Video: Against The Line

Last year, Texas experienced one of the hottest summers in its history. When the heat combined with a lack of rain, several wildfires broke out across the state. Most notably, a fire in Bastrop, a town just east of Austin, raged for days, scorching 34,000 acres and destroying over 550 homes. Several lives were also lost in the blaze.

To memorialize the victims, we filmed a video for our song “Against the Line” amongst some of the fire’s debris. The video is meant to highlight the devastation the fire caused, but also to bring hope.

Will Johnson explains:

“The 2011 Bastrop County fires affected thousands of people, homes, pets and wildlife in an area very dear to my family and many of our friends. My wife, step-son and I lived out there for a time, and the Lost Pines State Park quickly became our common weekend destination; a place of sanctuary and inspiration. Our band held a couple of fundraisers in the aftermath of these devastating fires, but found that we also wanted to pay tribute in a more creative way. This video is our means of tribute to the area, its people, and the rebuilding efforts and signs of new life that are taking place in Bastrop County.”

Watch the video for “Against the Line” here:

 

New Multitudes Out Now!

BUY CD
BUY DELUXE CD
BUY VINYL

NEW MULTITUDES TOUR DATES – ON SALE NOW
featuring Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker & Yim Yames.

March 6 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
March 7 – The Mayan – Los Angeles, CA
March 8 – Amoeba – Los Angeles, CA – In-Store Appearance 3-5pm
March 9 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR
March 10 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
March 12 – The Birchmere – Alexandria, VA – SOLD OUT
March 13 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
March 14 – Webster Hall – New York, NY
March 16 – Paradise – Boston, MA

Details and ticket links at http://www.newmultitudes.com/

Centro-matic on World Cafe Live


Centro-matic’s World Cafe Live performance will broadcast on Wednesday February 1, 2012. Be sure to tune in!!

National Public Radio’s World Cafe with host David Dye can be heard on over 200 stations nationwide. You can find your local station at the following link by selecting a state from the pull-down menu:

http://www.npr.org/templates/stations/schedule/?prgId=39

Or, worldwide, you can connect to the WXPN Philadelphia stream Monday through Friday, 2pm to 4pm EST, here:

http://www.xpn.org/music-artist/xpn-stream

After broadcast, the audio will be available on the NPR website:

http://www.npr.org/programs/world-cafe/

Only In My Double Mind

Centro-matic’s new album Candidate Waltz will be released on June 21.

We have 500 CDs and 175 LPs set aside for pre-orders. CDs and LPs will be shipped to arrive on or before the release date.

PRE-ORDER HERE!

The first video features Will Johnson creating the huge painting that became the album cover art. The video was conceived and created by Christian Helms, Mike Woolf and Andrew Yates at Helms Studio and edited by Brandon Thomas Beef & Pie in Austin, TX.

Summer 2011

Greetings from the banks of Burn Ban River.  This drought won’t seem to stop, and I hope all recipients here are safe and well.

LIVING ROOM TREK SPRING 2011
The pickup truck will soon be loaded, and I’m gonna head out on another acoustic living room show joint.  So far these shows have been a pretty fun experience.  If you are hosting and I actually get there early, I will probably hang out in your kitchen, (maybe) stealing ideas for paint colors and home decor.  I try not to look at all the pictures on your refrigerator.  That is none of my business.  Anyway, these shows tend to break down many of the barriers we often encounter in public venues, putting everyone on some serious neutral, residential turf.  The floor is open for discussion, questions, complaints, etc., and I’ve found the architecture and lighting can define a good deal of the situation.

