Max Johnston
Encyclopedia
Max Johnston is a songwriter
and multi-instrumentalist
best known for his work on fiddle
, Dobro
, banjo
, and mandolin
with the bands Uncle Tupelo
, Wilco
and more recently, The Gourds
. Johnston is the younger brother of singer-songwriter
Michelle Shocked
and has supported her in concert tours as well.
in the fall of 1992 during the "Arkansas Traveler Review tour" during which Uncle Tupelo was the opening act for a bill including The Band
, Taj Mahal
, and headliner, Michelle Shocked
. Although the tour fell apart after just a few shows, Johnston continued to play with Uncle Tupelo occasionally at first, and then as a regular part of the band appearing on the group's final studio album, Anodyne
http://www.factorybelt.net/history.htm.
Following the departure of Jay Farrar
in May, 1994, the remaining members of Uncle Tupelo, including Johnston, Ken Coomer
, and John Stirratt
, formed the band Wilco
under the leadership of Jeff Tweedy
. Johnston left Wilco shortly after their second album, Being There
in 1996 to form his own short-lived band, the Pony Stars and tour with his sister, Michelle Shocked
. (Some descriptions of events suggest Johnston was fired by his Wilco band-mates http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A78666). Johnston was then briefly a member of the Louisville, Kentucky-based
band, Freakwater
, and gave instrumental support to singer-songwriter Steve Forbert
before settling into his present role in 1999 with the Austin-based
band, The Gourds
.
Johnston was offered a position in The Gourds and immediately accepted it after sitting in with the band at their South by Southwest
showcase. After years of performing mainly as a sideman for great songwriters (Farrar, Tweedy, Schocked, and Irwin
), Johnston at last felt himself to be a contributing member of the band. "This is more mine than anything I've ever been involved with," Johnston stated, "I have a voice in this band. With Tupelo, it was like, 'Wow, I'm in Uncle Tupelo,' you know? But I didn't have much input. Here, I finally found a group of guys who listen to me, we communicate on a level I haven't before." http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A78666. By the time of his second recording with the band, Bolsa de Agua, Johnston had found his voice contributing the tracks, "Jesus Christ (with Signs Following)" and "O Rings". Johnston has continued to remain active with The Gourds whose most recent release is 2009's
Haymaker
.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
best known for his work on fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, Dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, and mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
with the bands Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
, Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
and more recently, The Gourds
The Gourds
The Gourds are an American alternative country band that formed in Austin, Texas during the summer of 1994.-Career:Primarily evolving from the Picket Line Coyotes and the Grackles, The Gourds original line-up consisted of Kevin Russell , Jimmy Smith , Claude Bernard , and Charlie Llewellin...
. Johnston is the younger brother of singer-songwriter
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...
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
and has supported her in concert tours as well.
Career
Johnston began performing with Uncle TupeloUncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
in the fall of 1992 during the "Arkansas Traveler Review tour" during which Uncle Tupelo was the opening act for a bill including The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
, and headliner, Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
. Although the tour fell apart after just a few shows, Johnston continued to play with Uncle Tupelo occasionally at first, and then as a regular part of the band appearing on the group's final studio album, Anodyne
Anodyne (album)
Anodyne is the fourth and final studio album by alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, released on October 5, 1993. The recording of the album was preceded by the departure of the original drummer Mike Heidorn and the addition of three new band members: bassist John Stirratt, drummer Ken Coomer,...
http://www.factorybelt.net/history.htm.
Following the departure of Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar
Jay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001...
in May, 1994, the remaining members of Uncle Tupelo, including Johnston, Ken Coomer
Ken Coomer
Ken Coomer was the last drummer for the band Uncle Tupelo as well as the drummer for Chicago based-band Wilco until Yankee Hotel Foxtrot...
, and John Stirratt
John Stirratt
John Stirratt is the bassist and multi-instrumentalist for Wilco, and The Autumn Defense.Stirratt was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 26, 1967 and grew up in nearby Mandeville. He attended Mandeville High School and the University of Mississippi...
, formed the band Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
under the leadership of Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
. Johnston left Wilco shortly after their second album, Being There
Being There (album)
Being There is the second album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. Despite its release as a nineteen-song double album, Being There was sold at a single album price due to a deal between lead singer Jeff Tweedy and Reprise Records...
in 1996 to form his own short-lived band, the Pony Stars and tour with his sister, Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
. (Some descriptions of events suggest Johnston was fired by his Wilco band-mates http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A78666). Johnston was then briefly a member of the Louisville, Kentucky-based
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
band, Freakwater
Freakwater
-Career:In 1989, Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Irwin founded the band, and they have been supported by several musicians since then, including members of Califone . Bassist David Wayne Gay, formerly of Stump The Host, is another long-time member of the band...
