John Darnielle 1250037 223992689 2008-07-06T21:21:00Z Twsx 1964288 fixing genre capitalization mistakes per [[Wikipedia:MUSTARD#Capitalization|WP:MUSTARD]] -> [[Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(capital_letters)#Musical_genres|MOS:CAPS]] + cleanup. {{Infobox musical artist |Name = John Darnielle |Img = Darnielle1.jpg |Img_capt = Darnielle in 2007 |Background = khaki |Birth_name = John Darnielle |Alias = |Born = [[March 16]]<br/>[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |Died = |Origin = |Instrument = [[Singing]], [[Steel-string guitar|acoustic guitar]] |Genre = [[Folk rock]], [[Lo-Fi]], [[Singer-Songwriter]] |Occupation = [[Singer-Songwriter]] |Years_active = 1991-present |Label = |Associated_acts = [[The Mountain Goats]], [[The Extra Glenns]], [[The Seneca Twins]], [[The Bloody Hawaiians]], [[The Congress]], [[The Crunch Sisters]], [[Chicken Damage]], [[The Salvation Brothers]] |URL = |Current_members = |Past_members = }} '''John Darnielle''' is an American musician, best known as the primary (and often solitary) member of the American [[lo-fi]] band [[The Mountain Goats]], for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, and vocalist. ==Biography== ===Places Darnielle has lived=== Born in [[Bloomington, Indiana]], Darnielle moved at a young age and grew up in and around [[California]]. He has also lived in [[Grinnell, Iowa]]; [[Ames, Iowa]]; [[Chicago, Illinois]]; and [[Denton, Texas]]. He currently resides in [[Durham, North Carolina]] with his [[Thai-American]] wife Lalitree Darnielle, an amateur photographer who was featured playing the [[banjo]] in the band's 1998 EP ''New Asian Cinema''.<ref>[http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,1650670,00.html New Asian Cinema (album)], artistdirect.com</ref> ===Early years=== Darnielle grew up in Southern California and after high school went to work as a psychiatric nurse at the Metropolitan State Hospital in [[Norwalk, California]]. For a couple of years he lived on the Metropolitan State grounds, writing songs and playing his guitar when he wasn't working. During this time he began recording some of his songs onto cassette tapes using a [[Panasonic]] [[boombox]]. Shortly after working at the hospital, Darnielle attended [[Pitzer College]] from 1991&ndash;1995, earning a degree in English. Throughout his college education he continued to record music and in 1992, [[Dennis Callaci]], a friend of Darnielle's and owner of [[Shrimper Records]], released a tape of Darnielle’s songs called "[[Taboo VI: The Homecoming]]". Around that time, The Mountain Goats were born and began touring with just Darnielle on guitar and a bassist, first [[Rachel Ware]] and then [[Peter Hughes (musician)|Peter Hughes]]. ===Musical career=== Darnielle is best known for his role in the band [[The Mountain Goats]]. Since starting the band in 1991, he has gained a cult following. Despite being dubbed a [[low fidelity]] artist, Darnielle has always dubbed his work "bi-fi", pointing out that recordings such as his couldn't be made without modern technology. He is known for his prolific output and literary lyrics. In fact, [[The New Yorker]] magazine referred to him as "America’s best non-hip-hop lyricist".<ref>[http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/05/16/050516crmu_music The Declaimers: The New Yorker<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In its June 2006 issue, ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' magazine named Darnielle one of the "100 Best Living Songwriters".<ref>[http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/3009/feature/music/pastes_100_best_living_songwriters_8190 Paste's 100 Best Living Songwriters]</ref> Darnielle has several series of songs with similar titles or storylines. A series entitled "Going To..." features small stories about various places and includes songs such as "Going to Cleveland", "Going to Maryland", "Going to Georgia", and "Going to Queens". This series explores the futility of running away from one's problems in stark and cryptic detail. His "Alpha" series is about a distressed couple's marriage and history, with such song titles as "Alpha Incipiens", "Alphabetizing", and "Alpha Rats Nest". The band's 2002 album ''[[Tallahassee (album)|Tallahassee]]'' was exclusively about the couple; there have subsequently been no more "Alpha" songs. Darnielle has stated that all songs written up to and including those on ''[[Tallahassee (album)|Tallahassee]]'' are fictional, but that the two that followed (''[[We Shall All Be Healed]]'' and ''[[The Sunset Tree]]'') are autobiographical.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} ===Vegetarianism=== Darnielle has been a [[vegetarian]] since 1996.<ref>http://veganradio.com/shows/audio/VeganRadio20070621.mp3</ref> In 2007 he performed at a benefit for the animal rights organization [[Farm Sanctuary]] in Watkins Glen, New York. ===Collaborations=== Darnielle is featured on [[Definitive Jux]] hip-hop artist [[Aesop Rock]]'s song, "Coffee," on his 2007 album ''[[None Shall Pass]]''. ===Book=== Darnielle's first book, ''Black Sabbath: Master of Reality'', was released in April 2008 as part of the [[33⅓]] series. ==Bands Darnielle has played in== Darnielle is also a member or former member of the following bands: *[[The Extra Glenns]] (along with [[Franklin Bruno]]). Darnielle is "Glenn D", and Bruno is "Glenn B". They have released one full-length titled [[Martial Arts Weekend]], as well as "[[Infidelity (album)|Infidelity]]" a double sided 7" EP. *The Seneca Twins (along with [[Lalitree Darnielle]] and [[Chris Butler]]), -[[The Seneca Twins - 9-song demo]] - (unreleased, 1995) *The Bloody Hawaiians (along with [[Joel Huschle]] ([[Furniture Huschle]]), [[Mark Givens]] ([[Wckr Spgt]]), Caroline) - releases: [[The Magnificent Bloody Hawaiians]], [[Bastard Son]], "Lemon" on [[Cool Beans 4|Cool Beans #4]]) *The Congress (along with [[Mark Givens]] and other anonymous members) -releases: [[Election Year]], [[Sleeping Under Angels' Wings]], [[We All Fall Down (album)|We All Fall Down]], [[She Lies in Roses]], [[The Farm Out Back]], [[No Milk Since 1979]], [[Full Term (album)|Full Term]]. *The Crunch Sisters *Chicken Damage *The Salvation Brothers ==Last Plane to Jakarta== Darnielle has a blog titled [[Last Plane to Jakarta]].<ref>[http://lastplanetojakarta.com/index.php Last Plane to Jakarta<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He also maintains the website [http://JohnDarnielle.com JohnDarnielle.com], often writing about his love for [[mixed martial arts]] and [[prizefighting]]. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.themountaingoats.net TheMountainGoats.net] *[http://www.mountain-goats.com Mountain-Goats.com] *[http://johndarnielle.com JohnDarnielle.com] *[http://lastplanetojakarta.com Last Plane to Jakarta] *[http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/the-sound-and-the-fury-an-interview-with-john-darnielle/ Interview with ''3:AM Magazine''] *[http://www.brassland.org/ahb/writing/archives/2006/02/chapter_and_ver.html Roundtable between Darnielle and authors Jonathan Lethem and Rick Moody on the crossbreeding of music & literature (3/2006)] From ''LA Weekly'' *[http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2005/04/shorties_376.html Note Books essay at Largehearted Boy] <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME= Darnielle, John |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[Singer-Songwriter]] |DATE OF BIRTH= [[March 16]] |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Bloomington, Indiana]], [[United States]] |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Darnielle, John}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Pitzer College alumni]] [[Category:American Roman Catholics]] <!-- http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2800016 --> [[is:John Darnielle]]