012). "The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle On Pussy Riot, Feminism, And Joni Mitchell" (Interview). Interviewed by Anna North. Retrieved July 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
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