Freedy Johnston
Encyclopedia
Freedy Johnston is a New York City-based singer-songwriter
originally from Kinsley
, Kansas
.
Having scored several minor hits since the early 1990s, Johnston's songs are often about troubled loners, and cover topics like heartbreak, alienation and disappointment. Known for the craftsmanship of his songs, he has been described as a "songwriter's songwriter."
album he had read about. When he graduated high school, and left to attend the University of Kansas, in Lawrence, Kansas
, he immersed himself in the new wave
music scene. By 1985, with some songs he'd recorded on a four-track recorder he moved to New York City. After a few years there, he signed with Bar None Records, and debuted just two tracks called Time for a Change, in 1989, and his first album was released in 1990, titled The Trouble Tree. While the reviews were generally good, the album was not commercially successful. Johnston sold some of his family's farmland to finance the recording of his second album, Can You Fly
(an event he wrote about in a song on that album, "Trying to Tell You I Don't Know"). Johnston followed up with his 1994 major label debut, This Perfect World, which received rave reviews and led to Rolling Stone
naming him "songwriter of the year". Other publications, including The New York Times
, Spin, and Musician Magazine
gave the album high marks as well. It featured the single "Bad Reputation
", which reached 54 on the Billboard Hot 100
and is one of his best-known songs. The success he enjoyed convinced Elektra
to sign him and he released his next three albums under that label; Never Home
, Blue Days Black Nights, and Right Between the Promises and while they didn't reach the same level of praise as This Perfect World, they still earned both respectful reviews and some degree of commercial success.
He has contributed songs to the soundtrack
s for movies including Kingpin
, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
, and Kicking and Screaming. Johnston and fellow musicians Jay Moran, James "Pie" Cowan, Duke Erikson
, and Butch Vig
perform occasional shows as a covers band called "The Know-it-All Boyfriends". Vig put the ensemble together for his brother's Christmas party, and it proved to be so much fun that they decided to keep going.
In early 2008 Johnston released a covers album entitled My Favorite Waste of Time
. It includes selections from Tom Petty
, Paul McCartney
, Matthew Sweet
and The Hollies
. His most recent CD, called Rain on the City, was recorded in Nashville (as was My Favorite Waste of Time) and was released in January 2010.
, claiming that, "his music marries perfectly realized power-pop
sensibility to skilled, literary writing chops."
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
originally from Kinsley
Kinsley, Kansas
Kinsley is a city in and the county seat of Edwards County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,457.-Geography:...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
Having scored several minor hits since the early 1990s, Johnston's songs are often about troubled loners, and cover topics like heartbreak, alienation and disappointment. Known for the craftsmanship of his songs, he has been described as a "songwriter's songwriter."
Early years
Johnston (birth name Fred Fatzer) was raised in the small town of Kinsley, KS, pop. 1,658 (2009). His interest in music was hampered by the fact that there were no record shops or music stores in his hometown. When he was sixteen, he bought his first guitar from a mail order catalog, and at 17, had a friend drive him the 35 miles to the closest record store to buy an Elvis CostelloElvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
album he had read about. When he graduated high school, and left to attend the University of Kansas, in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
, he immersed himself in the new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
music scene. By 1985, with some songs he'd recorded on a four-track recorder he moved to New York City. After a few years there, he signed with Bar None Records, and debuted just two tracks called Time for a Change, in 1989, and his first album was released in 1990, titled The Trouble Tree. While the reviews were generally good, the album was not commercially successful. Johnston sold some of his family's farmland to finance the recording of his second album, Can You Fly
Can You Fly
Can You Fly is singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston's 1992 album. Some critics consider it Johnston's best work. Robert Christgau even called it "a perfect album."...
(an event he wrote about in a song on that album, "Trying to Tell You I Don't Know"). Johnston followed up with his 1994 major label debut, This Perfect World, which received rave reviews and led to Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
naming him "songwriter of the year". Other publications, including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Spin, and Musician Magazine
Musician (magazine)
Musician was a monthly magazine that covered news and information about American popular music. Initially called "Music America", it was founded in 1976 by Sam Holdsworth and Gordon Baird. The two friends borrowed $20,000 from relatives and started the publication in a barn in Colorado...
gave the album high marks as well. It featured the single "Bad Reputation
Bad Reputation (Freedy Johnston song)
Bad Reputation is a single by Freedy Johnston on his major label debut This Perfect World. It is his best known song, and has received airplay along with being featured in the closing credits of the 1995 film Kicking and Screaming. Bad Reputation is considered one of the highlights on the...
