John Robert Moreland (born June 22, 1985)
is an American singer-songwriter from
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
, Oklahoma.
Early life
Moreland was born in
Longview, Texas,
the son of Robert Lloyd Moreland, an engineer, and Connie May Moreland (née Brandon), a school librarian.
Moreland's father worked for
Sunoco as an
electrical engineer, and because of this job the family moved a lot.
[ His was a conservative Southern Baptist family.] When he was a baby they moved to Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main counties ...
, across the river from Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio. Moreland credits his love for Cincinnati Reds to this time in Kentucky.[
When Moreland was 10 years old Moreland's family moved from ]Boone County, Kentucky
Boone County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 135,968, making it the fourth-most populous county in Kentucky. Its county seat is Burlington. The county was formed ...
to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
and, with the help of his father, he started playing the guitar. When he was 12 or 13 he started playing with a child he went to church with who wrote songs and inspired him to start writing songs.
Career
Moreland played in his first show when he was 13 or 14 years old. In the early 2000s during high school, Moreland played in local punk and hardcore bands, including local metalcore Oklahoma band, Thirty Called Arson.
Moreland put together the Black Gold Band in 2005, and released ''Endless Oklahoma Sky'' on Oklahoma City label Little Mafia Records in 2008. In 2009, he recorded the follow-up ''Things I Can't Control'' at Armstrong Recording in Tulsa with producer and musician Stephen Egerton (Descendents
The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a ...
, All
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All al ...
).
Largely self-performed and self-produced, Moreland produces music that is influenced by his Oklahoma roots, music that is "gloriously and joyfully heartbreaking." Moreland has released a constant stream of records (in 2011 he released two full length albums and two EPs), saying "I write a lot of songs. And I guess I feel like your most recent release kind of represents you." Moreland has cited Steve Earle as his "gateway" to folk music. He switched genres from hardcore to folk when he heard Earle's song "Rich Man's War". His father was also a big Earle fan. Other influences were Guy Clark
Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...
and Townes Van Zandt
John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter. .
Moreland runs his own mail order business and ships his own records (packing the records, taking them to the post office himself) because all of his favorite labels ( Ebullition Records, Level Plane Records, Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles. ...
) used that method.
In 2015, Moreland released ''High on Tulsa Heat,'' his third full-length solo record release. It was produced by Moreland and features Jesse Aycock, John Calvin Abney, Chris Foster, Jared Tyler, and Kierston White. The album was recorded quickly and informally over the course of a few days in July 2014. Moreland used his parents' home in Bixby, Oklahoma, as a studio while they were out of town on vacation. A video of the song "Cherokee" was conceived and shot by Joey Kneiser, and features bass player Bingham Barnes. Both are from the band Glossary. Moreland said the song was inspired by a dream.
Moreland participates in the Folk Alliance International Conference, a non-profit folk music conference that is held annually in Kansas City, Kansas. He participated in fellow singer-songwriter Jason Isbell
Michael Jason Isbell (; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell h ...
's 2013 national tour.
In 2017, Moreland released his seventh album, ''Big Bad Luv,'' on 4AD. The title is a nod to the book by that name by Larry Brown. The record is the first where Moreland recorded with a full band. Musicians from the bands Dawes
Dawes may refer to: Places
* Dawes (Parish), New South Wales, Australia
*Dawes Point, New South Wales, Australia
* Dawes Arboretum, in Newark, Ohio, U.S.
*Dawes County, Nebraska, U.S.
* Dawes Township, Thurston County, Nebraska, U.S.
Other uses
*D ...
(Griffin and Taylor Goldsmith) and Shovels And Rope (Carrie Ann Hearst and Michael Trent) contributed vocals.
His fifth solo album, ''LP5'', was released February 7, 2020. Produced by Matt Pence
Matthew Louis Pence (born April 13, 1972) is an American recording engineer, producer, and drummer. He owns and manages The Echo Lab studio in Denton, Texas.
Early life and education
Pence is from St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1990, Pence moved to Den ...
of Centro-Matic, it marks his return to the label Thirty Tigers
Thirty Tigers is an American entertainment company which offers music marketing, distribution, and management services to independent artists. It is based in Nashville.
History
The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland ...
after his previous release via 4AD.
Performance style
Moreland sometimes plays solo with an acoustic guitar, but was often accompanied by two different bands: the Black Gold Band (now defunct) or the Dust Bowl Souls. Though his earlier music was more rock-based, his more recent releases are characterized as being sparsely acoustic.
He is characterized as a songwriter's songwriter. American television host and political commentator Rachel Maddow tweeted praise of Moreland's work: "If the American music business made any sense, guys like John Moreland would be household names." Moreland posits that Maddow probably saw him opening for Lucero, a band Maddow likes. Moreland jokes that her remark was "the first time his dad has agreed with Rachel Maddow." During the summer of 2015, Moreland opened for Jason Isbell
Michael Jason Isbell (; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell h ...
, Dawes
Dawes may refer to: Places
* Dawes (Parish), New South Wales, Australia
*Dawes Point, New South Wales, Australia
* Dawes Arboretum, in Newark, Ohio, U.S.
*Dawes County, Nebraska, U.S.
* Dawes Township, Thurston County, Nebraska, U.S.
Other uses
*D ...
, and Patty Griffin
Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patrici She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ha ...
.
''Sons of Anarchy''
Three of Moreland's songs, "Heaven", "Gospel", and "Your Spell", have been featured on the TV show, '' Sons of Anarchy.''
Personal life
Moreland is married to visual artist Pearl Rachinsky, who did the album layout for ''Big Bad Luv.''
Around 2015, Moreland relocated to Norman, Oklahoma
Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, b ...
but then later that year moved back to Tulsa.
Discography
Studio albums
* 2008: ''Endless Oklahoma Sky'' with the Black Gold Band
* 2011: ''Things I Can't Control'' with the Black Gold Band
* 2011: ''Everything the Hard Way'' with the Dust Bowl Souls
* 2011: ''Earthbound Blues'' (Memorial)
* 2013: ''In the Throes'' (Last Chance Records)
* 2015: ''High on Tulsa Heat'' (Old Omens / Thirty Tigers)
* 2017: ''Big Bad Luv'' (4AD)
* 2020: ''LP5
''LP5'' is the untitled fifth studio album by English electronic music duo Autechre, released on 13 July 1998 on Warp. No title was printed anywhere within the artwork, in line with the later EP ''EP7''; it has also been called ''Autechre'', as ...
'' (Old Omens)
* 2022: Birds in the Ceiling
EPs / Singles / Other
* 2010: ''Hope Springs Ephemeral'' EP (Memorial)
* 2011: ''Tear Me Back Apart / Blues & Kudzu'' 7" (Little Mafia)
* 2014: ''Wax Packs'' 7" split w/ Austin Lucas
Austin Lucas is an American indie artist best known for his own blend of folk punk.
Early years
Lucas grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, but moved to the Czech Republic in 2003. In 2008, he relocated back to the United States. He is the son of Bo ...
: John Moreland – "Cataclysm Blues No. 4" / Austin Lucas – "Splinters" (Secret Audio Club)
Moreland also appears on the following:
* 2010: ''The Seven Degrees of Stephen Egerton'' – "Abundance of Fluff"
References
External links
John Moreland
official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreland, John
American alternative country singers
American rock singers
American country singer-songwriters
Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma
Living people
Year of birth uncertain
1985 births
Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma
Musicians
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...
21st-century American singers