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John Darnielle | |
|---|---|
 Darnielle playing inSt. Augustine, Florida, in 2010. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1967-03-16)March 16, 1967 (age 58) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, musician, novelist |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1991–present |
John Darnielle (/dɑːrˈniːl/;[1] born March 16, 1967)[2] is an American musician and novelist best known as the primary, and originally sole, member of the American bandThe Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist.[3] He has written three novels:Wolf in White Van (2014),Universal Harvester (2017), andDevil House (2022).
Born inBloomington, Indiana, Darnielle grew up inSan Luis Obispo and thenClaremont, California with an abusive stepfather.[4][5] The Mountain Goats' 2005 albumThe Sunset Tree is dedicated to his stepfather and frequently references the dysfunction of his upbringing.[6]
Darnielle often attendedprofessional wrestling matches with his stepfather at theGrand Olympic Auditorium.[7] There, he developed a passion for the sport and local wrestlers likeChavo Guerrero Sr. His childhood love of wrestling would go on to inspire The Mountain Goats' albumBeat the Champ.[8]
Darnielle attendedClaremont High School, located in thePomona Valley region ofSouthern California. For a short time after high school, he lived inPortland, Oregon, where he developed an addiction to intravenousmethamphetamine and other hard drugs (as referenced inWe Shall All Be Healed).[9] Darnielle worked in the psychiatric ward at theMetropolitan State Hospital inNorwalk, California.[10] Darnielle attendedPitzer College from 1991 to 1995, graduating as a double major in Classics and English.[11][12]
Throughout his college education, he continued to record music. In 1992, Dennis Callaci, a friend of Darnielle's and owner of Shrimper Records, released a tape of Darnielle's songs calledTaboo VI: The Homecoming. Around that time, the Mountain Goats were born and began touring with just Darnielle on guitar and a bassist, first Rachel Ware and thenPeter Hughes.[13]
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Darnielle is best known for his role in the bandThe Mountain Goats. Since starting the band in 1991, he has gained a cult following. Despite being dubbed alow fidelity artist, Darnielle has always dubbed his work "bi-fi", pointing out that recordings such as his couldn't be made without modern technology.[14] He is known for his prolific output and literary lyrics.Sasha Frere-Jones, writing inThe New Yorker, referred to him as "America's best non-hip-hop lyricist".[13] In its June 2006 issue,Paste magazine named Darnielle one of the "100 Best Living Songwriters".[15]
Darnielle has several series of songs with similar titles or storylines. A series entitled "Going To..." features small stories about various places and includes songs such as "Going to Cleveland", "Going to Maryland", "Going to Georgia", and "Going to Queens".[16] This series explores the futility of running away from one's problems in stark and cryptic detail. There is no reoccurring main character or strong thematic subject linking these similarly titled tracks, and in a 1997 interview with KJHK-Lawrence, Darnielle has described the series as "real loose, though. it's real loose".[17] His "Alpha" series predates his musical career and began as a collection of poems called 'Songs from Point Alpha Privative'.[18] It is about a distressed couple's marriage and history, with such song titles as "Alpha Incipiens", "Alphabetizing", and "Alpha Rats Nest". The band's 2002 albumTallahassee was exclusively about the couple. "Their broader story", Darnielle writes, "involved an alcohol-soaked trek from California through Nevada and then bottom-crawling across the country until they wound up in northern Florida".[19] Unless otherwise specified in the lyrics, the songs are intended to be sung by either member of the couple.[20] There are a number of songs, not all containing the word 'alpha', that are generally considered to be part of the series, and are explored in more detail on Kyle Barbour's site 'The Annotated Mountain Goats.[21]
Darnielle has stated that all songs written up to and including those onTallahassee are fictional, but thatWe Shall All Be Healed,The Sunset Tree, and other more recent works are partially autobiographical.
Darnielle is featured onAesop Rock's song "Coffee" (from the hip-hop artist's 2007 albumNone Shall Pass) and appears in the corresponding music video.[22][23] Additionally, Aesop Rock remixed The Mountain Goats' "Lovecraft in Brooklyn".[24]
He collaborated withJohn Vanderslice on lyrics for the 2005 albumPixel Revolt,[25] and in 2009, Darnielle released a collaborative recording titledMoon Colony Bloodbath, after a shared tour with Vanderslice.[26] They toured under the collective name The Comedians,[27] though their recording is attributed to "The Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice".[28]
WithFranklin Bruno, Darnielle formedThe Extra Lens, originally named The Extra Glenns. They have released two albums: 2002'sMartial Arts Weekend and 2010'sUndercard.
