Hi, how are you? The life and times of Daniel Johnston

Posted on 30th May 06 by Contributor | 0

Artist: Daniel Johnston
Author: Jason Golden

I don"t really know where to begin with Daniel Johnson" an artistic enigma whose legend tends to overshadow his genius. Daniel has spent the last 20 or so years exposing his heartrending tales of unrequited love" cosmic mishaps" and existential torment to an ever"growing international cult audience. As both an artist and a songwriter Daniel has maintained the support of many famous fans" from Matt Groening and Johnny Depp to David Bowie and Kurt Cobain.

Johnston is the musician's cult musician" whose music is appreciated for its purity and undeniable simple brilliance. A range of artists" such as Tom Waits" Beck" Bright Eyes" Wilco" Sonic Youth" Yo La Tengo" Glen Hansard" Nina Persson" Sparklehorse" and Pearl Jam have all covered Johnston's songs in the past. Johnston has created a musical universe quite unlike anything else out there today" a world where Captain America and Casper the friendly ghost battle the forces of evil and love conquers all.

Life for Daniel has never been straight forward. An artistic genius who for many years was plagued with depression" Daniel has only recently found the balance in his life to follow his calling. His two passions in his youth" comic books and the Beatles" led to his callings in life" art and music. Born in California on January 21" 1961 Daniel found his love of art through comic luminary Jack Kirby. Daniel would trade comics with the kids at school and became an avid collector" his favourite being Captain America" a character who has frequented his artwork ever since. Around the same time Daniel began listening to the Beatles and thus began his love of song writing. As with comics" Daniel obsessed about The Beatles too" collecting any bootlegs he possibly could.

He began to become immersed in his world of notebook doodling" comic books" writing little songs" and dreaming of being a famous artist but it was years later that he began to record and distribute his work. Daniels illness starts creeping up in his late teenage years. He goes off to college to study art" but he can't take care of himself"" he misses his classes" seems dazed" and eventually gets sent home. At another school" he falls madly in love with a girl who turns out to be engaged"" he doesn't look like he'll ever graduate" and gets brought home again. His parents send him to Texas to live with his brother and look for work"" he takes a tape recorder into the garage and records an album. He gets moved over to his sister's house" but he buys a moped and runs off to sell corn dogs with a travelling carnival and eventually he lands in Austin" Texas.

Over the following year" while working at McDonald's and trying to get everyone to listen to his tapes" Daniels conflicted talents took shape. He"d record an album" tape as many copies as he could and hand them out to pretty girls on the street. Word began to spread and his tapes were soon being sold in various music stores in Austin but his mental heath began to worsen and in 1983" during the recording of his seminal "Hi" how are you"" album" Daniel suffered a mental breakdown.

It"s extraordinary to listen to his recordings from that time" the man writes with a childish honesty that can breach your heart with a single line. For anybody who has ever loved and lost" Daniel can stir up a whole load of emotions. His lyrics are so simple yet they put into words emotions we all feel but can never explain. The longing and sadness Johnston sings of is still as old and as real as the blues. His songs about his illness provide an insight to the bleakness of manic depression and life in mental hospitals. In his song "A Lonely Song" he sings "Well you heard about the time" I was in the insane asylum/and you read the magazines/I've been wounded by folklore/but I bet you never knew what I went through/and what I had to do just to bring you/a lonely song." The truth being known we really will never know just what Daniel had to go through to bring us his art.

In all of Daniel's art" sketched or recorded" there is an ongoing battle between good and evil. Many of his drawings feature a Daniel"like character called Joe the Boxer" who's missing the top quarter of his head" and is often seen boxing a many"eyed" tentacled creature called Vile Corrupt. Heroes are a recurring theme" including Captain America" one of Daniel's long"time fixations. Hell appears and reappears. So do gunboats" swastikas" military men" and other signs of war. As Daniel told Pitchfork a few years ago" "Good triumphs over evil… World War II" for instance" who won that war" America"" Daniels artwork now sells for thousands of pounds and is featured in many outsider art magazines and galleries around the world. His fan base is the artistic cream of the crop" but he may never appeal to the masses" at least not in his lifetime.

The 90's were difficult for Daniel" but will probably be regarded as the years that medical relief was achieved. Modern medications eventually achieved a level of stability and Daniel grew happier in himself. He signed with Atlantic Records in 1992 and released "FUN" which sold 12"000 copies but his mental stability and productivity didn't produce another album until 1999 with Brian Beatties production "Rejected Unknown". Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse collaborated with Daniel in the 2003 release "Fear Yourself" on Gammon Records" making what many regard as an "accessible" contemporary sound to Daniel's music ideas.

In November of 2004" Gammon records released a cover tribute album with covers from eighteen artists on one CD and Daniel's originals on the second CD. This work" "Discovered Covered " The Late Great Daniel Johnston" gave Daniel new exposure to fans of Beck" Eels" Calvin Johnson" Tom Waits and others.

In January" 2005" the feature"length documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" premiered at Sundance Film Festival and at film festivals around the world that year. The movie was distributed in North America by Sony Pictures Classic and by Tartan Films in the United Kingdom on March 31" 2006. The film has achieved much critical acclaim but has proved a difficult experience for Daniel.

The film features footage of Daniel at his lowest and can prove difficult for anyone to watch. It portrays a fallen genius but the truth is that Daniel is not this character. His life has always had its ups and downs but right now it"s more balanced than ever. Daniel now lives in Waller" Texas" in a house alongside his parents. It is here where Daniel continues his art and writing with his father and brother acting as his managers. He has plans to record many more albums" and with his fan base constantly growing" its clear Daniel Johnston has a lot more to offer us.

It seems amazing that I had never even heard of this guy until recently but I"m glad he came to my attention. Daniel Johnston is a legend in our time and his music"s simplicity will transcend time. Most songwriters would have given anything to have written one song as good as any Daniel Johnston tune" and he has hundreds. His songs will remind you the struggle of good vs. evil is always raging" but love is all that matters. And that is life" never put as simply"
Daniel will be doing a special interview with us at Drop"D in the coming weeks so stay tuned coz it"s going to be something else.