B.A. Johnston

Last updated
B.A. Johnston
Birth nameChristian
Born Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Genres Comedy
Occupation(s)Musician, performance artist
Website www.bajohnston.ca

Christian Johnston, [1] known professionally as B.A. Johnston, is a Canadian comedic musician and performance artist based in Hamilton, Ontario.

Contents

Career

Johnston was born and grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. [2] He began touring around Canada in 2002, performing songs that are often comedic in nature and include pop cultural references to sports teams, junk food, and video games. [3] [4] Accompanying himself on guitar and keyboard, he performed as the character B.A. (Bored Again) Johnston who lives at home with his mother. [5] By birth, his name is Christian Johnston, but in high school was given the nickname “Bored Again Christian". It stuck over the years and became his stage name. [6]

By 2006 Johnston had recorded four albums of original songs, completing a cross-country tour travelling exclusively by Greyhound bus before beginning to tour in an old station wagon or mini-van. [7] Johnston's 2010 album Thank You for Being a Friend appeared on the !Earshot National Top 50 Chart. [8] Since that time he has continued touring extensively across Canada year-round, mainly performing in clubs and bars. [9] [10] [11] In 2014, Noisey compared him to American singer, songwriter GG Allin. [12] His ninth album Shit Sucks was released in 2015 and was a long list nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize. [4] Exclaim! magazine described it as "simplistic synth-pop and aggressive acoustic folk." [13] [14]

In 2017 a collaboration between Johnston and Sawdust City Brewing Company resulted in the launch of Olde B.A. Johnston's Finest Malt Liquor. [5] That year his album Gremlins III, a mixture of folk and punk music, was released through Wyatt Records. [15] That year a feature article about Johnston in the Globe And Mail acknowledged his polarizing status in the Canadian music scene, noting that for some he is a "modern-age Stompin' Tom Connors." [16] However, unlike Connors, Johnston's references to life in modern-day Canada are exaggeratedly irreverent and unromanticised, featuring ironic swipes at large Canadian institutions like Foodland, No Frills, and Tim Hortons.

As of 2022, Johnston continues to tour across Canada, performing his energetic and humorous show. [17]

Discography

Albums (CD, LP)

Singles, Splits, & EPs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constantines</span> Canadian indie rock band

Constantines is an indie rock band from Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Snaith</span> Canadian musician

Daniel Victor Snaith is a Canadian composer, musician, and recording artist who has performed under the stage names Caribou, Manitoba, and Daphni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sadies</span> Canadian rock and roll / country band

The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Brian and Larry Good, who are members of the Canadian country group The Good Brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Wilson (musician)</span> Musical artist

Thomas Cunningham Wilson is a Canadian rock musician from Hamilton, Ontario. A veteran of the Canadian music scene, Wilson has been a writer and performer for many years. Wilson's eclectic musical style has ranged from the psychobilly / R&B sounds of the Florida Razors, to the western/roots style of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and the funk/blues-inspired rock of Junkhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Mountain (band)</span> Canadian psychedelic-rock band

Black Mountain is a Canadian psychedelic rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band is composed of Stephen McBean, Jeremy Schmidt, Adam Bulgasem, Amber Webber, Arjan Miranda. Since forming in 2004, Black Mountain has released five LPs, Black Mountain (2005), In the Future (2008), Wilderness Heart (2010), IV (2016) and Destroyer (2019); two EPs and a number of singles, mostly on the Jagjaguwar label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Weakerthans</span> Canadian indie rock band

The Weakerthans are an award-winning and Juno-nominated Canadian indie rock band from Winnipeg. The band, led by John K. Samson, has released four studio albums and is currently inactive.

Warsawpack was a Canadian experimental rap rock group based in Hamilton, Ontario. The band's music fuses hip hop, jazz, dub, groove and rock. The band's songs contained mostly politically charged lyrics that critiqued Western consumerism and neo-colonialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad VanGaalen</span> Musical artist

Chad VanGaalen is a Canadian musician and artist from Calgary, Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandro Perri</span> Musical artist

Sandro Perri is a musician and producer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His music has been called post-rock, electronic, experimental, ambient, folk among others. He has been producing, mixing and mastering records for other artists since 2003.

Arkells is a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, and have since signed with Universal Records Canada and Last Gang Records. They are managed by Last Gang Management. They have released six albums, two EPs and a number of singles that have charted in Canada. The band has won multiple Juno Awards, including one for their album High Noon in 2015. The band headlined the 108th Grey Cup halftime show in Hamilton, Ontario on December 12, 2021.

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers are a Canadian indie folk band from Vancouver, British Columbia. Fronted by Polish-born singer-songwriter Olenka Krakus, the band's sound is a mix of orchestral folk-pop with elements reminiscent of classic country and folk music, and Eastern European folk. The band uses diverse instruments to showcase Krakus' songwriting.

