The reason we were prowling the streets of Austin suburbia was not to see the Polyphonic Spree, pleasant though they were, but to catch a glimpse of Will Johnston.
He was the lead singer of Denton, Texas band Centromatic who we had first been alerted to by Adam Reichmann of the band Nadine while chatting to him in a pub in Helensburgh, as you do.
We had previously caught Centromatic at SXSW proper and they put on an excellent show. We subsequently got to see Will a couple of times in Glasgow when his other band South San Gabriel played at King Tuts and when he performed solo as the support act to The Great Lake Swimmers at the Admiral Bar.
Sheryl Crow used to be his babysitter.
These two tracks from one of his solo albums Vultures Await conclude this mini-series.
Will Johnson - Catherine Dupree
Will Johnson - Vultures Await
A good pair of tunes. I've seen Will Johnston only once, as part of The Undertow Orchestra with Mark Eitzel, Dave Bazan and Vic Chesnutt. It was at The Bowery Ballroom in 2006 and I stood next to Michael Stipe at the bar. I've often thought of developing that little name-drop into a full blown post, but that's the long and short of it really. This seemed the perfect opportunity to get it off my chest.
ReplyDeleteYou saw Centromatic? You lucky fella. It's rare (unique even) to see them namechecked. I fell hook, line and sinker for them in the early 2000s - via Peel if that needs saying. Most Everyone Will Find, Flashes and Cables and Gas Blowing Out Of Our Eyes to name but three are keeningly, utterly sublime tracks. Pseuds corner I know but their failure to garner wider recognition/audience, just another example of life's iniquitous wastefulness.
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