, and gave instrumental support to singer-songwriter Steve Forbert
Steve Forbert
Steve Forbert is an American pop music singer-songwriter. He is best known for his song "Romeo's Tune", which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980....
before settling into his present role in 1999 with the Austin-based
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
band, The Gourds
The Gourds
The Gourds are an American alternative country band that formed in Austin, Texas during the summer of 1994.-Career:Primarily evolving from the Picket Line Coyotes and the Grackles, The Gourds original line-up consisted of Kevin Russell , Jimmy Smith , Claude Bernard , and Charlie Llewellin...
.
Johnston was offered a position in The Gourds and immediately accepted it after sitting in with the band at their South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
showcase. After years of performing mainly as a sideman for great songwriters (Farrar, Tweedy, Schocked, and Irwin
Freakwater
-Career:In 1989, Janet Beveridge Bean and Catherine Irwin founded the band, and they have been supported by several musicians since then, including members of Califone . Bassist David Wayne Gay, formerly of Stump The Host, is another long-time member of the band...
), Johnston at last felt himself to be a contributing member of the band. "This is more mine than anything I've ever been involved with," Johnston stated, "I have a voice in this band. With Tupelo, it was like, 'Wow, I'm in Uncle Tupelo,' you know? But I didn't have much input. Here, I finally found a group of guys who listen to me, we communicate on a level I haven't before." http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A78666. By the time of his second recording with the band, Bolsa de Agua, Johnston had found his voice contributing the tracks, "Jesus Christ (with Signs Following)" and "O Rings". Johnston has continued to remain active with The Gourds whose most recent release is 2009's
2009 in music
The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year...
Haymaker
Haymaker
Haymaker may refer to:* A type of punch, a wild swing with all of a person's might to knock out the opponent* Conditioner , a type of farm machine that treats hay to cause more rapid and even drying...
.
Personal life
Max currently resides in Austin, TX, with his wife Maleah, whom he married in 2006 and their two daughters.with Uncle Tupelo
- AnodyneAnodyne (album)Anodyne is the fourth and final studio album by alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, released on October 5, 1993. The recording of the album was preceded by the departure of the original drummer Mike Heidorn and the addition of three new band members: bassist John Stirratt, drummer Ken Coomer,...
(SireSire RecordsSire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
/RepriseReprise RecordsReprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
, 1993; rereleased ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
/Legacy and Rhino EntertainmentRhino EntertainmentRhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
, 2003) - 89/93: An Anthology89/93: An Anthology89/93: An Anthology is a retrospective compilation album by Uncle Tupelo, released in 2002 by Legacy Recordings.The compilation contains original songs from Uncle Tupelo's four studio albums; "Outdone" is a demo version of the song released on No Depression. "I Wanna Be Your Dog" was previously...
(SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, 2002)
with Wilco
- A.M.A.M. (album)A.M. is the debut album of Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco, released on March 28, 1995. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band that was the predecessor of Wilco...
(Sire/Reprise, 1995) - Being ThereBeing There (album)Being There is the second album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. Despite its release as a nineteen-song double album, Being There was sold at a single album price due to a deal between lead singer Jeff Tweedy and Reprise Records...
(Sire/Reprise, 1996)
with The Gourds
- Ghosts of Hallelujah (1999)
- Bolsa de Agua (2000)
- Shinebox (2001)
- Cow Fish Fowl or Pig (2002)
- Blood of the Ram (2004)
- Heavy Ornamentals (2006)
- Noble Creatures (2007)
- HaymakerHaymakerHaymaker may refer to:* A type of punch, a wild swing with all of a person's might to knock out the opponent* Conditioner , a type of farm machine that treats hay to cause more rapid and even drying...
(2009) - with "Clocker Redbury and Dusty Slosinger", (duel pseudonyms for Gourd's Bassist, Jimmy Smith)
- Slosinger/Redbury (2000), Johnston listed as "Trevor Rivera".
- Cold War's Hot Water Shower (2001), as "Trevor Rivera"
- with Kevin Russell's Junker, (solo effort for Gourd's Kevin Russell)
- Buttermilk & Rifles (2002)
Other Recordings
- Arkansas TravelerArkansas TravelerArkansas Traveler may have several meanings:*"The Arkansas Traveler" , a fiddle tune by Sanford Faulkner*Arkansas Traveler , an 1858 painting by Edward Payson Washburn*Arkansas Traveler made by the Southwest Manufacturing Co...
, Michelle ShockedMichelle ShockedMichelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
(1991), guitar. - Rocking Horse Head, Steve ForbertSteve ForbertSteve Forbert is an American pop music singer-songwriter. He is best known for his song "Romeo's Tune", which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980....
(1996), banjo, Dobro, fiddle, mandolin. - SoulagesSoulagesSoulages is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.-Population:...
, Lazy Sunday Dream (2001), banjo, background vocals. - Palace at 4 A.M., Jay BennettJay BennettJay Walter Bennett was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Wilco.-Early life and work with Wilco:...
& Edward BurchEdward BurchEdward Burch is a Chicago and Champaign, Illinois-based musician and journalist. As a guitarist, he is a founding member of alternative country band The Kennett Brothers and, as a suitcase player, of the quasi-skiffle combo The Viper and His Famous Orchestra...
(2002), banjo.