Johnny Dowd

Johnny Dowd (born March 29, 1948 in Fort Worth , Texas , USA ) is an American alternative country musician who now lives in Ithaca , New York .

Johnny Dowd, Live in Krefeld 2015

Life

Dowd grew up in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, the middle of five children. At 17 he left his parents' home and was drafted into the Vietnam War. He later entered into a marriage that lasted a full two weeks. Drugs, sex and parties shaped his lifestyle. He also wrote poetry. At 30, he decided to change his lifestyle. He bought his first guitar. However, he did not learn his instrument very diligently and also said that he could not play other people's music. In the mid-1980s he formed a punk band called Neon Baptist , which performed in Ithaca, New York, and the surrounding area, but never recorded a record. Neon Baptist also included the full-time hairdresser Kim Sherwood-Caso, who had sung as a child and was encouraged by her work in the band to develop her peculiar style of singing. She still belongs to Johnny Dowd's band today.

Up to the age of 49, Dowd had worked full-time as a furniture haulier and ran his own company. Then he recorded his first solo record. Drummer Brian Wilson, who still accompanies him today, had just started to learn his trade. The band developed a very unique, inimitable style that earned them cult status.

style

Typical for Dowd's music are experimental, often "noisy" disturbances of the song structures based on archaic country , folk and blues , but also rockabilly . Both music and lyrics are mostly characterized by deep melancholy or even pain, and a turmoil that can develop. a. working on the Christian religiosity of his homeland. On the other hand, Dowd is often very (self) ironic and humorous or even cynical. His performances, which are accompanied by the artist's heavy consumption of whiskey , are considered extremely intense.

Discography

Albums

• 1998: Wrong Side of Memphis (Checkered Past)
• 1999: Pictures From Life's Other Side ( Glitterhouse )
• 2001: Temporary Shelter (Glitterhouse)
• 2002: The Pawnbroker's Wife (Glitterhouse)
• 2003: Wire Flowers (Munich)
• 2004: Cemetery Shoes (Munich)
• 2005: Johnny Dowd: Live at the Night & Day Cafe, Manchester, UK (self-published)
• 2006: Cruel Words (Munich)
• 2006: Chainsaw Of Life (Munich; with Jim White as band Hellwood )
• 2008: A Drunkard's Masterpiece (Munich)
• 2010: Wake Up the Snakes (Munich)
• 2012: No Regrets (Mother Jinx)
• 2013: Do the Gargon (Cadiz Music Ltd (Soulfood))
• 2015: That's Your Wife on the Back of My Horse (Mother Jinx Records)
• 2016: Execute American Folklore (Mother Jinx Records)

DVDs

• 2004: Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus. A BBC documentary about the roots music of the American southern states . The host is Jim White. Special guests are next to Johnny Dowd u. a. the Handsome Family and David Eugene Edwards .

Web links

• Johnny Dowd on Allmusic (English)
• Works by Johnny Dowd in the catalog of the German National Library
• Johnny Dowd's website