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

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

Dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars 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 a gui ...

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 in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

, and

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

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 ...

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

and more recently,

The Gourds The Gourds are an American alternative country band that formed in Austin, Texas, during the summer of 1994. After playing together for 19 consecutive years, the band went on hiatus in 2013. Career Primarily evolving from the Picket Line Coyote ...

. 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 ...

and has supported her in concert tours.

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 The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

, 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 ' ...

''. Following the departure of

Jay Farrar Jay Stuart Farrar (born December 26, 1966) is an American songwriter and musician 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 talent as ...

in May 1994, the remaining members of Uncle Tupelo, including Johnston, Ken Coomer, 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, singer songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, began his music care ...

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

Being There ''Being There'' is a 1979 American satirical comedy-drama film starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Hal Ashby, it is based on the 1971 novel '' Being There'' by Jerzy Kosiński, and adapted for the scr ...

'' 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 di ...

, and gave instrumental support to singer-songwriter

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

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 (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

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" an ...

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 re ...

, 1993; rereleased Columbia/

Legacy Legacy or Legacies may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * " Batman: Legacy", a 1996 Batman storyline * '' DC Universe: Legacies'', a comic book series from DC Comics * ''Legacy'', a 1999 quarterly series from Antarctic Press * ''Legacy ...

and

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company (formerly Rhino Records Inc.) 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 ...

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

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, 2002)

with Wilco

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

'' (Sire/Reprise, 1996)

with Freakwater

* '' Springtime'' (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, (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 American violinists