A request that this article title be changed to Father John Misty is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
Josh Tillman | |
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Tillman in 2017 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Joshua Michael Tillman |
Also known as |
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Born | May 3, 1981 |
Origin | Rockville, Maryland, U.S. |
Genres | |
Instruments |
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Years active | 2004–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts |
Joshua Michael Tillman [2] (born May 3, 1981), also known as Father John Misty and previously J. Tillman, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. [3]
Maintaining a steady output of solo recordings since 2004, [4] Tillman had been a member of or toured with Demon Hunter, Saxon Shore, Fleet Foxes, Jeffertitti's Nile, [5] Pearly Gate Music, [6] Siberian, [7] Har Mar Superstar, [8] Poor Moon, [9] Low Hums, Jonathan Wilson, [10] and has toured extensively with Pacific Northwest artists Damien Jurado, Jesse Sykes, and David Bazan. [11] [12]
He has also made contributions to albums by popular artists, including Beyoncé, [13] Lady Gaga, [14] Kid Cudi, [15] and Post Malone and has produced one album for Matthew Daniel Siskin, known as Gambles. [16]
Tillman grew up in an Evangelical Christian household in Rockville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. [17] [18] He is the son of Barbara and I.C. Tillman, an engineer at Hewlett-Packard, who met at a Christian youth group. [17] His mother was raised in Ethiopia, where her own parents were missionaries. [19] The eldest of four children, he has a brother and two sisters. [20] Before Tillman settled on a career as a musician, he briefly had ambitions of becoming a pastor because of the performance aspect [21] when he was approximately six years old. [22] He comments that his parents focused on the spiritual aspects of his upbringing, which he describes as "culturally oppressive". They were estranged for many years, but they reconciled. [17] [21] After learning drums at a young age, Tillman learned guitar when he was 12. [21]
Tillman was raised in a Baptist church, attended an Episcopal elementary school, then a Pentecostal Messianic day school. [23] Tillman said he was naive when he was growing up because there was limited cultural influence and no secular music allowed. Around the age of 17, there were new stipulations from his parents – he was allowed to listen to secular music that had a "spiritual theme". For this reason, his early purchases included albums like Bob Dylan's Slow Train Coming as he was able to establish that Dylan was classified as a "Christian artist". [17]
After attending Nyack College in New York for a year, [24] [25] Tillman moved to Seattle when he was 21. [17] He found a job there working at a bakery, which allowed him to record at night before his 4:30 am shift began. A demo he made eventually found its way to Seattle singer and songwriter Damien Jurado. A year later Tillman started opening for Jurado. [26] At shows Tillman would distribute CD-R copies of songs that would later become his album I Will Return. During the tour, he also struck up a friendship with Eric Fisher, who produced another CD-R album, Long May You Run. Both albums were later released on Keep Recordings. [27] Tillman and Jurado both later signed on for a U.S. tour with Richard Buckner. [25]
In 2006, the independent label Fargo Records released Tillman's first properly distributed solo album, Minor Works, and reissued I Will Return and Long May You Run as a two-disc set the same year. In 2007, Yer Bird Records released his more elaborately arranged fourth album, Cancer and Delirium. [25]
After signing to independent record label Western Vinyl, Tillman released two albums in 2009, Vacilando Territory Blues and Year in the Kingdom. [26] Tillman said he wrote the title track of Vacilando Territory Blues to describe imagery he associates with his move to Seattle. His brother Zach subsequently moved there as well [21] and is now in the musical group Pearly Gate Music. [28] The following year Tillman released Singing Ax. [26]
In 2008, Tillman joined Seattle folk rock band Fleet Foxes as their drummer. [23] After extensive touring with Fleet Foxes, promoting their album Helplessness Blues , Tillman played his final show with the band in Tokyo on January 20, 2012. [29]
Tillman released the album Fear Fun under his new moniker Father John Misty on May 1, 2012. [30] A couple of months prior to the release of the album a video was released for the song "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" starring Parks and Recreation 's Aubrey Plaza. The album was a dramatic departure from any of Tillman's prior releases. [31]
As Father John Misty, Tillman was featured on Kid Cudi's 2013 album Indicud . [32] Tillman wrote an essay about Damien Jurado's recording, Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son (Secretly Canadian, 2014). [33] He also wrote the soundtrack for a short film called The History of Caves, directed by his wife, filmmaker Emma Elizabeth Tillman. [34] [35]
The "Limited Run Promotional Poster" was available at the artist's website, and promoted a purported release called New Winter, described as a "Christmas Neu-Jazz Double Album", and quoted several paradoxes and reviews (for example, from The Wall Street Journal , calling it the "new standard by which all seasonal music must now be measured", or from Spin, giving the release 10 out of 10 points and calling it "[e]ssential year-round [sic] listening"). The poster text further states that the release will be sold as "compact disc" as well as "[l]imited edition prismatic hologram 6xLP on merlot and emerald semi-translucent 180 gram vinyl with original alternate-side etchings by Josh Tillman available till supplies last". The poster names five songs that are part of the track list: "Gesture I: Inoculation (Mother And Child)", "Gesture II: Feast Of Spirits", "Anacrusis Future Seed", "Naked Fire/The Fifth Season" and "Gemini". [36]
The album I Love You, Honeybear was released in February 2015 to widespread acclaim. According to Tillman, it is a concept album about himself and his personal life. [37] [38] Tillman made headlines by covering Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" and "Welcome to New York" in 2015. He claimed to have never listened to the artist prior to recording the covers. This was done as a parody of Ryan Adams, who had released his own version of Swift's 1989, featuring covers of every song. [39] Tillman released a new song entitled "Real Love Baby" on May 19, 2016. [40] He appeared on the song "Saturday Night Inside Out" on The Avalanches' second studio album Wildflower , which was released on July 1, 2016.
