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» member profile:
ljohnston
» genre:
Alternative >
Avant Rock
» location:
l. johnston
» label: unsigned
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ljohnston
NEWS
get the cult classic "Painting With Sounds" by l. johnston. click:http://www.cafeshops.com/bluesplus.5268071
stream 20 l.johnston tunes
stream 20 l.johnston tunes
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it's trash, most of it. some of it is cool trash, some of it, well, it's trash. all of these tunes were on cassete tapes i made years ago, and i decided that i would make them into mp3's before the tapes disintegrated. i made a CD out of them, and by golly sold 500 copies the first year on cafepress under the title "painting with sounds" at almost 15 bucks a pop. i started to get mail on them. whoo-hoo. a couple bands "covered" them, requiring basic surgery, but still the songs live. now i know how dr. frankenstein felt. my fave is 'mystery man'. i am still learning to play guitar 20 years later. i dont play anything in a standard tuning. i was drunk one night and found a tuning i stuck with, and i'm self taught. one effort here is actually from 2003, a little tune titled "bongwater". i've got a real mixer now. and a cult classic you can buy at bluesplus... i run a decent little internet radio stream,XFMX One, on the internet as well, so if you have a blues band, give me a shout and i'll stream your track over there... it's ok if i say that, right?
Why this name?
my mom and dad named me. i just keep on using the name because i'm used to it.
Do you play live?
i have played live, but not often. and i play at home a lot. my audience is a tape deck. and folks on the internet who have lots of free time on their hands. usually they are drugged, which is ok, because the whole thing makes more sense for them.
How, do you think, does the internet (or mp3) change the music industry?
well, roger, mp3 is the bee's knees. the numbnuts at the RIAA are still trying to figure out how to slice in, and the last i heard, were getting stomped by consumer driven technology. i like the way Todd rundgren said it best, that it has put the audience in control. but if you like a good concept album, a three minute mp3 isn't going to do it for you. i was raised in the 'concept album' era, and i agree with him. i do love a shiny tune that rocks. i think genre hopping streams are great, and demographic wizards need to be puzzled.
Would you sign a record contract with a major label?
of course. and i would let them screw around with the music, too. the dollars i extracted on the deal would more than make up for my loss of artistic control.
Band History:
it's just me, so dont get any ideas. once in a while i have a friend playing bass or rhythm guitar. usually i do everything. of what there is. i will upload one live track, "be like you" which was recorded in front of a live audience. how i managed to play both guitars in the tune is a story for another time.
Your influences?
golly, roger, is there really enough space in this little box? suffice it to say i grew up in the 60-70's era of the last century and listened to a lot of music while i was stoned, roger, you know how it was back then.
Favorite spot?
i do love hittin' that g spot, roger. it's thing i do love.
Equipment used:
well, roger, right now i have a japanese strat, a Korg Toneworx pedal, a noisy 70's era Ross flanger ( i bought it from lloyd maines! ), my computer, a rs ssm 1000 seven channel mixer and two cassette decks i bought at garage sales. Do you know how hard it is to find a decent cassette deck these days? yeah, i'm pretty much the techno wizard.
Anything else...?
nope. and yup. buy my cd. cover my tunes. make me rich. and look up my poetry book on the internet and buy that too. thanks, roger, and out.