» Johnny Dowd

March 29, 1948: Born in Fort Worth, Texas. My mother married my father because he was a good dancer. They grew up in the big band era — Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey. When my father was in the army, he had his picture taken with Frank Sinatra. I have four lovely and influential sisters.

1950: We moved to Memphis, Tennessee. My father worked at J. C. Penney in America's first shopping mall. I was bow-legged and wore corrective braces. By all accounts, I was a bad-tempered child.

1953: My father got angry at his boss and quit J. C. Penney. We moved back to his hometown of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. This is where my musical education took place.

1956: I got a record player for Christmas. The first record I bought was by the Ray Coniff Singers. Around this time, my mother taught me to dance. I had a pair of pointy shoes and a red shirt that I wore when I pretended to be James Brown. "Live at the Apollo" remains my all-time favorite record.

1965: My parents got divorced. We moved back to Memphis. The first Bob Dylan record was released. I was mystified. Something was happening, but I didn't know what. My mom bought me an acoustic guitar, but I was too lazy to practice.

1967: I threw away all my records in a futile attempt to break rock 'n' roll's hold on my imagination.

1970-1979: Can't remember much except that I met my future wife, Kat Dalton.

1980: Bought a green Italian electric hollow-body guitar and later sold it. I'd love to have it back.

1981-1986: My friend Dave Hinkle and I started a moving business called Zolar Moving Co. and also a band, The Jokers. We did songs like "Lucille" and "Harlem Nocturne." It was loads of fun.

1988-1993: Dave and I started a second band, Neon Baptist, with Jennifer Dowd (drums), Mike Edmondson and Max Ormand (guitars), and Cally Arthur and Kim Sherwood-Caso (vocals). I am related to most of these people. Again, we had loads of fun. More fun than is legal.

1998: The band members grow up and begin to lead adult lives. I persevere. My first album, "Wrong Side of Memphis," is released in Europe and the U.S. I put together a band with Brian Wilson (drums), Mike Edmondson (keyboards), and Kim Sherwood-Caso (vocals). We begin to tour.

1999: "Pictures from Life's Other Side" is released. More tours in U.S. and Europe. More guitars.

2000: Justin Asher joins the band. "Temporary Shelter" is released in Europe (and in 2001 in U.S.). More touring. Living the life most men only dream of.

2002: Yet another album, "The Pawnbroker's Wife," is released. The is the first album without a photo of me on the cover. Does this signify a change in direction? Not really. More tours.

2003: "Wire Flowers: More Songs from the Wrong Side of Memphis" released in Europe.

2004: "Cemetery Shoes" released. Basically, this album is just Johnny and Willie B. (Brian Wilson) doing their thing. Justin helped mix it. New band line-up is Mike Stark (keyboards) and Willie B. (drums, bass pedals, and keyboards). Toured with the Mekons, the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band, in March.

Cruel Words
July 11, 2006

1. House of Pain  
2. Miracles Never Happen 
3. Praise God  
4. Unwed Mother 
5. Cradle of Lies  
6. Ding Dong  
7. Final Encore  
8. Wilder Than the Wind '66  
9. Drunk  
10. Poverty House  
11. Corner Laundromat  
12. Anxiety  
13. World of Him  
14. Johnny B. Goode

Resentie / Persbericht

An all-American original, Johnny Dowd combines a sound that suggests roots rock from the Twilight Zone, writing steeped in film noir, and a craggy voice that raves more than it croons. Prophet or musical madman? With the return of vocalist Kim Sherwood-Casio to smooth some of Dowd's rough edges (though in these surroundings she sounds like the ingénue trapped in a horror movie), the bare-bones interplay of Michael Stark's keyboards, Brian Wilson's drums, and the jagged edges of Dowd's guitar reinforce the dark essence of the material. Whether it's the unnerving spoken-word recitation of "Corner Laundromat," the musician's epitaph of "Final Encore," or the soldier returning with wheelchair in "Praise God," Dowd and band explore thematic dimensions where lesser mortals fear to tread. Kindred spirits and co-conspirators Jon Langford and Sally Timms of the Mekons join him for the alcoholic's singalong "Drunk." Changes of pace include a surf-style instrumental--"Wilder than the Wind '66"--and a finale that grafts Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" onto Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." "Ding Dong" suggests that, for Johnny Dowd, every day is Halloween.