Will Johnson (musician)

Last updated

Will Johnson
Born (1971-03-23) March 23, 1971 (age 54)
Kennett, Missouri, US
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • author
  • painter
Instruments
  • Drums
  • percussion
  • guitar
Years active1988–present
Labels
Member of

Will Johnson (born March 23, 1971) [1] is an American musician, singer-songwriter, author, and painter who is the lead singer of the bands Centro-matic and South San Gabriel. Called "one of the most prolific artists in American indie rock" by AllMusic, [2] Johnson has also released solo records and is a member of the bands Monsters of Folk, New Multitudes, and Overseas, and he has performed as part of the Undertow Orchestra. [3] He is currently a member of Jason Isbell's band, the 400 Unit.

Contents

Early life

Johnson was born in Kennett, Missouri. When he was 11 years old, his mother remarried, and the family moved to Killeen, Texas. [1]

Johnson attended the University of North Texas, where he was involved in Denton's music scene. He double-majored in English and elementary education. [2]

Music career

Centro-Matic

Centro-Matic started in 1995 as Johnson's side-project while he was still in college, and he released the cassette Non-Directional Jetpack Race the same year. The full-length album Redo the Stacks followed in 1996, and by 1997, the project had evolved into a full band. [4] [5] As of 2014, the group had released 11 studio albums, and they announced their breakup that year. [6]

South San Gabriel

With his Centro-Matic bandmates, Johnson formed South San Gabriel in 2001, and their lineup also includes a rotation of guests. Their first album, Songs/Music , was credited to Centro-Matic on its US release and to South San Gabriel in the Netherlands. [7]

South San Gabriel released Welcome, Convalescence and The Carlton Chronicles – Not Until the Operation's Through in 2003 and 2005, respectively. [8] [9] [10]

In 2008, the band issued Dual Hawks , a split double-album with Centro-Matic. [11] [12]

Molina and Johnson

In 2009, Johnson collaborated with songwriter Jason Molina on the album Molina and Johnson . They recorded the album over a week and a half in early 2008. [1] Johnson describes Molina as a "whirlwind of dedication and activity". [1] Another collaboration was discussed, but it never came to fruition, before Molina's death in 2013. [1]

Undertow Orchestra

Johnson has performed as part of the Undertow Orchestra with David Bazan, Vic Chesnutt, and Mark Eitzel. Johnson first met Chestnutt in 1999 in Dallas. Chesnutt was a fan of Eitzel's music, and the two were longtime friends. [1]

According to Johnson, Bob Andrews, the manager for the four musicians, had the idea in 2005 to create a band called the Undertow Orchestra from members of the Undertow Music Collective. Johnson said Chesnutt was adamant that the shows not feature any solo performances, with the members working to play each other's songs as backing musicians. [1]

Monsters of Folk

Johnson performed with indie supergroup Monsters of Folk as the drummer on a 2009 tour. The lineupp included Jim James, Conor Oberst, M. Ward, and Mike Mogis. The band toured the US and Europe and performed on the PBS show Austin City Limits in October 2010. Johnson became an official member of the band during that time. [13] [14]

New Multitudes

From 2009 to 2012, Johnson collaborated with Jay Farrar, Jim James, and Anders Parker on the Woody Guthrie archive project New Multitudes , which involved the four songwriters setting music to Guthrie's unrecorded lyrics. A tribute album was released in 2012, with a short US tour following. [15]

Overseas

Johnson formed the band Overseas in 2009 with David Bazan and Matt and Bubba Kadane. An eponymous album was released in 2013.

The 400 Unit

In 2023, Johnson joined Jason Isbell's backing band, the 400 Unit, replacing former Centro-matic bandmate Matt Pence on drums, percussion, and guitar. [16]

Writing

Johnson has authored a novel, If or When I Call, which was published by Goliad Media in 2021. [17]

Painting

Since 2008, Johnson has produced folk art paintings, mostly centering on the subject of baseball and its history. Commissions from friends eventually led to his work being exhibited in group and solo art shows. [1]

Discography

Solo

Studio albums

Live album

  • Survey/Voyage (2005) [25]

EPs

  • SCIV001 (2005) [26]
  • Little Raider (2011) [27]
  • Sleuthed/Full Cuts (2024) [28]

Singles

  • "The Riot Jack / I Did a Terrible Thing" (2004), with the Paper Chase [29]
  • "Blackest Sparrow / Darkest Night" (2007) [30]
  • "Inclined / Moccasin Bones" (2016), with Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster [31]
  • "Patient, Patient Man / Uinta" (2017) [32]

