Fruit Bats

Ceremony

2011-04-07T16:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends!

I wrote the score to a movie called Ceremony and it's coming to select theaters in the coming weeks - we'll keep you posted on that! Oh, and its on Comcast On Demand, too...

The film's original soundtrack album is available here: http://bit.ly/eH4BSs. This includes plenty of my score, as well as songs from Van Dyke Parks, Ringo Starr, Pete Townshend, and Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig.

Here is a link to the trailer, and below is a list of theaters where you can catch the film:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/magnolia/ceremony/

4/8/11
New York @ City Cinemas Village East Cinema
Los Angeles @ Laemmle's Sunset 5 & Laemmle's Town Center 5

4/15/11
Portland, OR @ Living Room 6

4/22/11
Palm Desert, CA @ Cinemas Palme D'Or 7
San Diego, CA @ Gaslamp All Stadium 15
San Francisco, CA @ Lumiere Theatre 3
Philadelphia, PA @ Ritz at the Bourse

4/29/11
Denver, CO @ Denver Film Center/Colfax
Seattle, WA @ Varsity Theatre

5/6/11
Boca Raton, FL @ Living Room Cinema 4

5/13/11
Mesilla, NM @ Fountain Theatre

Much Love,
EDJ

Huichica 2011

2011-03-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce the Huichica Music Festival, presented by Jeff Bundschu and Eric D. Johnson, on June 4, 2011 at the beautiful Gundlach Bundschu Winery just outside of the town of Sonoma, CA. The festival, pronounced "wee-Cheeka," is now in its second year, read about last year's festival HERE (http://bit.ly/gKYU0j). Once again I've put the bands together and Fruit Bats will play, along with some of our favorites: J Mascis, Sonny and the Sunsets, Richard Swift, These United States, Breathe Owl Breathe, Tu Fawning and David Williams. There will be strolling minstrels, wine, killer food, all star inter-band jams, and general specialness that cannot be experienced in normal capacities.

Be there.

-EJ

www.huichica.com

Plenty a-happening in Fruit Bats Land

2011-02-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

Just starting work on the latest album, expect new Fruit Bats jams sometime this year! Also, I've composed the score to a couple of movies this year. The first of those is called Ceremony (in theaters April 8th!), directed by my buddy Max Winkler. You can check out the preview here - we even used an old Fruit Bats chestnut for the trailer as you'll hear! More to come very soon, friends... Much love, EDJ

Fruit Bats Only

2011-01-28T01:22:00.000-08:00

Radness

2011-01-28T01:10:00.001-08:00

Eric D. Johnson Solo at Benefest

2011-01-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Eric is stoked to be playing with Andy Cabic and Richard Swift February 12th at The Woods as part of Benefest. There will be short solo sets, some collaboration, and a crazy jam to end the night... should be rare and special!

Benefest is a benefit festival to support arts education at Buckman Elementary and the Portland Schools Foundation. Produced by the good folks who bring you Pickathon Indie Roots Music Festival.

Goodnight, Andy K

2010-11-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

Been a while since I've checked in. Some craziness going on - some good, and some very sad.

Recently, Fruit Bats lost one of our closest friends. On October 24th, Andy Kotowicz of Sub Pop Records died of injuries sustained in a car accident. The loss has been pretty massive to me and so many people in the music world and beyond. He was a one of a kind guy, and this band owes much of its existence to his belief in us, his persistence, and undying love. He was truly an amazing dude, one of the undeniable good ones, and will be missed beyond what words can describe. So I tell ya, hug the ones you love, tell them you love 'em. Live your life with spirit and soul and seize the day.

So, Andy signed a lot of bands to Sub Pop, including Fruit Bats. A big portion of those bands will be playing at Seattle's Showbox (at the Market) on December 4th to honor his life and to benefit his beautiful family. The lineup is something pretty special and crazy, and a testament to his all-over-the-place, visionary taste - Shabazz Palaces, Mudhoney, Vetiver, Pissed Jeans, Wolf Eyes, A-Frames/AFCGT, and Michael Yonkers, and yeah, Fruit Bats.

If you live in Seattle or the Northwest - be there. Andy would be utterly STOKED that all of his bands were getting together in one place... Again - Saturday, December 4th at Showbox.