Tillman gained media attention on July 22, 2016, after walking off stage at XPoNential Music Festival in Camden, New Jersey, after twenty minutes into his planned fifty-minute performance. [41] Instead of performing his setlist, Tillman walked out and asked, "What the fuck is going on?" [42] He then talked for six minutes about the "numbing" role entertainment plays in our lives and how "stupidity just fucking runs the world because entertainment is stupid." When the audience applauded him he asked them not to and responded by saying, "Maybe just take a moment to be really fucking profoundly sad." [43] He finally played a thirteen-minute piece from his then-upcoming album Pure Comedy called "Leaving LA" which references the frustrations he spoke of during his speech. Tillman then covered Leonard Cohen's "Bird on the Wire" before telling the crowd he loved them and walked off the stage, cutting his performance short. [44] The following day, Tillman explained his performance in an Instagram post, in which he called Donald Trump's speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention a "demonic clown pageant coronation of our next potential Idiot King", which took place the night before Tillman's performance. [45]
On January 23, 2017, the single "Pure Comedy" was released alongside an accompanying music video. The second single released off of Pure Comedy, "Two Wildly Different Perspectives", was released with another music video on January 30, 2017. [46] The third single released was "Ballad of the Dying Man" on February 1, 2017. [47] The fourth single, "Total Entertainment Forever", was released on the night it was performed on Saturday Night Live on March 4, 2017. [48] Pure Comedy was released on April 7, 2017. The album sees Tillman externalize the stereotypical Father John Misty character that he developed through the two previous albums to prevent himself from being constricted to the character's image, using his personhood and experiences to expose his outlook on life. [49]
The Pure Comedy World Tour began in April 2017 and continued into early 2018. [50] During this tour, Tillman mixed the tracks for his next album produced with Jonathan Rado, revealing potential song titles "Mr. Tillman, Please Exit the Lobby" (later shortened to "Mr. Tillman"), "Ouch, I'm Drowning", "Well, We're Only People and There's Nothing Much We Can Do About It", and "Dum Dum Blues". The album explores heartache and was written during a six-week period where Tillman was living in a hotel. [51] Tillman released the lead single, "Mr. Tillman", from God's Favorite Customer on February 20, 2018. [52] The album was announced on April 18 and was released on June 1; its track listing was shared, alongside two further songs, "Disappointing Diamonds Are The Rarest Of Them All" and "Just Dumb Enough to Try". [53]
British screenwriter and film producer Drew Pearce, who had previously directed the music video for "The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment", sought out Tillman for his directorial debut Hotel Artemis , when he wanted to cast a musician. Tillman has a small role in the film as a bank robber, and has said that his character "gets his head blown off within, like, 30 seconds." [54] Tillman also contributed to the soundtrack of Hotel Artemis with the song "Gilded Cage", which was released on June 8, 2018, the same day as the film. [55]
On March 23, 2020, Tillman released a live album titled Off-Key in Hamburg , which was recorded at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie on August 8, 2019, on Bandcamp. All proceeds from the album go to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. [56] It has been described by NME as a "high-end luxury offering" and "immaculate". [57]
Tillman is married to photographer Emma Elizabeth Tillman. They met in Los Angeles at the Laurel Canyon Country Store and were married in Big Sur. [58] They had lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, but have returned to Los Angeles. [59] Tillman had previously lived in Seattle for several years. [23] She has taken photographs for Father John Misty albums.
