Daniel Johnston Interview
To coincide with our recent collaboration with US singer/songwriter/artist Daniel Johnston, Retreat decided to approach Daniel's brother and tour manager Dick Johnston to try and arrange a small interview with Daniel for our blog.
Dick was quick to reply and to my amazement, advised this would be possible. However, as Daniel has no access to the internet, or infact own a pc, I was given their father Bill's landline number and advised to call up to arrange the interview over the phone.
Interviewing Daniel Johnston was never going to be a straight forward task.
Here is a guy, in which a big part of his adult life has involved being in and out of institutions, diagnosed with bipolar disorder and even surviving a self inflicted plane crash.
Personally, I feel Daniel Johnston still plays an important role in today's music. He is still producing great albums, 30 years after he first started recording on a cheap tape recorder at his parents’ house.
His songs are simple, yet touching – affecting you in different ways. They can make you smile when you're down, they sometimes make you laugh, other times, they make you cry. I find his songs, and his artwork, completely immersive, and once you’ve found yourself in his world, it’s often difficult to come back to reality.
As advised, I phoned Bill Johnston at the family home around 21:00 GMT. Having set up my phones to record the interview, I was initially plagued by technical issues as Bill failed to hear me on two attempts. The third attempt I decided to ring directly from my android phone. After a brief introduction about myself I asked for Daniel. I was unsure what to expect of this interview, but once Bill confirmed that Daniel was at home, he placed me on hold only to shout for Daniel to come to the phone at once.
This reduced my nerves a little but I was still really nervous about the interview.
Daniel came to the phone and off we went. It's an enjoyable conversation, and Daniel was real friendly and happy to answer the questions I threw at him.
Although the interview was a little disjointed at times, with some slight pauses here and there, I felt overall it went well.
Hope you enjoy the interview with the legend himself.
Hi there, is this Daniel? It's Paul from Retreat - I hope you're doing good.
Hello, this is Daniel, how are you??
I'm fine thank you. Daniel, as discussed and arranged with your brother Dick, I hope you don't mind me firing a few questions to you for all the fans out there especially here in the UK?
No problem at all
When it comes to you being creative, what inspires you most?
Well I guess what really goes on is when I play and I just start thinking about different things and then it turns into a song, sometimes. Most songs seem to be about love songs with a broken heart. Different kind of songs you know (laughs), and if you've ever heard my songs you can tell, it's about different things like that.
You are famed for your music and art ...how would you most like to be remembered??
Well I'm not dead yet!! (laughs). I'm really happy that I'm able to make a living from this and very very happy and I plan to take advantage of that to make a living from it for the rest of my life. But I would like to be very famous and very rich.
That's my aim. You know I work very hard (laughs).
That's so true. Also Daniel if you could pick any artist or musician, dead or alive - Who would you most like to work with? and I'm thinking I already know the answer to this
Ah yes The Beatles for sure. But you know most of them are gone now.
Which individual Beatle would you have liked to have worked with most?
Well in a fantasy I always thought that some day John Lennon would hear my tapes you know, but then that really hurt my feelings really bad thinking of The Beatles and all that.
Do you listen to much modern day music? What would you say is your favourite style and who are your favourite artists??
Well really I've been playing my own music this year and haven't thought about listening to other music at all. But I have listened to just about everybody. I mean when I listen I really have a lot of fun listening to it.
I went for 3 years listening to The Beatles. I didn't even realise it (laughs). I was looking back and thought Hey I was listening to them all day and all night. I was crazy about them.
And are you still collecting Beatles bootlegs? Tell us about your collection.
Oh yeah. I mean I have probably about... I have a lot. Hundreds.
Your tribute album - The Late, Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered - Did you think the featured artists did a good job of re-recording your songs? which was your favourite?
They did really well, the only thing I would say is that I wish somebody would come along and try to make a hit out of one of those songs. Then I would be happy.
I hope to get better and prove that someday one will become a hit, you know.
"The Devil and Daniel Johnston" has been well-received worldwide as a brilliant documentary. Do you feel it is an accurate portrayal of your life and career??