Go here for a bit more info: http://www.subpop.com/andy

PS: Be an organ donor!

Much Love - more than usual, even,

EDJ

Mountain Stage

2010-10-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

Fruit Bats had the pleasure of playing Mountain Stage Radio Show October 3 and the episode airs tomorrow, October 22. Air times vary by station, check your local listings here: http://bit.ly/dwjx1s or keep an eye out for the stream and podcast to be posted at NPR.org/mountainstage.

Photo by Brian Blauser

On the Road Again

2010-09-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks! Getting ready to head out on a diagonal tour from Southeast to Northwest with the lovely folks in Blitzen Trapper.

We'll be doing daily tour diaries featuring the fantastic photography of Annie Beedy from her blog, Mim and Honey. Feel free to follow. It will be pretty, funny and pretty funny.

The Great Outdoors Tour

2010-09-07T17:30:00.001-07:00

Just returned from a sweet tour that took us more or less around the Western US again. It was a unique tour, lots of outdoor shows, lots of playing under the stars in some of the prettiest places there are. Pretty sweet, I tell ya. That is our van at Devil's Tower (we didn't play there - maybe next time).

Anyway, the rest of the photographic proof of said tour can be found over at Annie Beedy's Mim and Honey blog... enjoy.

We'll be hitting the road with the fantastic Blitzen Trapper for a run of dates (some on our own as well) in October. See ya then!

I Must Be in a Good Place Now

2010-07-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Andy from Vetiver and EDJ playing one of the late Bobby Charles' finest

Vetiver & Fruit Bats from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Summertime

2010-07-12T17:28:00.000-07:00

Been a more or less sleepy summer so far with a show here and a show there. For those of you who came and saw us at The Sasquatch and Huichica Festivals (and points between) - good to have seen ya!

There is more late-summer-melting-into-fall Fruit Bats action on the horizon. Here ‘tis:

--- We’ve been added as a late addition to Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party. We play July 23rd at 10:45.

www.capitolhillblockparty.com

--- The schedule is out for the Portland’s fantastic Pickathon Festival. Here’s where we’re at:

8/6 - 7PM full set in the Galaxy Barn
8/7 - 2PM Banjo Workshop in the Workshop Barn
8/7 - 6PM full set on the Mountain View Stage

As per the “Banjo Workshop,” you read that right. I used to teach banjo back in the day and I’m gonna teach you again. Everything you need to know in 60 minutes, plus some jams! Bring a banjo if you feel like it!

www.pickathon.com

--- Speaking of banjo teaching, Fruit Bats will be playing a super special show at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, which is the joint where I got my start. Seats are going fast. There is a bit of weirdness with the online ticket sales, so we recommend that you give those guys a call before my family finishes off the last of the tickets. Call them right here: (773) 728-6000

www.oldtownschool.org

See you all very soon - much love and stay cool!

EDJ and Fruit Bats

PS: That photo is of Gus Cannon, of Cannon's Jug Stompers

Pictures from Huichica Festival

2010-06-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

The first annual Huichica Festival at the Gundlach-Bundschu Winery came and went, and I'm pretty stoked to stay it was the JAM. There was a sold out crowd, wine, sunshine, plenty of dancin', and one of the most over-the-top multi-band jam sessions I've ever seen, let alone been drunkenly part of. Anyhow, Annie Beedy was there, mainly just to hang out, but of course snapped a bunch of fine pics between sips of fine Tempranillo. Thanks to all the rad bands and to Jeff Bundschu for putting this thing together with me. And yeah, we're doing it again next year.

----------------------- Vetiver

----------------------- The farm

----------------------- Dancin'

----------------------- Ezra feelin' it

----------------------- Otto shaking out the drum rug

----------------------- More dancin'

----------------------- Monster jam

----------------------- Monster jam panorama

HUICHICA!

2010-04-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

We're rather excited to officially announce the Huichica Music Festival, which takes place on Saturday, June 5th in the idyllic countryside just outside of the town of Sonoma, CA. Here are the finer points, in case you were wondering:

--The pronunciation is "wee-Cheeka."

--I put the bands together, comprised of ye olde Fruit Bats and five of my fave Bay Area bands. Vetiver, Citay, Tussle, Extra Classic and Tortured Genies.

