Bill Whitten is an American musician and writer. He was the founding member, principal songwriter and singer/guitarist for
St. Johnny
St. Johnny were a Connecticut-based rock band, formed in 1989 and split c.1995. They were signed to DGC Records.
Members
* Bill Whitten 1989–1995 (vocals, guitar)
*Tom Leonard 1989–1993 (guitar)
*Jim Elliot 1989–1995 ( bass) Died 2016
*Wa ...
He was also the singer/songwriter/guitarist for Grand Mal.
In 2018 he released "Burn My Letters", his first solo album, via I Heart Noise.
St. Johnny formed in 1989 in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
and made three full-length albums, two for DGC Records, before disbanding in 1995.
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
described St. Johnny as "a Connecticut band that likes their music loud and hard, are intent on a punk-edged sound that has more in common with the Ramones or Sonic Youth than with the latest Sub Pop release. In addition, St. Johnny possess a flair for songcraft, hooks and…hummable melodies".
Grand Mal was formed in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1995 and has recorded for
No.6 Records
No.6 Records was an independent record label, started in 1989 as a subsidiary of Rough Trade Records by A&R representative and booking agent Terry Tolkin. The name of the label came from the British television series ''The Prisoner''; the main ch ...
,
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
/
London Records
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
,
Arena Rock Recording Co.
Arena Rock Recording Company ("Arena Rock" or "ARRCO") is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon. Albums are distributed by Redeye in the United States and Koch in Canada.
Arena Rock was formed in 1995 in Brooklyn, New York, by ...
, New York Night Train and Groover Recordings. According to the New York Times: " Grand Mal mixes three parts Rolling Stones, one part Velvet Underground … rock with an unabashed swagger."
He has worked regularly with producer Dave Fridmann and has collaborated on recordings with members of
Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were Joan as Police Woman,
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...
,
Antony and the Johnsons
Antony and the Johnsons is an American music group presenting the work of Anohni and her collaborators.
Career
British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Anohni's music through his Durtro label ...
Home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
The Silent League
The Silent League is an American post-rock, chamber pop band from Brooklyn, New York, founded by Justin Russo, formerly of Mercury Rev. Their 2004 debut, ''The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused'', featuring Sam from Interpol, Grasshopper from the Rev ...
The Jealous Girlfriends
The Jealous Girlfriends is a rock band based in Brooklyn, New York. Their music video for "How Now", directed by Sarah Soquel Morhaim, won first place for the iPod Music Video Contest.
Biography
The band was formed in 2003 by Holly Miranda (v ...
,
The Mooney Suzuki
The Mooney Suzuki is an American garage rock band that formed in New York City in 1996. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Sammy James, Jr., guitarist Graham Tyler, bassist John Paul Ribas and drummer Will Rockwell-Scott, the band has ...
,
VietNam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
St. Johnny
St. Johnny were a Connecticut-based rock band, formed in 1989 and split c.1995. They were signed to DGC Records.
Members
* Bill Whitten 1989–1995 (vocals, guitar)
*Tom Leonard 1989–1993 (guitar)
*Jim Elliot 1989–1995 ( bass) Died 2016
*Wa ...
Discography
Singles
*“Go To Sleep” (7″) (Ajax Records) 1992
*“A Car or A Boy” (7″) (Geffen) 1993
*“Gilligan/Live at the Sports Page Cafe…” (7″) (Twisted Village) 1994
*“I Give Up/One Of The Boys” (7″) (Love Kit) 1994
*“Scuba Diving/Welcome Back Kotter” (7″) (Geffen)
EPS
*Four Songs (EP7) (Asthma) 1992
*Go to Sleep (EP7) (Ajax) 1992
*Early Live Recordings (Twisted Village) 1994
Full-Length
*''
High as a Kite
''High as a Kite'' is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band St. Johnny.
Reception
Editors at AllMusic Guide rated this album three out of five stars, with critic Nitsuh Abebe noting the lack of production and polish on the alb ...
Speed Is Dreaming
''Speed Is Dreaming'' is the sophomore studio album by American alternative rock band St. Johnny and their first release for DGC Records.
Reception
Editors at AllMusic Guide rated this album four out of five stars, with critic Nitsuh Abebe opini ...
'' (DGC) 1994
*'' Let It Come Down'' (DGC) 1995
Tracks Appear On:
*“Ashes and Slashes” My Companion Turn of the Century (LP) 1990
*“Wild Goose Chasing” DGC Rarities: Vol.1 (CD) (Geffen Records) 1994
*“Scuba Diving” Buy-Product (CD, Comp) (Geffen Records) 1995
*“Scuba Diving” CMJ New Music April – Volume 20 (CD, Promo) (College Music Journal) 1995
*Incredible Son of Swag (CD) (Geffen/DGC) 1995
EP’s
*Grand Mal (No. 6) 1996
Full-Length
*Pleasure Is No Fun (CD/LP) (No. 6) 1997
*Maledictions (CD) (Slash/London) 1999
*Bad Timing (CD) (Arena Rock) 2003
*Love Is The Best Con in Town (New York Night Train) 2006
*Congratulations You’ve Re-joined the Human Race (Groover Recordings) 2007
*Clandestine Songs (Groover Recordings) TBR April 7, 2010
Tracks Appear On:
*“Stay in Bed” ''Jawbreaker'' (film): Music from the Motion Picture (London) 1999
*"Hey Man" This is Next Year: A Brooklyn-Based Compilation (Arena Rock) 2001
*Jean and Cover: A Compilation (Groover Recordings) 2005
*The World Turns all Around Him: A Compilation (Groover Recordings) 2006
*50 Minutes: A Compilation (Exercise1 Recordings) 2006