photos by Chris Graham

"John Wesley Harding just sang a song with an Atlantic Yards reference." - Kate

John Hold Steady Walkmen Mountain Goat Wesley Harding

"Well, you know, I've been making music for twenty something years now, and over the years, you meet many people in and out of your lives. They may or may not be your best friends, and you may or may not be close with their families, but there is a mutual respect and in some cases, that blossoms into very long friendships. For example, when I first came into America in 1990, I think my first ever solo show here was in Athens, Georgia. There, I was invited to stay at Peter Buck's house, and staying there was Nikki Sudden who has since sadly demised, and Billy Bragg; it was quite a wild scenario. It was my first time in town really, and my first solo show in America, so I've known Peter 21 years now. Scott, the producer of the record, came up to me at a show in Seattle in 1992 and said, "I'm a fan, I'm in the Young Fresh Fellows," and I said, "Fantastic." Now, bizarrely, he's not only in the Young Fresh Fellows, he's also in The Minus Five who was the backing band of my last album, and R.E.M who are now no more. Rosanne Cash, I met totally by chance in a New York lunch place. We were introduced, and I'm an artist-in-residence at this university, and I asked her to do a talk for the students with me because she's also a writer and musician. We've become very good friends, she's a great user of the social networking device Twitter, and we kind of keep in touch through that. So, I've known her a few years now, and her voice is so very recognizable to me, and I've loved it for so long that she is a very easy person to summon how good she would be in your mind of how good she would be in a song; then there's John Roderick of The Long Winters who is quite a recent friend; also Laura Veirs--I needed a woman to sing the parts of the ghost of my ex-girlfriend in one of the songs; and Steve Berlin of Los Lobos does the horns on everything, and he produced an album for me in 1992 called Why We Fight. He also found me a place to live. I was his neighbor for a couple of years. So, as you can see, it's a lovely web of friendship and mutual history."
- John Wesley Harding to Huffington Post

John Wesley Harding regularly showcases his many friends and acquaintances at his Cabinet of Wonder shows. The last was at City Winery on Friday (10/28) with Craig Finn, John Darnielle (the Mountain Goats), Rosanne Cash Hamilton Leithauser (The Walkmen), Eugene Mirman, John Hodgman, Emma Straub, and more. A full set of pictures in this post.

Tickets are still on sale for the Decemberists-filled Cabinet of Wonders that will go down in the same venue on 11/18. Many of the same musicians will also be in the house the next night at the Bell House and then at Maxwell's right after that.

More pictures from City Winery below...

Continue reading "John Darnielle, Rosanne Cash, Hamilton Leithauser, John Hodgman & others played John Wesley Harding's show (pics)"

John Wesley Harding will be releasing his latest album, Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, on March 10 via Popover Corps/Rebel Group. Recorded with backing band The Minus Five (featuring Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck of REM), Who Was Changed is Harding's first rock album since 2004's Adam's Apple. Included with the new record is a live bonus CD, recorded at Brooklyn's Union Hall on October 27, 2008 with guest duetist Josh Ritter among others.

John Wesley Harding will be hosting a series of unique variety shows, featuring a hand-picked crew from the worlds of music, literature and comedy. The three-show residency will be held at NYC's Le Poisson Rouge on February 11, March 11 and April 15.

The Feburary 11th lineup is:

- Jonathan Ames (author, HBO pilot, Bored to Death, with Jason Schwartzman)
- Rick Moody (author, The Ice Storm, Demonology, The Black Veil)
- Eugene Mirman (comedian, Flight of the Conchords)
- Shivaree (musician, Zoë Records)
- Carla Rhodes (rock and roll ventriloquist)
- P.T. Walkley (songwriter/film composer, Ed Burns collaborator)

Tickets for that JWH show are still on sale.

One day earlier (February 10th) you can catch Eugene Mirman celebrating the release of his new book at The Bell House in Brooklyn. John Oliver, John Hodgman, Kristen Schaal and Paul F. Tompkins are also performing at that show, which is sold out.

One day earlier than that (February 9th) (TODAY!) Eugene Mirman will be performing, for free, again with Kristen Schall, at UCB. It's all part of Leo Allen's 11pm Whiplash show that Zach Galifianakis will also be attending. Info and free tickets HERE.

As stated above, John Wesley Harding will be back at LPR in March and April. So will Eugene Mirman. A video trailer for this week's show, and the full lineup of all three (including Roseanne Cash, Josh Ritter, and Graham Parker), below...

Continue reading "JOHN WESLEY HARDING's Cabinet of Wonders... and other EUGENE MIRMAN shows, Josh Ritter, albums & stuff"