--The location is a beautiful sight to behold on a vineyard-strewn hillside in the heart of Cali. Be there. There will be strolling minstrels, wine, killer food, all star inter-band jams, and general specialness that cannot be experienced in normal capacities.

Did I mention be there? June 5th... Rad.

EJ

Lost a Hero on Wednesday...

2010-03-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

I'd probably still be singing in a strangulated 1990's yelp if I hadn't fallen across the first two Big Star records in my late teen years. Alex Chilton was truly one of the pillars that made me do what I do - maybe the first of those to fall... Goodnight to you sir.
EJ

Live in Bellingham - January 2010

2010-03-04T22:35:00.001-08:00

Daytrotter Session, Sasquatch y Mas

2010-02-22T18:48:00.000-08:00

This just in today... We did a session a short while back with the fantastic folks (and fellow Land of Lincolnites) at Daytrotter. Here you can hear some alternate versions of some new and old Fruit Bats tunes, as well as our take on Neil Young's Manson-fable, "Revolution Blues." Check it out 'round these parts.
---
We'll be playing the Sasquatch Festival at the mind-numbingly gorgeous Gorge Amphitheater in May. The lineup is great; we are extra stoked that we'll be playing on Sunday - the same day as PAVEMENT!!!
---
Also, more shows coming this summer, for real... We'll keep you posted.

Mixed Tapes, Soloed Shows, Love

2010-02-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

Hey Everybody. Hold on to your hearts. I made a Valentine's mix tape for the fine folks at When You Awake. It features Chris Darrow, Alice Stuart, Van the Man, Jerry Garcia, and a bunch of other various heroes of mine singing about love, loving, losing love, loving love, and lovitude. I hope you love it.
---
Speaking of When You Awake, I'll be playing a solo set at their two year Anniversary party. It's February 26th at the Bootleg Theater in sunny L.A. I will see you there, friends!
---
More touring just around the bend, you know. We'll be coming for you people of the east and midwest. Many more shows to come in 2010; we're just getting warmed up. Stay tuned here for the updated updates.

Much Love,

EDJ

Fruit Bats and Seymour - photos by Annie Beedy

2010-02-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

8 minute 'Rainbow Sign' - live in Los Angeles

2010-02-06T10:25:00.000-08:00

In the Shed - photo by Annie Beedy

2010-02-01T19:47:00.001-08:00

Psychic Caravan Tour 2009 - Photos by Alissa Anderson

2010-01-07T11:08:00.000-08:00

Just finished up a tour of the Old World a few weeks back with our beloved pals Vetiver. Here are some lovely black and whites courtesy of our friend Alissa Anderson.

Psychic Caravan Tour 2009 - Photos by Alissa Anderson

2010-01-07T11:04:00.001-08:00

Aberdeen, Scotland - December 15, 2009

2009-12-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

2009-11-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

--We'll be hitting the west coast once again in January. All shows will be all ages (though you'll be able to enjoy a beer at most of these shows as well). Presale tickets go on sale today. Get 'em right here: https://tix.concertmaps.com/fruitbats/

--General ticketing begins next week. We're anticipating sell outs for Seattle and Portland so hurry up if you're planning on attending either of those.

--We will be touring the rest of North America (including the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast) in March, so keep an eye out.

--This was fun!

--In bummer news, the promotion company putting on our show in Brighton, UK has gone out of business and had to cancel all subsequent shows including ours on 11 December. We hope to refill the date so you folks in the south of England get to check us out. If not, come on over to one of our other UK shows! Keep you posted.

See you all very soon!

www.fruitbatsmusic.com
www.twitter.com/fruitbatsmusic
www.myspace.com/thefruitbats

2009-11-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

After we come back from Europe, we'll be hitting the west coast again! This is a picture from the last west coast tour just to give you an idea of what it'll be like.

All of these shows will be ALL AGES.

Fanclub presale is up today, November 2nd. Get 'em while they're hot right HERE...

Here you are. With links for your convenience....