", which reached 54 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and is one of his best-known songs. The success he enjoyed convinced Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
to sign him and he released his next three albums under that label; Never Home
Never Home
Never Home is singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston's 1997 release. Johnston credited producer Danny Kortchmar with imparting a more spontaneous, live-sounding feel to this album than its predecessor, This Perfect World....
, Blue Days Black Nights, and Right Between the Promises and while they didn't reach the same level of praise as This Perfect World, they still earned both respectful reviews and some degree of commercial success.
He has contributed songs to the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s for movies including Kingpin
Kingpin (film)
Kingpin is a 1996 slapstick comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers and starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, and Bill Murray...
, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is a 1995 crime film directed by Gary Fleder from a screenplay written by Scott Rosenberg. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Andy García, Christopher Lloyd, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Fairuza Balk, and Gabrielle Anwar.The film's title...
, and Kicking and Screaming. Johnston and fellow musicians Jay Moran, James "Pie" Cowan, Duke Erikson
Duke Erikson
Douglas Elwin Erickson , better known as Duke Erikson, is a founding member of the band Garbage. At 16 years old he formed his first band, The British. Erickson studied art history, and financed his studies with numerous jobs such as carpenter or truck driver...
, and Butch Vig
Butch Vig
Butch Vig is an American musician and record producer, best known internationally as the drummer of the Madison, Wisconsin-based alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of multi-platinum selling album Nevermind by Nirvana....
perform occasional shows as a covers band called "The Know-it-All Boyfriends". Vig put the ensemble together for his brother's Christmas party, and it proved to be so much fun that they decided to keep going.
In early 2008 Johnston released a covers album entitled My Favorite Waste of Time
My Favorite Waste of Time
My Favorite Waste of Time is singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston's 2007 release. It consists of cover versions of songs by other artists.-Track listing:#"You're My Favorite Waste of Time" by Marshall Crenshaw#"I Want You Bad" by NRBQ...
. It includes selections from Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet
Sidney Matthew Sweet is an American alternative rock/power pop musician. He was part of the burgeoning Athens, Georgia music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s...
and The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
. His most recent CD, called Rain on the City, was recorded in Nashville (as was My Favorite Waste of Time) and was released in January 2010.
Style
Johnston's music has been discussed by a critic from CD Universe, after the release of This Perfect WorldThis Perfect World
This Perfect World is an album released by singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston in 1994.It is an album steeped in regret and loss. The narrator of "Across the Avenue" is unable to get past the memory of seeing his lover killed in a pedestrian accident. In "Two Lovers Stop," a young couple commit...
, claiming that, "his music marries perfectly realized power-pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
sensibility to skilled, literary writing chops."
Discography
- The Trouble Tree (1990)
- Can You FlyCan You FlyCan You Fly is singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston's 1992 album. Some critics consider it Johnston's best work. Robert Christgau even called it "a perfect album."...
(1992) - Unlucky (1993)
- This Perfect WorldThis Perfect WorldThis Perfect World is an album released by singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston in 1994.It is an album steeped in regret and loss. The narrator of "Across the Avenue" is unable to get past the memory of seeing his lover killed in a pedestrian accident. In "Two Lovers Stop," a young couple commit...
(1994) - Never HomeNever HomeNever Home is singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston's 1997 release. Johnston credited producer Danny Kortchmar with imparting a more spontaneous, live-sounding feel to this album than its predecessor, This Perfect World....
(1997) - Blue Days Black Nights (1999)
- Live at 33 1/3 (2000)
- Right Between the Promises (2001)
- The Way I Were: 4-Track Demos 1986-1992 (2004)
- Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop (2006)
- My Favorite Waste of TimeMy Favorite Waste of TimeMy Favorite Waste of Time is singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston's 2007 release. It consists of cover versions of songs by other artists.-Track listing:#"You're My Favorite Waste of Time" by Marshall Crenshaw#"I Want You Bad" by NRBQ...
(2008) - Rain on the City (2010)
External links
- Official website
- Fan website
- Biography at VH1
- "Bad Reputation" at YouTube