Will singing back-up with Neil Young and others!!!
Author: Centro-matic
Jason Molina and Will Johnson
Jason Molina and Will Johnson Collaborate on New LP, Plot European Tour
Call this the Phantoms of Folk. Call this two lone wolves running together for one dark blissout of a night. Two of the finest indie-folk songwriters of the last decade come together under the Texas sky to quietly lay to tape 14 crushing, haunting tunes, leaving space enough in each to match their surroundings. In this collaboration between Jason Molina and Will Johnson, each seem to hold the other’s talents to fire and elevate both performance and creativity. In the friendly sharing of ideas, Molina and Johnson become two poet’s poets in a workshop, aimed to craft a singular, searing elegy.
Will Johnson describes this alignment of two red stars: “For ten days we wrote, co-wrote, workshopped, complimented, scrutinized, drank, invited friends to come play music, smoked, made lots of notes and drawings, drank a little more and shot the BB gun off the back porch when we just needed some time and space. In the throes of all this, our record was made in the late February sun.”
The album is also abound with contributions from other fine musicians, such as Magnolia Electric Co.’s Michael Kapinus and Texas songwriter Sarah Jaffe, whose plaintive vocals “All Gone, All Gone,” accompanied by the sound of a crying saw, will stir in your gut for days. Other accomplished contributors include Howard Draper, Bryan VanDivier and Scott Danbom.
Hear an mp3 of Molina and Johnson’s “Twenty Cycles to the Ground” HERE.
Molina and Johnson will be available on Secretly Canadian November 3 in the US, and November 2 in the UK.
Monsters of Folk on Conan!
Will Johnson on Conan O’Brien with Monsters of Folk
Check out Will Johnson playing drums with Monsters of Folk on Conan O’Brien Tuesday, September 23. Check your local listings for channels and times.
Will Johnson with Monsters of Folk and other stuff.
We were about to write an update about all the stuff Will is doing over the next few months but Austin Powell from the Austin Chronicle wrote one for us!
Off the Record
BY AUSTIN POWELL
Some Kind of Monster
Will Johnson is the Swiss Army knife of indie rock. During rare downtime between his bands Centro-matic and South San Gabriel, the prolific local songwriter is taking a backseat to the Monsters of Folk – Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, M. Ward, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket – on a national and European tour, following the release of the quartet’s eponymous debut Tuesday. “I play [drums] as much as I’m allowed on recordings, but it’s been a little while since I’ve played live,” says Johnson, who last gigged behind the kit with Jandek in July 2007. His return coincides with the November release of Jason Molina & Will Johnson (Secretly Canadian), his debut collaboration with the Magnolia Electric Co. frontman, which Johnson describes as “a pretty subdued listen.” Here’s the real bombshell, though. Alongside Jim James and Anders Parker, Johnson is also taking part in Jay Farrar’s version of Mermaid Avenue, recording original music based on unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics at the behest of his daughter, Nora Guthrie. While no details have been confirmed as far as a release date or label, the album, which was recorded in New York in March, is currently in the mixing stage. “Jay sent me a priority mail package full of the lyrics, and I opened it at 4:30 in the afternoon,” Johnson recalls. “Within 17 minutes, I had already documented this one called ‘Chorine My Sheba Queen’ to the recording machine. That speaks far more about the song than anything I did. The lyrics struck me in a way that the music sounded automatic. It made such sense to my soul and my spirit. It’s got an empty and regretful tone but in a very beautiful way. I just latched onto it.”
Counting the Scars
We are honored to share footage of Rockestra performing “Counting the Scars” at their Good Records performance in Dallas on Aug. 30th. Rockestra is a Rock n Roll Youth Orchestra that contains vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keys, synths, strings, horns, etc ages 12-17. Here’s a hearty salute to them and their lovely version of this song.
Will Johnson Solo Dates in Texas with Liz Durrett
09/10/09 – Dallas, TX @ Double Wide
3510 Commerce St
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 887-6510
With Liz Durrett
View Map
09/11/09 -Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf
103 Industrial St
Denton, TX 76201
(940) 320-2000
With Liz Durrett
View Map
09/12/09 – Austin, TX @ Space 12
3121 E 12th St
Austin, TX 78702
With Liz Durrett
View Map
Centro-matic World August 16-18, 2009
Here’s a video blog, of sorts, from Centro-matic about August 16-18, 2009.
August 16– Good Records hosts an exhibition of Matt Pence’s photos and Will Johnson’s paintings. Will and Scott Danbom played some songs, and included is Riot Jack from Will’s Murder of Tides album. Somebody forgot to charge the camera battery, or more would be included from that show.
August 17– Centro-matic begins work on album #9 (or is it #10?) at the Echo Lab in Argyle, TX. Scott Solter is producing along with Matt Pence. The overlay music is some guitar tracks from the first song we started, “Around, Pullin’ Vines”. Day one means lots of work for Matt Pence and Scott Solter.
August 18– A few studio shots from the first day of actual recording. With a nice little Danbomian piano moment to round out the day.
Matt Pence & Will Johnson Photo + Art Show
Matt Pence and Will Johnson are having an art show at Good Records in Dallas on Sunday, August 16th. 7-9pm.
It’s a joint exhibition that will include Matt’s photography and Will’s baseball paintings.
There may well be some music involved with the whole thing, too.
Stop on down. It’s free!
Good Records
1808 Lower Greenville Ave.
Dallas, TX 75206
(214)752-4663
Centro-matic Dispatch August, 2009 – Denton, Texas 76201
No Funny/ The heat situation’s not really all that amusing anymore. Seems like the romance that comes along with those first few weeks of sweltering temps is long, long gone. Been spending a lot of time on the banks of the Colorado in Bastrop, Texas of late, harvesting inspirado from some of the folks I run into down at the river every now and again. I see smalltown progressives and conservatives, too. There’s cliff jumpers and nice families and some high school crusties and time-killing trashers. There’s a pink-haired girl that carries her acoustic around caseless, and I think even a couple of ex-cons. I’m not sure but I do think that was a couple of ex-cons sharing (liquor?) out of a 44oz. Sonic cup last Monday. Anyway, writing a good bit. Settling in.
“Late Blooms/Quality Startsâ€/ Matt Pence and I are having an art show at Good Records in Dallas on the evening of Sunday, August 16th. A more formal announcement will be made, but the general idea is that it’s a joint exhibition that will include his photography and my little baseball paintings. We’re both pretty enthused about venturing into some new creative territory these days, and we figured why not sail some of those waters together. There may well be some music involved with the whole thing, too. Stop on down. It’s free.
See more Matt Pence photos
See more Will Johnson paintings
New Texas Solo Shows/ All with my golden-voiced Georgia friend, Liz Durrett.
Sept. 10/Dallas – Doublewide
Sept. 11/Denton – Dan’s Silverleaf
Sept. 12/Austin – Space 12 Gallery
Recordings, Releases/ Lotsa you friends have asked, and the Centro-matic Live DVD is in its latter stages of production. We’ll have a formal release date announced soon. Centro-matic also returns to camp in the latter half of August to start work on our next full length release. Looks like a 2010 release will be in the cards. Lastly, the record I made with Jason Molina will be released later this fall courtesy of Secretly Canadian. We are assembling a band, and full European and US touring will follow. I’m really looking forward to all that. For now, good summer salute to you, and we’ll talk to you soon.
-Will J.