Mike Johnson (born 1952) is an American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

guitarist and composer, best known as the co-founder and member of the

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

Thinking Plague Thinking Plague is an American avant-garde progressive rock group founded in 1982 by guitarist/composer Mike Johnson and bass guitarist/drummer Bob Drake. Based in Denver, Colorado, the band has been active off and on since 1982, taking on a ...

. He has also been a member of Hamster Theatre and The Science Group, and has collaborated with several musicians, including Bob Drake, Susanne Lewis and

Janet Feder Janet Feder is a Denver, Colorado–based composer and guitarist. She is a classically trained guitar player best known for her work in the prepared guitar genre. In addition, Janet Feder is: a lecturer at the University of Colorado; co-curator ...

Biography

Mike Johnson played in his first band at the age of 13 and began writing music at 17. He studied classical and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

in college in

but taught himself the guitar and composition. While at college in 1978 Johnson answered an advertisement at a local music store requesting a guitar player "into

Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...

, Yes…"; . This put him in touch with bass guitarist and drummer Bob Drake. Johnson and Drake initially played in a few

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. ...

s but in 1980 they began experimenting with prepared guitars and tape machines, and recording material Johnson had written. "Our goal was to combine the harder edge of progressive rock, as in Crimson and Yes, with the more modern tonalities and experimental approach as reflected in the work of the

Art Bears Art Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler (percussion, texts), Fred Frith (guitar, bass guitar, violin, keyboards) and Dagmar Krause (vocals; previously of ...

, our major heroes at the time." By 1982 they had enough material to perform live and enlisted three other musicians for a brief tour of Denver. This band became the first incarnation of

Thinking Plague

Thinking Plague was active on and off between 1982 and 2004 and quickly achieved prominence in

circles. They made five studio albums, and released one live album recorded at

NEARfest The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, was a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event was held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsy ...

in 2000. Johnson and Drake led the group until Drake left in the early 1990s after which Johnson took the helm. Most of Thinking Plague's material was composed by Johnson.

Other bands and collaborations

While Thinking Plague has dominated most of Johnson's musical career, he has also been a member of Hamster Theatre since 1996 and The Science Group in 2003. He toured with the 5uu's and Hail in the mid-1990s and has collaborated with a number of musicians, including Bob Drake, Susanne Lewis,

and Fred Frith.

Discography

;With

*''...A Thinking Plague'' (1984, LP, Endemic Music, US) *''Moonsongs'' (1987, LP, Dead Man's Curve Records, UK) *''Driving Me Backwards'' (compilation) (1987, LP, Dead Man's Curve Records, UK) *''In This Life'' (1989, CD,

Recommended Records Recommended Records (RēR) is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler with Nick Hobbs in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected mus ...

ReR, UK) *'' RēR Records Quarterly Vol.2 No.4'' (1989, LP,

, UK) *'' RēR Quarterly Vol.4 No.1'' (1994, CD,

, UK) *''In Extremis'' (1998, CD,

Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and elec ...

, US) *''A History of Madness'' (2003, CD,

, US) *''Upon Both Your Houses'' (live at

2000) (2004, CD, NEARfest Records, US) *''Decline and Fall'' (2012, CD,

, US) *''Hoping Against Hope'' (2017, CD,

, US) ;With Hamster Theatre *''Siege on Hamburger City'' (1998, CD,

Cricetus The European hamster (''Cricetus cricetus''), also known as the Eurasian hamster, black-bellied hamster or common hamster, is the only species of hamster in the genus ''Cricetus''. It is native to grassland and similar habitats in a large part ...

, US) *''Carnival Detournement'' (2001, CD,

, US) *''The Public Execution of Mr. Personality / Quasi Dayroom'' (2006, CD,

, US) (partially recorded at

Progman Cometh Progman Cometh Music Festivals were two Canterbury scene music concerts held at the Moore Theatre (Seattle, Washington), Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, USA, in 2002 and 2003. Progman Cometh 2002 Friday, August 16 * 7:00 ...

) ;With Hail *''Turn of the Screw'' (1990, CD,

, US) ;With

*''Speak Puppet'' (2001, CD,

ReR, US) ;With Fred Frith *'' Prints'' (2002, CD,

ReR, UK) ;With The Science Group *''Spoors'' (2003, CD,

ReR, UK) ;With Luciano Margorani *''My Favorite Strings'' (2004, CD, Isinaz, Italy) ;With David Shamrock *''Thin Pillow'' (2004, CD, Pillowsounds, US) ;With

Yugen Japanese aesthetics comprise a set of ancient ideals that include '' wabi'' (transient and stark beauty), '' sabi'' (the beauty of natural patina and aging), and '' yūgen'' (profound grace and subtlety). These ideals, and others, underpin much o ...

*''Iridule'' (2010, CD, AltrOck, Italy) ;With Dave Willey *''Immeasurable Currents'' (2011, CD, AltrOck, Italy)

References

External links