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Johnny Dowd

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Johnny Dowd

Johnny Dowd (born March 29, 1948 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American alternative country musician from Ithaca, New York. Typical of his style are experimental, noisy breaks in his songs and strong gothic (in the sense of dark and gloomy) elements in the lyrics as well as in the music. There is also a strong undercurrent of black humor and the absurd in his work.

Although his early albums were most celebrated in the alternative country community, he has never quite fit into any particular genre.[1] As a singer-songwriter, his music is more often compared to that of Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Captain Beefheart.[2]

Early life

Born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1948, Dowd's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1950, and then to his father's hometown of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma in 1953. He received a record player for Christmas in 1956 and began buying records at a local appliance store. Although the first LP he owned was by the Ray Conniff Singers, it was the music of Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and James Brown that changed his life. He cites James Brown's Live at the Apollo as his lifelong favorite album.

In 1965, along with his mother and sisters, Johnny returned to Memphis after his parents' divorce. After serving in the U.S. Army and living in California he drove across the United States in the early 1970s with longtime friend Dave Hinkle and settled permanently in Ithaca, New York where his mother and sisters had also relocated. Dowd and Hinkle began moving furniture for a living, later naming their business the Zolar Moving Company.

Band history

Dowd formed a band in the 1970s named The Jokers, which included Johnny (guitar), his sister Jennifer Edmondson (drums) and Dave Hinkle (bass). By 1988 the band had become Neon Baptist, whose members included Johnny Dowd, Cally Arthur, Dave Hinkle, Mike Edmondson and Jennifer Edmondson. Max Ormond and Kim Sherwood-Caso were in later lineups. Neon Baptist was one of the founding acts of the GrassRoots Festival, where Dowd has performed annually since 1991.

By the time Neon Baptist disbanded in 1995, Dowd was recording songs alone in the office of his moving company. These songs first appeared in 1995 on a home-made demo cassette as Wrong Side of Memphis, credited to Johnny Dowd as a solo artist. Kim Sherwood-Caso contributed background vocals on two songs. Most of these tracks were either re-mixed or completely re-recorded for the CD version of the same album, which was initially pressed as a self-released CD and then officially released on Chicago's Checkered Past label in 1997.[3][4] 

The album was also released on Koch Records in early 1998 and then in Europe on Munich Records. Favorable reviews led to some of his first Euopean appearances in 1998.

In the wake of widespread critical acclaim to Wrong Side of Memphis Dowd released his second album, Pictures From Life's Other Side, in 1999, also to strong reviews. This year also saw the first of Dowd's US and European tours. After the self-released (and very experimental) Down In The Valley in 2000 came Temporary Shelter later that year. A Dutch TV documentary on Johnny Dowd was also filmed in 2000.

The Pawnbroker's Wife album was released in 2002, followed by Wire Flowers: More Songs from the Wrong Side of Memphis in 2003 and Cemetery Shoes in 2004. Dowd's first major film appearance was in 2003 with the release of Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus.[5] The album Cruel Words was released in 2006, and in 2007 it won the Album/Alt.Country award in the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards.

In 2006 Johnny Dowd, drummer Brian Wilson (aka Willie B) and Jim White formed a band called "Hellwood". Their album, Chainsaw of Life was recorded in a cabin in New York, the walls of which were covered in musician obituaries. Hellwood toured the album in Europe. Johnny has also incorporated some of the songs from Hellwood into his own live setlist.

Johnny and band have completed their latest record, entitled "A Drunkard's Masterpiece". It will be released in Spring 2008 in America, Canada and Europe. A European tour will follow its release. A sample of one of the album's tracks, called "Infidelity", is currently available on Johnny's website.

Discography

Studio albums

  • Wrong Side of Memphis (Checkered Past - USA, Koch Records - USA, Munich Records - Europe) 1997, 1998 and 1998 respectively
  • Pictures from Life's Other Side (Koch Records - USA, Munich Records - Europe) 1999
  • Down in the Valley (self-released) 2000
  • Temporary Shelter (Munich Records - Europe, Koch Records - USA) 2000, 2001 respectively
  • The Pawnbroker's Wife (Munich Records - Europe, Catamount - USA) 2002
  • Wire Flowers: More Songs from the Wrong Side of Memphis (Munich Records - Europe) 2003
  • Cemetery Shoes (Munich Records - Europe, Bongo Beat Records - USA) 2004
  • Cruel Words (Bongo Beat Records - USA, Munich Records - Europe) 2006
  • A Drunkard's Masterpiece (Munich Records - Europe, Bongo Beat Records - USA) Spring 2008

Live albums

  • Johnny Dowd Live (self-released) 2001
  • Live at the Night & Day Cafe, Manchester, UK (self-released) 2005

45s/EPs

  • Hell or High Water/Divorce, American Style (Nicole, 1999)
  • Mother Love/Daddy's Girl (Sub Pop 2001)

Also appears on

  • Unsound, Volume 2: Guitars! (To M'Lou Music, 1999)

Films

References

  1. ^ Catalano, Jim (November 7, 2002), "Dowd celebrates international success", The Ithaca Journal, pp. 5C {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Unterberger, Ritchie (2003). All Music Guide to Country: The Definitive Guide to Country Music. San Francisco, CA: Backbeat Books. p. 212. ISBN 0879307609. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Morris, Chris (October 18, 1997), "Johnny Dowd probes the dark side", Billboard, 109 (42): 59 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Hoekstra, Dave (June 4, 1998), "Dowd Is Losers' Troubadour", Chicago Sun-Times, p. 38 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Douglas, Andrew (producer). Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (movie). London: Lone Star Productions. {{cite AV media}}: External link in |title= (help); Unknown parameter |year2= ignored (help)

External links

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