Calvin Johnson (born November 1, 1962) is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, music producer, and disc jockey born in Olympia, Washington, USA. Known for his uniquely deep, droning singing voice, Johnson was a founding member of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, Dub Narcotic Sound System, and The Halo Benders. Calvin Johnson is also the founder and owner of the influential indie label K Records, and has been cited as a major player in the beginning of the modern independent music movement.^[1] As a prominent figure in the Olympia music scene, he was one of the major organizers of the seminal International Pop Underground Festival. Calvin Johnson (born September 25, 1985 in Tyrone, Georgia) is a professional American football player who currently plays for the Detroit Lions, formerly for the Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets. ... is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Coordinates: , Country State County Thurston Incorporated January 28, 1859 Government  - Mayor Mark Foutch Area  - Total 18. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Lo-fi — from Low Fidelity — describes a sound recording which contains accidental artifacts, like distortion, or environmental noise, or a recording which has a limited frequency response. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and, at present, in the band Dub Narcotic Sound System. ... Cool Rays was a rock band formed by five Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington, USA) students in late 1980. ... Beat Happening was a 1980s twee pop band, the most popular of International Pop Undergrounds roster of influential alternative rock stars. ... The Go Team was a 1980s band from Olympia, Washington consisting of Tobi Vail and Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening. ... The Halo Benders are a band formed in 1994 as a side project by Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill. ... Dub Narcotic Sound System (D.N.S.S.) is a musical group founded by Calvin Johnson. ... is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the UK magazine, see Guitarist (magazine). ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... In the music industry, record producer designates a person responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for release. ... For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ... Coordinates: , Country State County Thurston Incorporated January 28, 1859 Government  - Mayor Mark Foutch Area  - Total 18. ... Cool Rays was a rock band formed by five Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington, USA) students in late 1980. ... Beat Happening was a 1980s twee pop band, the most popular of International Pop Undergrounds roster of influential alternative rock stars. ... The Go Team was a 1980s band from Olympia, Washington consisting of Tobi Vail and Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening. ... Dub Narcotic Sound System (D.N.S.S.) is a musical group founded by Calvin Johnson. ... The Halo Benders are a band formed as a side project for Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill. ... The concept of an independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of one of the major record labels, which are generally defined to be the handful of media corporations which have recently dominated the recorded music industry in the West. ... K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and, at present, in the band Dub Narcotic Sound System. ... In popular music, independent music, often abbreviated as indie, is a term used to describe genres, scenes, subcultures, styles and other cultural attributes in music, characterized by their independence from major commercial record labels and their autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording and publishing. ... The city of Olympia, Washington (USA) has been a center of post-punk, anti-folk, and other youth-oriented musical genres since at least the late 1970s. ...

Biography

Early years

Calvin's first introduction to underground culture was in 1977 when he became a volunteer at Olympia's community radio station, KAOS-FM, at the age of fifteen. The station's uniquely progressive programming policy mandated a focus on music available through independent and artist owned labels, rather than centralized corporate media. This independent, do-it-yourself ethos has been an important influence on Johnson's career. Johnson soon began writing for fanzines, such as Sub/Pop (later to become Sub Pop Records) and Op, and also organized music and film events. Johnson attended the Evergreen State College in Olympia, where his first band, a short-lived group called Cool Rays, made their debut recordings with Steve Fisk in 1981. Calvin established K in the summer of 1982. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Volunteer (disambiguation). ... KAOS 89. ... Corporate media is a term used by some political progressives which refers to a system of media production, distribution, ownership, and funding which is dominated by corporations, and is governed by the capitalist imperatives of maximizing profits for the investors, stockholders, and advertisers. ... Main articles: DIY ethic and Do it yourself DIY (or Do It Yourself) culture is a broad term used to refer to a wide range of grassroots political activism. ... A fanzine (see also: zine) is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share their interest. ... Sub Pop is a record label in Seattle, Washington famous for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, and other grunge bands. ... The Evergreen State College wordmark The Evergreen State College is an accredited public baccalaureate college, founded in 1967 in the state capital, Olympia, Washington. ... Cool Rays was a rock band formed by five Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington, USA) students in late 1980. ... Steve Fisk is a Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. ...