That was a nightmare. At first I didn't know what to think, but after a while I decided it was humorous.
Talk about exploitation, I mean they went all the way as much as they could.
Yes they really didn't leave much out did they?
But the things they talked about were all true. I got into trouble and went to jail. I'd been in the mental hospital for ever. I'm really glad to be out, it's been like the longest time.
In your opinion, what would you say has been the highlight of your career so far??
When I lived in West Virginia with my Mom and Dad, I started writing songs all the time and then I came down to Texas. I kept on coming back to Texas and I kept on writing and then I moved to Austin and started playing out, and after about 4 or 5 months, MTV came to town, and all my friends were on it too. That was the highlight of my life really (laughs).
I read somewhere that your father buys your art from you and re-sells it. Is this true?
Yes he does. I sell a lot of drawings and to art shows.
But is it true your dad re-sells them?
Yes, and my brother sells them too.
What are your biggest challenges in creating brilliant work??
I don't know. It's hard to say....I don't know.
You have many fans across the world, particularly here in England. Are you considering touring Europe again in the New Year??
Well not much. Not much that I know about.
Well hopefully you will tour soon.
I will return.
And Daniel, are you planning any new releases anytime soon?
Well we had the new album come out this year, and we are working on new material.
Nowadays, TV is full of "reality shows" turning normal people into overnight stars. How do you feel about this??
About stars??
You know? Shows like American Idol. Do you have an opinion on shows like this?
I don't know. It sounds pretty good sometimes. I've seen that show. But I guess I just concentrate on my own work.
Well that's all my questions Daniel. I mean I could go on with a list of questions to ask you, but I know you are busy.
I just want to thank you for taking the time to speak to me and I really do appreciate it.
Thanks alot for calling. You take care.
You too and have a Merry Christmas
You too. Bye
Check out more of Daniel Johnston via his official website
Hi How Are You
The site have also launched a new 50 minute RADIO SERIES hosted by Brett Hartenbach. You can listen to the current episode or register as a radio station to download all episodes at:
http://radio.hihowareyou.com
Dick was quick to reply and to my amazement, advised this would be possible. However, as Daniel has no access to the internet, or infact own a pc, I was given their father Bill's landline number and advised to call up to arrange the interview over the phone.
Interviewing Daniel Johnston was never going to be a straight forward task.
Here is a guy, in which a big part of his adult life has involved being in and out of institutions, diagnosed with bipolar disorder and even surviving a self inflicted plane crash.
Personally, I feel Daniel Johnston still plays an important role in today's music. He is still producing great albums, 30 years after he first started recording on a cheap tape recorder at his parents’ house.
His songs are simple, yet touching – affecting you in different ways. They can make you smile when you're down, they sometimes make you laugh, other times, they make you cry. I find his songs, and his artwork, completely immersive, and once you’ve found yourself in his world, it’s often difficult to come back to reality.
 |  |
As advised, I phoned Bill Johnston at the family home around 21:00 GMT. Having set up my phones to record the interview, I was initially plagued by technical issues as Bill failed to hear me on two attempts. The third attempt I decided to ring directly from my android phone. After a brief introduction about myself I asked for Daniel. I was unsure what to expect of this interview, but once Bill confirmed that Daniel was at home, he placed me on hold only to shout for Daniel to come to the phone at once.
This reduced my nerves a little but I was still really nervous about the interview.
Daniel came to the phone and off we went. It's an enjoyable conversation, and Daniel was real friendly and happy to answer the questions I threw at him.
Although the interview was a little disjointed at times, with some slight pauses here and there, I felt overall it went well.
Hope you enjoy the interview with the legend himself.
Hi there, is this Daniel? It's Paul from Retreat - I hope you're doing good.
Hello, this is Daniel, how are you??
I'm fine thank you. Daniel, as discussed and arranged with your brother Dick, I hope you don't mind me firing a few questions to you for all the fans out there especially here in the UK?
No problem at all
When it comes to you being creative, what inspires you most?