Tillman was raised in an Evangelical Christian household, he now has more atheist and agnostic leanings, openly criticizing religion in many of his songs. [60] He has said that he is still a Christian "for all intents and purposes," though he is troubled by the way Christianity is commonly expressed in the United States. [61]
Tillman has also been open about his battle with depression. In 2017 he went through what was described as a “nervous breakdown”, resulting in him staying in a hotel for about two months. His album God's Favorite Customer arose from the experience. [62]
Studio albums
as J. Tillman
as Father John Misty
with Fleet Foxes
with Saxon Shore
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Himself | Hardworking Artist of the Year | Nominated |
I Love You, Honeybear | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
2016 | Creative Packaging Award | Won | |
2018 | Pure Comedy | Nominated | |
Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
Himself | Best Live Act | Nominated |
The Berlin Music Video Awards (BMVAs) are an annual festival that puts filmmakers and the art behind music videos in the spotlight.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | "Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution" | Best Music Video | Nominated |
Best Director | Nominated |
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States. Josh received four nominations. [63] [64]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Helplessness Blues | Best Folk Album | Nominated |
2016 | I Love You, Honeybear (Limited Edition Deluxe Vinyl) | Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package | Nominated |
2018 | Pure Comedy | Best Alternative Music Album | Nominated |
Pure Comedy (Deluxe Edition) | Best Recording Package | Won |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings / Drive" | Best Video Woodie | Nominated |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Himself | Best International Solo Artist | Nominated |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Himself | Best Songwriter | Nominated |
2015 | Best Male Artist | Nominated | |
Best Songwriter | Nominated | ||
2017 | Won |
Delivered since 2010, the GAFFA Awards (Swedish: GAFFA Priset) are a Swedish award that rewards popular music awarded by the magazine of the same name.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Himself | Best Foreign Solo Act | Nominated | [65] |
God's Favorite Customer | Best International Album | Nominated |
The UK Music Video Awards is an annual award ceremony founded in 2008 to recognise creativity, technical excellence and innovation in music videos and moving images for music. [66] Tillman has received one award from two nominations.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | "Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution" | Best Rock/Indie Video – International | Won |
Best Animation | Nominated |
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Fleet Foxes are an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington in 2006. Led by singer-songwriter Robin Pecknold, the band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP Sun Giant and their debut album Fleet Foxes on Sub Pop. Both received much critical praise and reviewers often noted the band's use of refined lyrics and vocal harmonies. Fleet Foxes' second studio album Helplessness Blues was released on Sub Pop in 2011. Following a hiatus between 2013 and 2016, during which Pecknold pursued an undergraduate degree, Fleet Foxes reunited to record their third album Crack-Up, released on Nonesuch Records in 2017.
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Fear Fun is the first studio album released by American folk musician Josh Tillman under his pseudonym Father John Misty. It was released on April 30, 2012, in the UK and Europe on Bella Union, and in the rest of the world on May 1, 2012, on Sub Pop Produced by both Tillman and Jonathan Wilson, the album was released following Tillman's departure from Fleet Foxes.
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I Love You, Honeybear is the second studio album by American folk musician Josh Tillman under his pseudonym Father John Misty. It was released on February 9, 2015, in the United Kingdom and Europe by Bella Union, and in the rest of the world on February 10, 2015, by Sub Pop. Produced by both Tillman and Jonathan Wilson, this is Tillman's second studio album since his departure from Fleet Foxes. The album was also mixed by Phil Ek, and mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound. According to Tillman, the release is a concept album. I Love You, Honeybear received widespread acclaim from critics, and was ranked as one of the best albums of 2015 by numerous publications.
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The History of Caves is a soundtrack by American folk musician Josh Tillman and was released under his own name via Sub Pop. The album is an LP release only and is a "Black Friday exclusive", limited to 2,000 copies. It was recorded as a score for the identically titled short film of his wife, Emma Elizabeth Tillman. Except for the a capella track "Titles Theme For Boy Voices" the album is wholly instrumental. It is the first album released under the name "Josh Tillman".
"Freak" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey for her album Honeymoon (2015). It was written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels. A music video for the song was released on February 9, 2016.
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Pure Comedy is the third studio album by American folk musician Josh Tillman under his pseudonym Father John Misty. Its release was announced on January 23, 2017. It was released on April 7, 2017 on Bella Union in the UK and Europe and on Sub Pop in the rest of the world. This is Tillman's third studio album since his departure from Fleet Foxes. It was produced by Josh Tillman in collaboration with Jonathan Wilson, sound engineer Trevor Spencer and composer/double-bassist Gavin Bryars.
The discography of Josh Tillman, an American singer-songwriter, consists of twelve studio albums, six EPs, eleven singles, a soundtrack and several contributions.
God's Favorite Customer is the fourth studio album by American musician Josh Tillman under the stage name Father John Misty. It was released by Sub Pop and Bella Union on June 1, 2018. The album was primarily produced by Tillman himself and Jonathan Rado, alongside a variety of collaborators including previous engineers Trevor Spencer and Dave Cerminara, with further production contributions by Tillman's long-time producer Jonathan Wilson. It also features a variety of musical collaborators, including The Haxan Cloak, Mark Ronson, Weyes Blood, and members of Tillman's touring band.