John Doe | |
|---|---|
 Doe in 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | John Nommensen Duchac (1953-02-25)February 25, 1953 (age 72) Decatur, Illinois, U.S. |
| Origin | Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Genres | Punk rock,alternative country,folk rock,roots rock |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments | Bass guitar, guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Member of | |
| Formerly of | The Flesh Eaters |
| Website | theejohndoe |
John Nommensen Duchac (born February 25, 1953),[1] known professionally asJohn Doe, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet,[2] guitarist and bass player. Doe co-foundedLApunk bandX, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span rock, punk,country andfolk music genres. As an actor, he has dozens of television appearances and several movies to his credit, including the role of Jeff Parker in the television seriesRoswell.
In addition to X, Doe performs with the country-folk-punk bandthe Knitters and has released records as a solo artist. In the early 1980s, he performed on two albums bythe Flesh Eaters.[3]
Doe moved to Los Angeles, California, and in 1976 met guitar playerBilly Zoom through an ad in the local free weekly paper,The Recycler.[4]
As a musician with X, Doe has two feature-length concert films, several music videos, and an extended performance-and-interview sequence inThe Decline of Western Civilization,Penelope Spheeris's seminal documentary about the early-1980s L.A. punk scene.[5]
Along with co-writerExene Cervenka, Doe composed most of the songs recorded by X.Wild Gift, an album from that band's heyday, was named "Record of the Year" byRolling Stone, theLos Angeles Times, andThe New York Times. WithDave Alvin, he co-wrote two of the songs onThe Blasters' 1984 albumHard Line, "Just Another Sunday" and "Little Honey". He also wrote "Cyrano de Berger's Back" forThe Flesh Eaters LPA Minute to Pray, a Second To Die.[6]
Since 1990, Doe has recorded nearly a dozen albums as a soloist or in collaboration with other artists, and has contributed tracks to motion pictures. In the 1992 movieThe Bodyguard (starringKevin Costner andWhitney Houston), it is Doe's version of "I Will Always Love You" that plays on the jukebox when Costner's and Houston's characters are dancing. It was released on audio cassette by Warner Bros. in September 1992, but no version is believed to exist on CD. He co-wrote and played on the song "Lobotomy" withTyler Willman for the eponymous 1998 debut studio album of the bandCalm Down Juanita.[7]
Doe took part inTodd Haynes's 2007 movieI'm Not There, recording twoBob Dylan covers, "Pressing On" and "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine". Both recordings were included on the film's soundtrack, and the former was prominently featured in the film, withChristian Bale (as Pastor John Rollins) lip-synching Doe's vocals. Doe recorded the song "Unforgiven" in 2007 withAimee Mann onA Year in the Wilderness, an album which also featuredKathleen Edwards,Jill Sobule,Dan Auerbach. He then joined withEddie Vedder on a mix of the song "Golden State" in 2008. "The Meanest Man in the World" by Doe was featured in Season 4 of the television seriesFriday Night Lights and included on thesecond soundtrack album.Country Club (2009), featuring Canadian indie rock bandThe Sadies, covered country classics along with original songs.
Doe contributed a cover of "Peggy Sue Got Married" to the 2011 tribute albumRave on Buddy Holly.
His latest solo record,The Westerner, was released in 2016. Doe said that it was made in the Arizona desert, and that the genre of the music ispsychedelic soul.[4]
In November 2018,Org Music releasedLucky Wheel,[8] a split 12-inch 45 rpm EP by Doe andMicah Nelson (as "Particle Kid"). Credited to "Kid Doe," the release features the two musicians covering one of each other's songs, with Doe performing Nelson's "Wheels" and Nelson performing Doe's "Lucky Penny." The EP also includes Doe's cover of "Hello Stranger" (The Carter Family) and Nelson's cover of "Captain Kidd" (Michael Hurley).Lucky Wheel was issued as aRecord Store Day exclusive forSmall Business Saturday.The Vinyl District rated the EP "A–".[9][10]
In November 2022, John Doe released a three song acoustic EP with East Nashville based indie label, 3Sirens, called"3Sirens Session: John Doe". The label was founded byThe Grahams, who originally met with John Doe to record the session in Austin, TX at the ChurchHouse, produced byDavid Garza.[11]
In the 1989 biographical filmGreat Balls of Fire!, Doe playedJerry Lee Lewis's cousin-turned-father-in-law J. W. Brown. He starred in the 1992 filmsRoadside Prophets andPure Country, and in the 1998shortLone Greasers. Other movie acting credits includeRoad House,Vanishing Point,Salvador,Boogie Nights,The Specials,The Good Girl,Gypsy 83,Wyatt Earp,Border Radio,The Outsiders, andBrokedown Palace. Doe has appeared on the television seriesLaw & Order,Roswell,Carnivale,One Tree Hill,Childrens Hospital (alongside his bandmates in X) andThe Wizards of Waverly Place.
With co-authorTom DeSavia, Doe wrote and compiled stories for a book about the LA punk rock scene from 1977 to 1983. The book,Under the Big Black Sun, incorporated the punk ethos of contributions from other musicians that were part of the scene, people likeExene Cervenka,Jack Grisham,Henry Rollins,Mike Watt,Jane Wiedlin and others who wrote chapters. Doe wanted it to be a collective recollection, not just one person's perspective of the time.[4]
A sequel of sorts was released in 2019 entitledMore Fun in the New World: The Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk.[12] Doe and DeSavia again invited contributors to narrate the space of time from 1982 to 1987.[12]
Doe was born inDecatur, Illinois. He was married to fellow X memberExene Cervenka between 1980 and 1985.[13] He remarried in 1987. He revealed toAdam Carolla in a podcast in September 2011[14] that he resided (at the time) inFairfax, California.[15] He has three daughters. In early 2017, he announced that he would be moving to Austin, Texas.[16]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Heat | US Indie | US Country | |||
| 1990 | Meet John Doe | 193 | — | — | — | Geffen |
| 1995 | Kissingsohard | — | — | — | — | Forward/Rhino |
| 2000 | Freedom Is... | — | — | — | — | spinART |
| 2002 | Dim Stars, Bright Sky | — | — | — | — | Artist Direct BMG |
| 2005 | Forever Hasn't Happened Yet | — | — | — | — | Yep Roc |
| 2006 | For the Best of Us | — | — | — | — | |
| 2007 | A Year in the Wilderness | — | 42 | — | — | |
| 2009 | Country Club (withThe Sadies) | — | 10 | 37 | 32 | |
| 2011 | A Day at the Pass (withJill Sobule) | — | — | — | — | Pinko |
| Keeper | — | 13 | — | — | Yep Roc | |
| 2012 | Singing & Playing (with Exene Cervenka)[17] | — | — | — | — | Moonlight Graham |
| 2014 | The Best of John Doe: This Far | — | — | — | — | Yep Roc |
| 2016 | The Westerner | — | — | — | — | Cool Rock |
| 2018 | Lucky Wheel (withMicah Nelson aka Particle Kid; as "Kid Doe") | — | — | — | — | Org Music |
| 2022 | Fables in a Foreign Land | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | Fat Possum |
| 2022 | 3Sirens Session: John Doe | — | — | — | — | 3Sirens |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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Data from Wikidata
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