Solo career

His first solo album, What Was Me, is an introspective album about love, loss, and death. While some songs employ simple nylon-string guitar accompaniment, many feature only Johnson's haunting baritone. What Was Me is the first solo record by K Records founder and Beat Happening member Calvin Johnson. ...

His second album, Before the Dream Faded..., is more varied. It includes collaborations with a variety of northwest indie luminaries. The songs cover an odd range of subjects, such as the size and color of hearts, Lucifer, and falling in love. Before The Dream Faded. ... This article is about the star or fallen angel. ...

The most recent album Calvin Johnson & The Sons of the Soil is a career-spanning collection of re-recorded songs with a band consisting of Kyle Field, Adam Forkner, and Jason Anderson. Kyle Field is the football stadium located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. ... Adam Forkner (b. ... jason anderson is a little prick that goes to cpit in new zealand. ...

In 2008, Calvin Johnson appeared in the film The Lollipop Generation by G.B. Jones. G.B. Jones is an influential artist, filmmaker, and musician from Toronto. ...

Relationship with other musicians

Johnson has worked with Modest Mouse, Beck, Heavenly, The Microphones, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Blow, The Gossip and Built to Spill among others. Since founding his Dub Narcotic recording studio in 1993, he has produced and engineered recordings by many bands and artists. Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, bassist Eric Judy, and guitarist Dann Gallucci. ... This article is about the musician. ... Heavenly was a 1990s twee pop band, originally forming in Oxford, England in 1989. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Phil Elverum. ... The Blues Explosion. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline for Music. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Beth Ditto. ... Built to Spill is an American rock music band based in Boise, Idaho. ...

Friends of Kurt Cobain such as Ian Dickson of Earth, Mark Arm of Mudhoney, Bruce Pavitt and Slim Moon have all acknowledged Johnson's significant influence on the late musician. Cobain cited Beat Happening's Jamboree as one of his favorite records,^[2] and even got the K Records logo (a small "K" in a shield) tattooed on his arm to "try and remind [him] to stay a child."^[3] They were friends in the late 80s/early 90s when Cobain lived in Olympia; he'd been a guest with The Go Team, and on September 25, 1990, Cobain appeared on a KAOS (FM) show hosted by Johnson and performed a number of songs acoustically, including a duet with Johnson on the Wipers song, "D-7." Cobain later grew to resent Johnson and denounced his ties in an unsent letter to Tobi Vail. Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. ... Dylan Carlson of Earth. ... Singer/Guitarist Mark Arm Mark Arm is the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. ... Mudhoney may refer to: Mudhoney (band), a grunge band from Seattle, Washington Mudhoney (film), a film directed by Russ Meyer Mudhoney Records, a record label Mudhoney (store), fashion accessories stores, Adelaide, South Australia Category: ... Bruce Pavitt is an American, best known for founding the record label Sub Pop. ... Slim Moon, founder of Kill Rock Stars Slim Moon (b. ... Beat Happening was a 1980s twee pop band, the most popular of International Pop Undergrounds roster of influential alternative rock stars. ... Jamboree second album by Beat Happening, released in 1988 through K Records/Sub Pop. ... K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and, at present, in the band Dub Narcotic Sound System. ... The Go Team was a 1980s band from Olympia, Washington consisting of Tobi Vail and Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening. ... KAOS 89. ... It has been suggested that Unplugged be merged into this article or section. ... Duet may refer to: Duet, musical form Duet, Fox sitcom This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Wipers were a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. ... Tobi Vail (born July 20, 1969) is a musician, influential DIY punk zinester, and feminist theorist from Olympia, Washington. ...

Solo discography:

• What Was Me (2002, K Records)
• Before the Dream Faded... (2005, K Records)
• Calvin Johnson & The Sons of the Soil (2007, K records)

What Was Me is the first solo record by K Records founder and Beat Happening member Calvin Johnson. ... Before The Dream Faded. ...

References

Everett True (born Jerry Thackray in 1960 or 1961) is a British music journalist, who grew up in Chelmsford, Essex. ...

External links

• dubnarcotic.org
• KittenPants.org interview
• Present! interview