John K. Samson
John K. Samson | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Kristjan Samson |
| Origin | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Genres | Folk punk, indie rock, post-punk, hardcore punk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, bass |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Labels | Epitaph, ANTI- |
John Kristjan Samson (born 1973[1]) is a musician from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is a singer-songwriter and currently the frontman of the Canadian indie folk/rock band The Weakerthans. He also played bass in the punk band Propagandhi during the mid-1990s.
Samson is married to Canadian singer-songwriter Christine Fellows.[2] He is an adjunct professor with the Creative Writing Program at the University of British Columbia.
Music
In 1993, while still a member of Propagandhi, Samson released a fifteen-track solo album on cassette tape, entitled Slips and Tangles. In 1995, six of these songs were featured on a split album shared with the now-defunct punk band Painted Thin. Following the critical success of The Weakerthans, Samson's side of the split was re-released online by G7 Welcoming Committee as a digital EP in 2006.
In 1995, also while still in Propagandhi, Samson released the song "Letter of Resignation" on a split with F.Y.P. Although credited to Propagandhi, Samson was the only band member to appear on the song. He later rerecorded "Letter of Resignation" on The Weakerthans' debut album, Fallow.
In 2006, he and his wife Christine Fellows recorded The Old House, an album intended as a Christmas gift for friends and family. They eventually released two songs, "Taps Reversed" and "Good Salvage", for airplay on CBC Radio 3 in 2007. Fellows and Samson also performed live on the network on March 17, 2007, to mark the final night of the network's terrestrial simulcast on CBC Radio 2. Both Samson and Fellows also participated in writing and performing music for Clive Holden's multimedia project Trains of Winnipeg.
In 2008, Samson collaborated with electronic musician Blunderspublik and Inuit throat singer Nikki Komaksiutiksak on the song "Keewatin Arctic", as part of the collaborative music project Record of the Week Club.[3]
Shortly afterward, Samson announced his first solo project since 1995's Little Pictures: a series of 7" releases about Manitoba roads, which he plans to release over the next 18 months. The first, City Route 85, was released on November 3, 2009 through Epitaph and ANTI-.[4] In August 2010, Samson announced his next EP, Provincial Road 222, to be released on September 21.[5] In December 2010, the Weakerthans performed four concerts in Winnipeg, one for each of their albums. In their final concert at the Burton Cummings Theatre, they performed all four of their albums in one night.
In 2011, Samson, Fellows and Sandro Perri participated in the National Parks Project, working with filmmaker Daniel Cockburn to produce and score a short film about Ontario's Bruce Peninsula National Park.[6]
On November 29, 2011, Anti- Records announced that Samson would be releasing his 'first full-length solo album', Provincial, on January 24, 2012.[7]
He appears on Michael Feuerstack's 2014 album Singer Songer, contributing vocals to the song "Friday Night Guard".[8]
In 2015, Samson, Fellows, Ashley Au and Jason Tait collaborated on the music for For the Turnstiles, a dance performance by Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers troupe inspired by Neil Young's 1974 album On the Beach.[9]
On August 15, 2016, Samson announced that his new album, Winter Wheat, would be released on October 21, 2016.[10] While technically a solo album, Winter Wheat features contributions by his Weakerthans bandmates Jason Tait and Greg Smith, and much of it was recorded by Weakerthans sound tech Cam Loeppky.
Other activities
Samson is also a founding member of Arbeiter Ring Publishing, a publishing collective. In 2012 he published his Lyrics and Poems, 1997-2012 with the press.
In 2006, Samson championed Miriam Toews' novel A Complicated Kindness in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's annual Canada Reads, and the novel went on to win the competition. In the 2007 edition of Canada Reads—an "all-star" competition pitting the five winning advocates from previous years against each other—Samson returned to champion Heather O'Neill's novel Lullabies for Little Criminals, which also won the competition.
In 2008 and 2009, Samson spent several weeks working at the CBC's Winnipeg studios as part of the production team for the CBC Radio 2 program The Signal.[11]
Samson was a writer in residence at the University of Manitoba in 2013.
Discography
Albums
- Slips and Tangles – 1993
- Provincial – 2012
- Winter Wheat – 2016
EPs
- Little Pictures – 1995
- City Route 85 – 2009
- Provincial Road 222 – 2010
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Alt [12][13] | |||||
| 2012 | "Cruise Night" | 36 | Provincial | ||
| "When I Write My Master's Thesis" | 29 | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
References
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW3buuhnRlU
- ^ "John K. Samson and Christine Fellows". Discorder, December 4, 2009.
- ^ "Mastermind behind indie-music innovation". Vancouver Province, June 21, 2009.
- ^ "The Weakerthans' John K. Samson Reveals New Seven-Inches Series in Honour of Manitoba Roads". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
- ^ "The Weakerthans' John K. Samson Announces New Solo Seven-Inch". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
- ^ "John K. Samson, Christine Fellows and Sandro Perri "Bruce Beckons" (National Parks Project) (video)". Exclaim!, May 17, 2011.
- ^ "John K. Samson To Release New Solo Album 'Provincial'". ANTI-. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
- ^ "Michael Feuerstack & Associates, 'Singer Songer'". Exclaim!, April 21, 2014.
- ^ "John K. Samson Scores Neil Young-Inspired Project in Winnipeg". Exclaim!, April 29, 2015.
- ^ "Exclusive: The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson announces new solo album, Winter Wheat". The AV Club, August 15, 2016.
- ^ "The Weakerthans make plans for no plans". Canwest News Service, April 20, 2009.
- ^ "Canadian Active Rock & Alt Rock Chart Archive: Alternative Rock – March 6, 2012". Canadianrockalt.blogspot.ca. March 6, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ "Canadian Active Rock & Alt Rock Chart Archive: Alternative Rock – April 10, 2012". Canadianrockalt.blogspot.ca. April 10, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
- Living people
- Canadian male singers
- Canadian punk rock singers
- Canadian punk rock guitarists
- Canadian singer-songwriters
- G7 Welcoming Committee Records artists
- Canadian people of Icelandic descent
- Canadian indie rock musicians
- Musicians from Winnipeg
- Folk punk musicians
- The Weakerthans members
- 20th-century Canadian singers
- 21st-century Canadian singers
- 21st-century Canadian poets
- Writers from Winnipeg
- Canadian male poets
- 20th-century guitarists
- 1973 births
- 21st-century guitarists