Collaborations

with Centro-Matic

Further information: Centro-Matic § Discography

with South San Gabriel

Further information: South San Gabriel (band) § Discography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gibbs, Otis (November 6, 2013). "Episode 56: Will Johnson" (Audio interview). Thanks for Giving a Damn with Otis Gibbs . Nashville, TN – Tracy Thomas' house: SoundCloud . Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Deming, Mark. "Will Johnson – Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  3. ↑ Langer, Andy (November 2012). "Six Degrees of Will Johnson". Texas Monthly . Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  4. ↑ Scott Kelton Jones (October 22, 2006). "Centro-matic for the people". dallasobserver.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ Jesse Hughey (May 28, 2008). "Centro-matic's Will Johnson is a Study in Opposites". dallasobserver.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ "December Tour Dates / Final run". centro-matic.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Return of South San Gabriel", kutx.org, August 10, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017
  8. ↑ Schacht, John "Welcome, Convalescence Review", Allmusic. Retrieved September 23, 2017
  9. ↑ Schacht, John "The Carlton Chronicles: Not Until the Operation's Through Review", Allmusic. Retrieved September 23, 2017
  10. ↑ Howe, Brian (2005) "South San Gabriel The Carlton Chronicles: Not Until the Operation's Through", Pitchfork, April 18, 2005. Retrieved September 23, 2017
  11. ↑ Deusner, Stephen M. (2008) "South San Gabriel Dual Hawks", Pitchfork, June 25, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2017
  12. ↑ Fiander, Matthew (2008) "Centro-Matic / South San Gabriel Dual Hawks", PopMatters, June 17, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2017
  13. ↑ "Lounge Act Recap – Will Johnson". WOXY.com . January 25, 2010. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Will Johnson – WOXY Lounge Act (full session download)". WOXY.com . January 25, 2010. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  15. ↑ Hyden, Steven (January 12, 2012). "Jim James corrals other songwriters for Woody Guthrie-inspired album, New Multitudes". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  16. ↑ "On Tour with Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit". will-johnson.com. June 13, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  17. ↑ "No Voice Was Expendable: An Interview with Will Johnson". Maudlin House. November 13, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  18. ↑ Fiander, Matthew (September 17, 2012). "Will Johnson: Scorpion". PopMatters. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  19. ↑ Poppe, Nathan (January 8, 2016). "Monster of folk: Will Johnson talks supergroups, Woody Guthrie and taking things personally". The Oklahoman. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  20. ↑ Capozziello, Christine (March 29, 2017). "Will Johnson – Hatteras Night, a Good Luck Charm". mxdwn. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  21. ↑ Rubsam, Robert (September 26, 2019). "Will Johnson's Steady Ascent". Texas Monthly. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  22. ↑ Bolton, Lyndon (September 11, 2020). "Will Johnson "El Capitan" (Keeled Scales, 2020)". Americana UK. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  23. ↑ Broscheid, James (October 9, 2023). "Will Johnson – No Ordinary Crown (Keeled Scales)". The Big Takeover. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  24. ↑ Garza, Miranda (May 30, 2025). "Album Review: Will Johnson's Pensive Trip to Diamond City". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Survey/Voyage". will-johnson.com. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Sixgunlover Records - Catalog" . Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  27. ↑ Risch, Eric (August 28, 2014). "Centro-matic: Take Pride in Your Long Odds". PopMatters. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  28. ↑ Freeman, Doug (January 3, 2025). "Album Review: Hayes & the Heathens". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  29. ↑ Machkovech, Sam (August 19, 2004). "the pAper chAse | Will Johnson". Dallas Observer. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  30. ↑ "PIAPTK Recordings". PIAPTK. Retrieved August 7, 2025. This is 2-song single on Square, Clear 8" Lathe-Cut records in hand-stamped burlap bags.
  31. ↑ "Will Johnson & Water Liars – Inclined / Moccasin Bones". Waiting Room Records. Retrieved August 7, 2025. Will Johnson (Centro-Matic, Monsters of Folk) curates a brand-new 7" for Misra Records to celebrate Record Store Day 2016!
  32. ↑ "Different Folk Limited Edition 7″ Vinyl". will-johnson.com. February 3, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  33. ↑ Graff, Gary (August 3, 2018). "Marie/Lepanto Get Weird with 'Inverness' Video: Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  34. ↑ DeSpain, Brian (October 20, 2021). "Interview: Will Johnson of Centro-matic". Americana Highways. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  35. ↑ Johnson, Will [@willjohnsontx]; (September 2, 2022). "Out today, Marie/Lepanto: The Fix Is On. A four-song EP from our 2021 Gulf Collide session, alongside our friends @ramblecreek and @_mattpence" . Retrieved August 7, 2025– via Instagram.
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