Wed. 5/4 – San Marcos TX
Thurs. 5/5 – Sealy TX (45 minutes west of Houston)
Fri 5/6 – Dallas TX – SOLD OUT
Sat. 5/7 – Little Rock AR
Sun. 5/8 – Fayetteville AR
Mon. 5/9 – Springfield MO
Tues. 5/10 – Saint Louis, MO
Wed. 5/11 – Chicago IL – SOLD OUT
Thurs. 5/12 – Milwaukee WI
Fri. 5/13 – Madison WI
Sat. 5/14 – Minneapolis MN
Mon. 5/16 – Kansas City KS

Get tickets HERE

LITTLE RAIDER EP
I will have a new solo EP available on this trip, and available online through Undertow soon.  I went to my friend Jim Eno’s house for two days back in February, and we set up shop in his living room with some great mics, various guitars, and his wall piano.  We got six songs tracked and mixed in that time. Jim mixed it, Matt Pence mastered, and Dan Grissom/Sanctuary Print Shop has done the excellent letter-pressed sleeves.  Track list:

Little Raider
To Coupland Lines
One More Dreamer For The Summer
To Place Me On A Stone
Tangle For The Less
Devil On The Interstate Line

NEW CENTRO-MATIC SHOWS
We’ll be heading out in June on our first full band tour in some time in full support of our new record, Candidate Waltz.  Pre-orders begin May 24th, and the record will be released on vinyl, cd, and digitally on June 21st.  Tour dates are here:

Wednesday 06/22 – Grimey’s Records @ 6pm
Wednesday 06/22 – The Basement – Nashville, TN
Thursday 06/23 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA
Friday 06/24 – Athfest – (in front of the) 40 Watt Club – Athens, GA
Saturday 06/25 – Local 506 – Chapel Hill, NC
Sunday 06/26 – DC9 – Washington DC
Tuesday 06/28 – North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA
Wednesday 06/29 – Great Scott – Cambridge, MA
Thursday 06/30 – The Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
Friday 07/01 – Mohawk Place – Buffalo, NY
Saturday 07/02 – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH
Sunday 07/03 – Schubas – Chicago, IL
Tuesday 07/05 – Off Broadway – St. Louis, MO
Thursday 07/07 – Dan’s Silverleaf – Denton, TX
Friday 07/08 – Fitzgerald’s – Houston, TX
Saturday 07/09 – Cactus Records @ 1pm
Sunday 07/10 – Waterloo Records @ 5pm
Sunday 07/10 – The Mohawk – Austin, TX

24 FREE SONGS
People often ask what Centro-matic or South San Gabriel album to start with. There’s no easy answer to this, so we are giving away a couple of songs from each album spanning the band’s 15 years of making music together. Look in the right sidebar for the download link. Please share this with your friends who might not know about Centro-matic or South San Gabriel.

Thanks as always.  Maybe see you on the road.  -Will J.

Will Johnson Solo Living Room Shows

These are totally acoustic shows (no sound system) hosted by fans in their living rooms. We’ll only have 30-40 tickets available for each show.

Wed. 5/4 – San Marcos TX
Thurs. 5/5 – Sealy TX (45 minutes west of Houston)
Fri 5/6 – Dallas TX
Sat. 5/7 – Little Rock AR
Sun. 5/8 – Fayetteville AR
Mon. 5/9 – Springfield MO
Tues. 5/10 – Saint Louis, MO
Wed. 5/11 – Chicago IL
Thurs. 5/12 – Milwaukee WI
Fri. 5/13 – Madison WI
Sat. 5/14 – Minneapolis MN
Mon. 5/16 – Kansas City KS

Tickets are on sale now!

Will Johnson + Matt Pence Art & Photo Show

Matt and I will have our second group exhibition on Thursday night, March 24th at Meme Gallery, attached to Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios in beautiful Denton, Texas. In the spirit of the late, great Good/Bad Art Collective, this show will be one night only. Matt will be exhibiting his always-stunning photography, this time centering predominantly on the making of Centro-matic’s upcoming album, Candidate Waltz.  I will be showing a bunch of new baseball art I’ve conjured over the winter, mostly 1970’s players this go around.

There will be some original work for sale, plus limited edition, signed/numbered Roberto Clemente and Dock Ellis prints fresh from the East Austin press of Satch Grimsley.  There will also be t-shirts to commemorate thanks to Pan Ector.

There’s a real fantastic bill later that night in the venue that includes RTB2, On After Dark, and Brent Best (Slobberbone, The Drams).  The whole event runs from 9pm-2am, with music starting at 10:30.  Cover for the whole evening will be $1 for over 21, and $3 for under 21.  So… we got a good night in front of us.  Stop down and ingest some photography, paintings, great music, Economy Beers and old school Denton socializing.

– Will J.