In 2008, Darnielle collaborated withKaki King on a six-track EP entitledBlack Pear Tree. The project was jointly released under King's name, and the Mountain Goats moniker.[29] The Mountain Goats and Kaki King subsequently embarked on a co-headlining tour, billed as theLast Happy Night of Your Life Tour, with the EP being sold as a tour-exclusive release throughout.[30]
On September 20, 2010, Darnielle appeared onLate Night with Jimmy Fallon as a guest vocalist in a performance of the song "Digging for Something" with the bandSuperchunk (whose drummer,Jon Wurster, is also in The Mountain Goats).[31][32]
Darnielle appeared onKimya Dawson's 2011 albumThunder Thighs, featured on the song "Walk Like Thunder."[33]
Darnielle's first book,Black Sabbath: Master of Reality, was published in April 2008 as part of the33⅓ series.[34] Unlike most other entries in the series, which are non-fiction books that focus on an album's production or legacy, Darnielle's book onMaster of Reality was instead a fictional narrative in the form of a novella, centering around a young man held in a psychiatric facility in the mid-1980s who is attempting to retrieve his confiscatedWalkman and tape of the album.[35]
Darnielle's first novel, titledWolf in White Van, was published on September 16, 2014,[36] and was nominated for theNational Book Award for Fiction two days later.[37] His second novel,Universal Harvester, was published on February 7, 2017.[38] Darnielle's third novel,Devil House, was published on January 25, 2022.[39][40] One year later, it was nominated for anEdgar Award for Best Novel.[41]
From 2004 to 2011 Darnielle created and wrote thewebzineLast Plane To Jakarta,[42] citing other projects as the reason for its abandonment.[43] He writes the "South Pole Dispatch" feature inDecibel Magazine every month.[44] Darnielle also guest edited the poetry section ofThe Mays, an anthology of the best creative work coming out ofOxford andCambridge.[45]
Darnielle wrote the introduction to the June 2016 bookThe Empty Bottle Chicago: 21+ Years of Music / Friendly / Dancing, about the eponymous nightclub.[46][47]
In 2025, he released the book InThis Year: 365 Songs Annotated: A Book of Days, in which he gives insight into the crafting and meaning of his song lyrics.[48]
In 2012, Darnielle guest starred inJohn Hodgman'spodcastJudge John Hodgman serving as an expert witness[49][50][51] and musical guest.[51]
Since 2017 he has co-hosted the podcast "I Only Listen to The Mountain Goats" withJoseph Fink. Each episode of the podcast explores one Mountain Goats song in great detail.[52]
In August 2022 Darnielle appeared as a guest onMargaret Killjoy's podcast "Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff". Darnielle appeared on the episodes "The Diggers,the Levelers,the Ranters and John Darnielle" part one and two.[53]
In March 2023 John appeared on Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal for a career-spanning interview.[54]
In January 2023, Darnielle made his acting debut in "Rest in Metal", the fourth episode ofRian Johnson's television seriesPoker Face. He portrayed Al, a member of a one-hit-wonder metal band called Doxxxology.[55]
In the mid-1990s, Darnielle worked in the promotions department atTouch and Go Records inChicago.[56]
In 1996, Darnielle moved toGrinnell, Iowa, to live with his then-girlfriend, Lalitree Chavanothai, a botanist and musician whom he first met on a music-orientedmailing list.[56] Chavanothai's work later led the pair to move toColo, Iowa, where they married in April 1998, and then again to nearbyAmes.[56] In 2003, desiring a change of scenery, they moved toDurham, North Carolina, where they have resided since.[10] They have two sons, Roman (born 2011) and Moses (born 2014).[57][58][59]
Darnielle prays regularly and identifies as a Christian.[60] His music often includes religious themes, includingThe Life of the World to Come, on which each song is named after a Bible verse; additionally, his work consistently analyzes meanings and interpretations of the text, often through the characters in his songs. He is a fan of Christian singersAmy Grant andRich Mullins.[61] While living in Iowa, Darnielle also studiedGaudiya Vaishnavism.[56]
Darnielle is a frequent player of the card gameMagic: The Gathering. In August 2023, game publisherWizards of the Coast announced an upcoming collaborative release in which all the cards were designed by Darnielle.[62]
Darnielle became avegetarian in 1996 and by 2007 identified as avegan.[63] In the same year, he performed at a benefit for the animal welfare organizationFarm Sanctuary inWatkins Glen, New York. He performed again at Farm Sanctuary in 2009.
In 2011, Darnielle performed solo in support ofPlanned Parenthood, at the Stand Up for Women's Health Rally in New York City.[64] In an interview withBuzzFeed, Darnielle identified himself as afeminist, and was described as a "frequent Twitter commentator on women's issues,social justice, andheavy metal."[65]
Darnielle is also a member or former member of the following bands:
