 Artist
Profile: Johnny Dowd
Asked
what it would take for the general public to wake up and
recognize his status as a true American Original, Johnny
Dowd chews on a response that perfectly mirrors the
gloomy territory his songs inhabit.
“A nuclear holocaust,” he says before breaking
into laughter.
A
close listen to Dowd’s songs reveals an artist who
populates his world with misfits and dark themes that have
more in common with author J.T.
Leroy’s stories than anything in the current popular
music scene. Though
Dowd frequently employs a razor sharp wit to help lighten a
song’s mood, even a nuclear holocaust is optimistic.
Nevertheless,
for those not afraid to follow him down the dark stairs into
the root cellar, Dowd’s songs are cautionary tales for
grown ups set to rock, blues, jazz and dirge rhythms.
 Take,
for example, “Wedding Dress” from last year’s
“Cemetery Shoes” (Bongo
Beat). The
song’s story is about a repressed young man forced to live
a lie in order to win his father’s approval.
Or
listen to the narrator of the song “True Love” from the
2002 release “The Pawn Broker’s Wife” – (Catamount)
who tells us from the afterlife –
I
loved her with a vengeance, I gave her all I had
I never really knew her or why she looked so sad
I tried to understand her, gave her all I could
Rumors began to circulate all over the neighborhood
I tried to ignore them, called them vicious lies
I knew that if I believed them, one of us must die
©
Johnny Dowd
If
Dowd’s songs are rich in character, place and motivation,
credit his music, arrangements and band mates for delivering
the perfect soundtracks for Dowd’s 3-minute dramas.
Considering
his facility for songwriting, it may be surprising to learn
that Dowd began his music career in his late 30’s and
didn’t record his first album until he passed the half
century mark.
What’s
more, given the rigors of a frequent U.S. and European
touring schedule, Dowd co-owns and operates a successful
moving company based in his hometown of Ithaca, New York.
On
the heels of putting out a live EP, “Live At The Night
& Day Café Manchester, UK,” Dowd is prepping his next
studio recording that’s scheduled for release later this
year. But
before that album sees daylight, he’s scheduled to open a
series of summer shows for Neko Case.
Atlas
Plugged: Where are your roots?
Johnny
Dowd: I was born in Fort
Worth. Grew up in Memphis. Went to high school in Memphis
and Oklahoma.
 AP:
So how did you end up in Ithaca, New York of all
places?
JD:
My mom moved up there. And after I got out of the
service, I went to California for quite awhile, and then
just traveled around. When I went to visit her I ran out of
money. But me and my partner had these pick-up trucks. So we
started a trash business. And then moved into moving
furniture from that, sort of a natural progression.
AP:
Why did dreams of a music career become a burning
ambition at that time in your life?
JD:
I'd always been a huge music fan. Music had always
been a really big thing in my life. It was really sort of an
existential decision. It was at a time of my life when I was
like, "I don't like any of the music that’s out
there." I thought I could maybe do something that I
liked, you know?
I still have more fun listening to music than playing
music. I enjoy it, but there is so much that goes on. I
always wonder, "Am I doing good?" Or, "Is
this right?" Or, "Is anybody here?" "Am
I making any money?" But on the other hand, just
listening to music is a pure magical expression, you know?
AP:
As a musician, what would you consider success?
JD:
I consider success if I could take the band on the
road, pay them 400 bucks a week, plus per diems. And if I
could clear 600 bucks a week. It’s very modest. I never
thought it would be that difficult to do. But for me, and
for a lot of other people, the challenge is to be able to
pay people who work with you. If you start younger, you get
in the van and you can just drive on. Everybody throws their
money in.
But my guys are getting on. Brian [Dowd band drummer
Brian Wilson) has got a baby. And I couldn't even do this if
I didn't have my own business that I can run even while I’m
gone. So I still have an income. Otherwise, I couldn't
support it.
AP:
How would you characterize the Johnny Dowd fan, the
person who comes out to see the Johnny Dowd show?
JD:
It would vary. We have young fans and older people my
age. I think they're all sort of musically knowledgeable,
and they can see the roots behind what I do. They have some
sense of history instead of thinking my music is just weird
shit. People who catch on hear that my music’s just little
takes on traditional music, on blues and country, basically.
AP:
And Bukowski and . . .?
JD:
Yes, some kind of literary background.
AP:
Have you ever submitted any of your
tracks to movie
music supervisors?
JD:
Yes. I actually have something coming out that I just
did a vocal on. You know David J, who's in Bauhaus? He did a
sound track for a vampire movie and I did a vocal on it.
I also did the music for a little independent film that a
guy in Ithaca made. It was a Southern Gothic murder. It was
shown in some little festivals but nothing large.
AP:
So who makes up the Johnny Dowd organization? Is it
you and your wife? [Johnny is married to photographer and
graphic designer Kat Dalton.]
JD:
It's me and my wife, yes.
AP:
She does the booking?
JD:
No, I have a booker. The owner of my record label,
Bongo Beat, in Vancouver has been doing a great job. He's
really done everything humanly possible for a small label.
Actually where I really have
more of a career is in Europe. My stuff is on Munich Records
over there. I can tour there a couple of times a year and
make some money. I have more of an audience in Europe.
AP:
Do you prefer playing over there?
JD:
Well, mostly because I get paid more. I've been over
there enough now, it's not a big thrill. It's just like
here. You go from city to city. But over there I have a tour
manager so it's much easier. I don't do the driving. I just
show up and do the gig.
AP:
What music are you listening to these days?
JD:
I pretty much listen to what the band brings in the
van. These dudes, they're younger. They're listening to
stuff I haven't heard. Mostly instrumental stuff. A lot of
jazz. I don't listen to much singer/songwriter stuff.
I'm pretty catholic in my taste. I like to just listen to
Robert Pete Williams' records. And Eric Dolphy. I always
liked Merle Haggard. Although I didn't get into country
music. First three records I bought were James Brown
"Live at the Apollo;" a Burt Kaempfert record; and
a Drifters album.
AP:
How would you characterize your music?
JD:
To me, it's just rock 'n roll. To me, rock 'n roll is
extremely unpure. It takes a little bit of anything, will
try anything, do anything.
AP:
Where did your stories come from?
JD:
[PAUSE] Different places. From things that I've
experienced. Things I've seen. Could be out of the blue.
Could be, like here, in my mind. This song I really like or
this music I really like. On one song I was feeling like it
had a Frank Sinatra thing. But I'm sure most people are
probably not going to hear that influence. But it's a
starting point for me.
When I first started writing and playing, a lot of people
asked, "So --- how long were you in prison?"
Because there's something about the music. Something about
me in particular. You wouldn't ask that of a novelist. Every
song I ever wrote is completely true to me because it's
emotionally true.
But getting down to the facts of the song, it's like, who
cares?
AP:
Do you think that that your singing is the great
chasm between you and the possibility of commercial success?
JD:
Oh yes, definitely. If I was a better singer, I would
definitely do better. There's no question in my mind. I
never wanted to be a singer. I put together a band. I want
to write the music. But I’d rather put a singer out front
to do it. But the thing of it is, I got to pay them.
But yes, there is no question that the vocals hold back
the band because the guys that I play with are so much
better than 99 percent of rock musicians. But I think people
often can't get past the vocal thing to hear the music.
That's why I don't consider myself a singer-songwriter. I
consider myself a part of a band.
Johnny Dowd portraits and album cover by Kat Dalton
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