Max Johnston is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work on

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, and

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

with the bands

Uncle Tupelo Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend c ...

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

and more recently,

The Gourds ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. Johnston is the younger brother of singer-songwriter

Michelle Shocked Michelle Shocked (born Karen Michelle Johnston; February 24, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. Her music has entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and received an award f ...

and has supported her in concert tours as well.

Career

Johnston began performing with

in the fall of 1992 during the "Arkansas Traveler Review tour" during which Uncle Tupelo was the opening act for a bill including The Band,

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

, and headliner, Michelle Shocked. Although the tour fell apart after just a few shows, Johnston continued to play with Uncle Tupelo occasionally at first, and then as a regular part of the band appearing on the group's final studio album, ''

Anodyne An anodyne is a drug used to lessen pain through reducing the sensitivity of the brain or nervous system. The term was common in medicine before the 20th century, but such drugs are now more often known as analgesics or painkillers. The term ''a ...

''. Following the departure of

Jay Farrar Jay Farrar (born December 26, 1966) is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis. A member of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001. Beyond his estab ...

in May 1994, the remaining members of Uncle Tupelo, including Johnston,

Ken Coomer Ken Coomer is an American musician and producer best known for his drumming in Uncle Tupelo and later Wilco. He was the drummer and co-founder of the Nashville-based band, Clockhammer, in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Career Coomer produced th ...

, and

John Stirratt John Chadwick Stirratt is an American bassist and multi-instrumentalist for Wilco and The Autumn Defense. Early career Stirratt grew up in Mandeville, Louisiana. He attended Mandeville High School and the University of Mississippi, and is a ...

, formed the band

under the leadership of

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high s ...

. Johnston left Wilco shortly after their second album, ''

Being There ''Being There'' is a 1979 American satire film directed by Hal Ashby. Based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Jerzy Kosiński, it was adapted for the screen by Kosiński and the uncredited Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers a ...

'' in 1996 to form his own short-lived band, the Pony Stars and tour with his sister,

. (Some descriptions of events suggest Johnston was fired by his Wilco band-mate

. Johnston was then briefly a member of the Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky-based band,

Freakwater Freakwater is an American alternative country band from Louisville, Kentucky, with one co-founding member living in Chicago. Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic diss ...

, and gave instrumental support to singer-songwriter

Steve Forbert Samuel Stephen "Steve" Forbert (born December 13, 1954) is an American pop music singer-songwriter. His 1979 song "Romeo's Tune" reached No. 11 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary Chart. It also ...

before settling into his present role in 1999 with the Austin-based band,

. Johnston was offered a position in The Gourds and immediately accepted it after sitting in with the band at their

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

showcase. After years of performing mainly as a sideman for great songwriters (Farrar, Tweedy, Shocked, and Irwin), Johnston at last felt himself to be a contributing member of the band. "This is more mine than anything I've ever been involved with,"'' Johnston stated, ''"I have a voice in this band. With Tupelo, it was like, 'Wow, I'm in Uncle Tupelo,' you know? But I didn't have much input. Here, I finally found a group of guys who listen to me, we communicate on a level I haven't before." By the time of his second recording with the band, '' Bolsa de Agua'', Johnston had found his voice contributing the tracks, "Jesus Christ (with Signs Following)" and "O Rings". Johnston has continued to remain active with The Gourds, whose most recent release is 2011's '' Old Mad Joy''. On October 7, 2014, Johnston released a solo album, "Dismantling Paradise".

Discography

solo

* '' Dismantling Paradise'' (2014)

with Uncle Tupelo

* ''

'' (

Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...

, 1993; rereleased Columbia/

Legacy In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

and

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was original ...

, 2003) * '' 89/93: An Anthology'' (

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, 2002)

with Wilco

* '' A.M.'' (Sire/Reprise, 1995) * ''

'' (Sire/Reprise, 1996)

with Freakwater

* ''

Springtime Springtime may refer to: * Spring (season), one of the four temperate seasons Film and television * ''Springtime'' (1920 film), an American silent comedy starring Oliver Hardy * ''Springtime'' (1929 film), a ''Silly Symphonies'' animated Disney ...

'' (1998)

with The Gourds

* '' Ghosts of Hallelujah'' (1999) * '' Bolsa de Agua'' (2000) * '' Shinebox'' (2001) * '' Cow Fish Fowl or Pig'' (2002) * '' Blood of the Ram'' (2004) * '' Heavy Ornamentals'' (2006) * '' Noble Creatures'' (2007) * '' Haymaker!'' (2009) * '' Old Mad Joy'' (2011) * with " Clocker Redbury and Dusty Slosinger", (dual pseudonyms for Gourd's Bassist, Jimmy Smith) ** '' Slosinger/Redbury'' (2000), Johnston listed as "Trevor Rivera". ** '' Cold War's Hot Water Shower'' (2001), as "Trevor Rivera" * with

Kevin Russell's Junker Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

, (solo effort for Gourd's Kevin Russell) ** '' Buttermilk & Rifles'' (2002)

Other Recordings

* '' Arkansas Traveler'',

(1991), guitar. * '' Rocking Horse Head'',

(1996), banjo, Dobro, fiddle, mandolin. * '' Soulages'', Lazy Sunday Dream (2001), banjo, background vocals. * '' The Palace at 4 a.m. (Part I)'',

Jay Bennett Jay Walter Bennett (November 15, 1963 – May 24, 2009) was an American multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the band Wilco from 1994 to 2001. Biography Early life and work with Wilco Jay ...

& Edward Burch (2002), banjo.

References

External links

Official biography of The Gourds
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Max American alternative country singers American country singer-songwriters American fiddlers American folk musicians American multi-instrumentalists American mandolinists Singer-songwriters from Texas Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Wilco members Uncle Tupelo members 21st-century violinists