Will Johnson | |
---|---|
Born |
Kennett, Missouri US |
23 March 1971
Genres |
Indie rock alt-country Singer-songwriter |
Occupation(s) |
Singer-songwriter Painter |
Years active | 1988-present |
Labels |
Undertow Music Collective Idol Records Quality Park Records Rounder Records Steve Records Munich Records Misra Records Cooking Vinyl Houston Party Sixgunlover Secretly Canadian Navigational Transmissions |
Associated acts |
Centro-matic South San Gabriel Undertow Orchestra Monsters of Folk New Multitudes Overseas |
Website | will-johnson |
Notable instruments | |
Guitar, drums |
Will Johnson (born March 23, 1971) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and painter who is the lead singer of the bands Centro-matic and South San Gabriel. Called "one of the most prolific artists in American indie rock", Johnson has also released solo records, and is a member of the bands Monsters of Folk, New Multitudes and Overseas, and has also performed as part of the Undertow Orchestra.
Johnson was born in Kennett, Missouri. When he was 11 years old his mother remarried and the family moved to the military town of Killeen, Texas.
Johnson attended the University of North Texas where he was involved in Denton's active music scene. He double majored in English and elementary education.
Johnson began playing drums, piano and sang in his church choir at an early age. After moving to Killeen, Texas, from Kennett, Missouri, he was a founding member and drummer for jangle-rock band The Benjamins. They released two cassettes in 1988 and 1989 before Johnson left to attend the University of North Texas. While there, Johnson played in bands such as Polyester, Salt Lick, The Dooms UK, and was a founding member of Baboon.
On Super Bowl Sunday 1991, Johnson joined Peter Schmidt and Clark Vogeler to form the band Melt, which changed its name to Funland in 1992. Funland signed with Arista Records that year, releasing the EP Sweetness in March 1993. The band toured regularly in the US and released its only full-length album, The Funland Band, on Steve Records in 1995. After five and a half years, Funland disbanded in June 1996.