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan is a Canadian experimental music and performance art collective. Formed in Montreal, Quebec and currently operating in Toronto, Ontario, the group was founded by Ruby Kato Attwood and Alaska B – former members of the defunct Montreal noise rock band Lesbian Fight Club – and now features Ange Loft on vocals and percussion, Joanna Delos Reyes on vocals and guitar, Brendan Swanson on keyboards, Hiroki Tanaka on lead guitar, Brandon Lim on bass guitar, and Aylwin Lo on projections and lights. Ruby Kato Attwood left the band at the end of 2014. Past members have included John Ancheta on bass and acoustic guitar, Walter Scott, Shub Roy, Alana Ruth, and Adrienne Mak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitehorse (band)</span>

Whitehorse is a Canadian folk rock band, composed of husband-and-wife duo Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Doucet and McClelland were both established singer-songwriters before opting to put their solo careers on hold to work together as Whitehorse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PUP (band)</span> Canadian punk rock band

PUP is a Canadian punk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 2010, originally under the name Topanga. PUP's self-titled debut album was released on October 8, 2013, on Royal Mountain Records. In December 2013, PUP signed with SideOneDummy Records and re-released their debut album in the United States on April 8, 2014. The group was in the studio in late 2015 recording their second album The Dream Is Over which was released on May 27, 2016, through SideOneDummy. The band's third album, titled Morbid Stuff, was released on April 5, 2019. This Place Sucks Ass, a six-track EP, was released on October 27, 2020. Their fourth album, The Unraveling of PUPTheBand, was released on April 1, 2022.

The 2015 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2015 at The Carlu event theatre in Toronto, Ontario. The event was hosted by children's entertainer Fred Penner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Caesar</span> Canadian singer and songwriter

Ashton Dumar Norwill Simmonds, known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two critically acclaimed EPs, Praise Break (2014) and Pilgrim's Paradise (2015), Caesar released his debut studio album, Freudian, in August 2017, which garnered widespread critical acclaim. He released his second studio album, Case Study 01, in June 2019. In March 2021, Caesar was featured alongside Giveon on Justin Bieber's single "Peaches", which serves as his first number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie Reyez</span> Canadian singer songwriter (b. 1991)

Jessica Reyez is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Her 2016 single "Figures" peaked at number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100 in 2017 and was certified triple Platinum by Music Canada and Platinum by the RIAA. Her 2017 EP, Kiddo, led to four nominations at the 2018 Juno Awards, winning Breakthrough Artist. Her follow up EP, Being Human in Public, was released in 2018. It won R&B/Soul Recording of The Year at the 2019 Juno Awards and was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Reyez again won the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, for "Feel it Too" with Tory Lanez and Tainy, at the 2020 Juno Awards, where she was also nominated for Artist of the Year. Reyez has written songs for Calvin Harris, Kehlani, Dua Lipa and Normani, most notably penning the hit "One Kiss", and has collaborated with Eminem on multiple occasions. Her debut album, Before Love Came to Kill Us, was released on March 27, 2020, to widespread critical acclaim, and saw commercial success, entering at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terra Lightfoot</span> Musical artist

Terra Lightfoot is a Canadian musician and singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario who has released four albums with the independent music label Sonic Unyon Recording Company and is distributed by Universal Music Group in Canada and The Orchard outside of Canada. She performs in a folk and roots rock style known for bold vocals and electric guitar riffs.

Partner is a Canadian rock band, originally formed in Sackville, New Brunswick, and later based in Windsor, Ontario. The band is most noted for winning the SOCAN Songwriting Prize in 2018 for their song "Play the Field".

Cannon Bros. are a Canadian indie pop group from Winnipeg, Manitoba, consisting of Cole Woods and Alannah Walker. They are most noted for their 2011 album Firecracker/Cloudglow, which was longlisted for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize.

References

  1. ↑ Ritchie, Matthew (12 April 2012). "BA Johnston's '80s music". The Coast Halifax. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "B.A. Johnston Mission Accomplished". Exclaim!, By Farah Barakat, September 3, 2013
  3. ↑ Rockingham, Graham (15 March 2017). "Donair sauce runs in B.A. Johnston's veins". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Interview: Why Shit Sucks for BA Johnston". Electric City Magazine. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  5. 1 2 Spencer, Lukas (18 September 2017). "The finest folk in Hamilton". The Silhouette. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  6. ↑ Webb-Campbell, Shannon. "Heart act to follow". The Coast Halifax. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  7. ↑ "B.A. Johnston: still broke, still trying". The Journal, Queen's University, November 24, 2006 Meghan Harrison
  8. ↑ "The National Top 50 For the Week Ending: Tuesday, October 26, 2010". !Earshot.
  9. ↑ "B.A. Johnston Jimmy Jazz, Guelph ON, April 6". Exclaim!, By Vish Khanna, April 7, 2013
  10. ↑ "B.A. Johnston Pat's Pub, Vancouver BC June 9". Exclaim!, By Alan Ranta, June 11, 2012
  11. ↑ "B.A. Johnston, Remi Royale and Robots!EVERYWHERE!! at Irene’s – Ottawa". Grayowl Point, April 8, 2012. by Erin Red
  12. ↑ "B.A. Johnston Is Canada's Answer to G.G. Allin". Noisey. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  13. ↑ Murphy, Sarah (17 February 2015). "B.A. Johnston 'Shit Sucks' (album stream)". Exclaim!. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Shit Sucks - Polaris Music Prize". Polaris Music Prize. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  15. ↑ "B.A Johnston Gremlins 3". Exclaim!, By Blake Morneau, March 1, 2017
  16. ↑ Wheeler, Brad (16 March 2017). "Is this schmo the new Stompin' Tom Connors?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  17. ↑ Slingerland, Calum (February 15, 2022). "B.A. Johnston Maps Out 2022 Canadian Tour Dates". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.