Well I guess what really goes on is when I play and I just start thinking about different things and then it turns into a song, sometimes. Most songs seem to be about love songs with a broken heart. Different kind of songs you know (laughs), and if you've ever heard my songs you can tell, it's about different things like that.
You are famed for your music and art ...how would you most like to be remembered??
Well I'm not dead yet!! (laughs). I'm really happy that I'm able to make a living from this and very very happy and I plan to take advantage of that to make a living from it for the rest of my life. But I would like to be very famous and very rich.
That's my aim. You know I work very hard (laughs).
That's so true. Also Daniel if you could pick any artist or musician, dead or alive - Who would you most like to work with? and I'm thinking I already know the answer to this
Ah yes The Beatles for sure. But you know most of them are gone now.
Which individual Beatle would you have liked to have worked with most?
Well in a fantasy I always thought that some day John Lennon would hear my tapes you know, but then that really hurt my feelings really bad thinking of The Beatles and all that.
Do you listen to much modern day music? What would you say is your favourite style and who are your favourite artists??
Well really I've been playing my own music this year and haven't thought about listening to other music at all. But I have listened to just about everybody. I mean when I listen I really have a lot of fun listening to it.
I went for 3 years listening to The Beatles. I didn't even realise it (laughs). I was looking back and thought Hey I was listening to them all day and all night. I was crazy about them.
 |  |  |
And are you still collecting Beatles bootlegs? Tell us about your collection.
Oh yeah. I mean I have probably about... I have a lot. Hundreds.
Your tribute album - The Late, Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered - Did you think the featured artists did a good job of re-recording your songs? which was your favourite?
They did really well, the only thing I would say is that I wish somebody would come along and try to make a hit out of one of those songs. Then I would be happy.
I hope to get better and prove that someday one will become a hit, you know.
"The Devil and Daniel Johnston" has been well-received worldwide as a brilliant documentary. Do you feel it is an accurate portrayal of your life and career??
That was a nightmare. At first I didn't know what to think, but after a while I decided it was humorous.
Talk about exploitation, I mean they went all the way as much as they could.
Yes they really didn't leave much out did they?
But the things they talked about were all true. I got into trouble and went to jail. I'd been in the mental hospital for ever. I'm really glad to be out, it's been like the longest time.
In your opinion, what would you say has been the highlight of your career so far??
When I lived in West Virginia with my Mom and Dad, I started writing songs all the time and then I came down to Texas. I kept on coming back to Texas and I kept on writing and then I moved to Austin and started playing out, and after about 4 or 5 months, MTV came to town, and all my friends were on it too. That was the highlight of my life really (laughs).
I read somewhere that your father buys your art from you and re-sells it. Is this true?
Yes he does. I sell a lot of drawings and to art shows.
But is it true your dad re-sells them?
Yes, and my brother sells them too.
What are your biggest challenges in creating brilliant work??
I don't know. It's hard to say....I don't know.
 |  |
You have many fans across the world, particularly here in England. Are you considering touring Europe again in the New Year??
Well not much. Not much that I know about.
Well hopefully you will tour soon.
I will return.
And Daniel, are you planning any new releases anytime soon?
Well we had the new album come out this year, and we are working on new material.
Nowadays, TV is full of "reality shows" turning normal people into overnight stars. How do you feel about this??
About stars??
You know? Shows like American Idol. Do you have an opinion on shows like this?
I don't know. It sounds pretty good sometimes. I've seen that show. But I guess I just concentrate on my own work.
Well that's all my questions Daniel. I mean I could go on with a list of questions to ask you, but I know you are busy.
I just want to thank you for taking the time to speak to me and I really do appreciate it.
Thanks alot for calling. You take care.
You too and have a Merry Christmas
You too. Bye
Check out more of Daniel Johnston via his official website
Hi How Are You
The site have also launched a new 50 minute RADIO SERIES hosted by Brett Hartenbach. You can listen to the current episode or register as a radio station to download all episodes at:
http://radio.hihowareyou.com
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