John Darnielle

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John Darnielle
Darnielle playing in St. Augustine, Florida, in 2010.
Darnielle playing in St. Augustine, Florida, in 2010.
Background information
Born (1967-03-16) March 16, 1967 (age 54)
Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician, novelist
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active1991–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 originally sole, 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 and then Claremont, California with an abusive stepfather[4] (as referenced frequently in The Sunset Tree).

Darnielle often attended professional wrestling matches with his stepfather at the Grand Olympic Auditorium.[5] There, he developed a passion for the sport and local wrestlers like Chavo Guerrero Sr.. His childhood love of wrestling would go on to inspire the Mountain Goats' album Beat the Champ.

Darnielle attended Claremont High School, located in the Pomona Valley region of Southern California. For a short time after high school, he lived in Portland, Oregon, where he developed an addiction to intravenous methamphetamine and other hard drugs (as referenced in We Shall All Be Healed). Darnielle worked in the psychiatric ward at the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, California.[6] 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".[7] In its June 2006 issue, Paste magazine named Darnielle one of the "100 Best Living Songwriters".[8]

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".[9] This series explores the futility of running away from one's problems in stark and cryptic detail. There is no reoccurring main character or strong thematic subject linking these similarly titled tracks, and in a 1997 interview with KJHK-Lawrence, Darnielle has described the series as "real loose, though. it's real loose".[10] His "Alpha" series predates his musical career and began as a collection of poems called 'Songs from Alpha Primitive'.[11] It 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. "Their broader story", Darnielle writes, "involved an alcohol-soaked trek from California through Nevada and then bottom-crawling across the country until they wound up in northern Florida".[12] Unless otherwise specified in the lyrics, the songs are intended to be sung by either member of the couple.[13] There are a number of songs, not all containing the word 'alpha', that are generally considered to be part of the series, and are explored in more detail on Kyle Barbour's site 'The Annotated Mountain Goats.[14]

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 works 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 giving a reading from Universal Harvester in 2018

Darnielle's first book, Black Sabbath: Master of Reality, was published in April 2008 as part of the 33⅓ series.[15] 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.[16]

Darnielle's first novel, titled Wolf in White Van was published on September 16, 2014,[17] and was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction two days later.[18] His second novel, Universal Harvester, was published on February 7, 2017.[19]

From 2004 to 2011 Darnielle created and wrote the webzine Last Plane To Jakarta,[20] citing other projects as the reason for its abandonment.[21] He writes the "South Pole Dispatch" feature in Decibel Magazine every month.[22] Darnielle also guest edited the poetry section of The Mays, an anthology of the best creative work coming out of Oxford and Cambridge.[citation needed]

Darnielle wrote the introduction to the June 2016 book The Empty Bottle Chicago: 21+ Years of Music / Friendly / Dancing, about the eponymous nightclub.[23][24]

Podcasting[]

In 2012, Darnielle guest starred in John Hodgman's podcast Judge John Hodgman serving as an expert witness[25][26][27] and musical guest.[27]

Since 2017 he has co-hosted the podcast "I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats" with Joseph Fink. Each episode of the podcast explores one Mountain Goats song in great detail.[28]

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[29]), and sons Roman and Moses.

Darnielle prays regularly and identifies as a Christian.[30] His music often includes religious themes, including The Life of the World to Come, on which each song is named after a Bible verse. He is a fan of Christian singers Amy Grant and Rich Mullins.[31]

Activism[]

Darnielle became a vegetarian in 1996. In a 2007 interview with Vegan Radio, he said that he was vegan.[32] 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.[33] 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."[34]

Bands in which Darnielle has played[]

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

References[]

  1. ^ uhm, John Darnielle? the Mountain Goats Forums.
  2. ^ The Mountain Goats [@mountain_goats] (March 16, 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. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008.
  4. ^ Rodrick, Stephen. "God & Worshipper: A Rock-and-Roll Love Story, of Sorts". NYMag.com. New York Magazine. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  5. ^ Rodrick, Stephen. "We Took The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle To His First Pro Wrestling Show In 35 Years". Sterogum. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  6. ^ Rollingstone
  7. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (May 16, 2005). "The Declaimers". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  8. ^ "Paste's 100 Best Living Songwriters #81–90". Paste. June 14, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  9. ^ https://annotatedtmg.org/series.html#goingto
  10. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20011019150430/http://www.themountaingoats.net/misc/kjhk.html
  11. ^ https://johndarnielle.tumblr.com/post/53493520474/why-did-you-write-so-many-alpha-songs-did-you
  12. ^ https://johndarnielle.tumblr.com/post/46335170309/the-sleeve-that-held-the-boarding-pass-from-my
  13. ^ https://johndarnielle.tumblr.com/post/51682027488/hi-jd-so-long-as-were-sharing-parents-react-to
  14. ^ https://annotatedtmg.org/series.html#alpha
  15. ^ https://openlibrary.org/books/OL16897294M/Master_of_reality
  16. ^ "Book Review: 33 1/3: Black Sabbath's Master of Reality by John Darnielle". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  17. ^ Darnielle, John (September 16, 2014). Wolf in White Van: A Novel. ISBN 978-0374292089.
  18. ^ "2014 Longlists for the National Book Awards". National Book Foundation. September 18, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  19. ^ "Mountain Goats' John Darnielle details new novel, Universal Harvester". August 1, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  20. ^ "Last Plane to Jakarta | Archive". lastplanetojakarta.com. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  21. ^ "Did you abandon the Last Plane to Jakarta?". William Caxton Fan Club. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  22. ^ "South Pole Discharge: John Darnielle's Metal Covers Set Is Nigh | Decibel Magazine". Decibel Magazine. September 6, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  23. ^ "Curbside Splendor Publishing: The Empty Bottle Chicago: 21+ Years of Music / Friendly / Dancing". Curbside Splendor. 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  24. ^ Dugan, John E. (June 2016). The Empty Bottle Chicago: 21+ Years of Music / Friendly / Dancing. Curbside Splendor. ISBN 978-1940430546.
  25. ^ MaxFun Intern (August 30, 2012). "Judge John Hodgman Episode 73: Gavelbangers Ball". Maximum Fun. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  26. ^ MaxFun Intern (September 6, 2012). "Judge John Hodgman Episode 74: The Split Screen Decision". Maximum Fun. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b MaxFun Intern (January 2, 2013). "Judge John Hodgman LIVE at SF Sketchfest". Maximum Fun. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  28. ^ https://www.vulture.com/2017/06/night-vale-studio-debuting-two-new-nonfiction-podcasts.html
  29. ^ New Asian Cinema (album)
  30. ^ Joffe, Justin. "The Mountain Goats on Going 'Goth,' Christianity and the Age of Trump". Observer.com. Observer. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  31. ^ Shellnut, Kate. "The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle Loves Amy Grant, Rich Mullins, and the Book of Jonah". Christianity Today. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  32. ^ "John Darnielle". Vegan Radio. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  33. ^ Berihan, Tom (March 2, 2011). "Video: The Mountain Goats and Kathleen Hanna Support Planned Parenthood at New York Rally". Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork Media, Inc. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  34. ^ Darnielle, John (September 13, 2012). "The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle On Pussy Riot, Feminism, And Joni Mitchell" (Interview). Interviewed by Anna North. Retrieved July 1, 2015.

External links[]

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