Jan 21
Bellingham WA
Western Washington U.
--
Jan 22
Seattle WA
Vera Project
--
Jan 23
Portland OR 
Mission Theater
--
Jan 25
Sacramento CA
Luigi’s Fun Garden
--
Jan 26
Visalia CA
Howie and Sons
--
Jan 27
Santa Barbara CA
Soho Restaurant and Music Club
--
Jan 28
Los Angeles CA
Echoplex
--
Jan 29
San Francisco CA
Slim’s
--
Jan 30
Eugene OR
WOW Hall

North American Tour, Fall 2009

2009-10-31T20:29:00.001-07:00

North American Tour, Fall 2009

2009-10-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

North American Tour, Fall 2009

2009-10-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

"The Ruminant Band" Video!

2009-10-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

This little beauty here was directed in El Monte, CA over the summer by the incredibly gifted gents of The General Assembly. The guitarist featured playing alongside Eric is Willie Chambers of the great 1960's soul/rock band The Chambers Brothers. Hope you like!

Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band from The General Assembly on Vimeo.

Still Rollin', just taking a break...

2009-10-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

(photo by Annie Beedy)

Here's a picture of us road hogs begging for change on the streets of LA.

We just got home from a big ol' crazy North American tour. It was one big highlight; the most fun part was hanging out with all you Fruit Bats fans. You guys are fun.

This is only a short break, though. As you can see, we have our UK/NL dates posted for your convenience. We've added a date in Kalamazoo for next week. It's Chris Sherman's home town (actually Battle Creek) so it should be chock fulla family fun.

There are a handful of yet-to be-announced European dates (with our pals Vetiver). Those should be up soon and, for posterity, will be in Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and France. See you soon!

In Seattle...

2009-10-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

2009-08-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

The Ruminant Band sees the light of day today!

I know that a bunch of you have heard it in digital fashion (and we're cool with that), but wait’ll you sit in your beanbag chair in your shag-carpeted finished basement and check out the gatefold LP. You’re gonna freak.

If you by it here you’ll probably get stickers and buttons and cool packaging and stuff. Or choose another fine internet retailer.

Of course, we encourage you to support your local independent music store. Or even better, buy it from the merch table from us on tour. It’s cheaper, comes with free buttons and stuff, and we’ll sign it!

So, few things.

--Here are some nice things that some nice people had to say about the new record, in
case you still need some convincing:

Pitchfork Media
Dusted Magazine
Pop Matters
AV Club
Adequacy.net

--We’re definitely coming to Europe this fall. As you may or may not have noticed, we’ve signed on with Nadin Brendel and the fantastic Berlin-based Moutique Agency. So as you can see, we’re serious.

--We’ve added a show in Graeme’s hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia. Hope to see you there, people of Central BC!

One more week.

2009-07-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

We’re a week away from the release! If you’d like to give it a listen, here’s a place for a live stream.

Once we get on the road, I’ll start updating this thing with (hopefully) mirthful travel prose for you. Until then, some (hopefully not) boring updates and FAQ answers will have to suffice.

Couple things...

...Sorry that there aren’t a ton of all ages shows. There is much more touring to be done, though, and I’m going to make sure more of those happen next time. There are some strategically placed in-store performances, each of which will be all-ages. So come on out! Here they are.

Aug 22 Music Millennium, Portland OR (in-store @ 7pm)
Aug 25 Amoeba (Haight Street), San Francisco CA (in-store @ 6pm)
Aug 31 Guestroom Records - Oklahoma City, OK (in-store @ 6PM)
Sep 01 Good Records, Dallas TX (in-store @ 7PM!)
Sep 02 Waterloo Records, Austin TX (in-store @ 6PM)
Sep 07 Grimey’s, Nashville TN (in-store @ 4PM)
Sep 20 Reckless Records (Wicker Park), Chicago IL (in-store @ 3PM!)
VISIT STORE LINKS ON RIGHT FOR MORE INFO.

Again, there’s much more touring to be done, and we planning on coming to most cities eventually! We will be coming to Europe this fall. The details are pending on that, but we should have some shows to post soon.

Some Changes and Additions

2009-07-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Oxford date has been moved to the Red Star Bar at the Lyric, no longer at Proud Larry's as initially listed. AND, we've added Madison to the dates. Madison! It's been years since we've played there. Years since I've been there, honestly. Wisconsin is the state of my birth, home to the vast majority of my family, and a really pretty place that doesn't get enough props as a really pretty place. Above, a picture to prove it. See you soon, America's Dairyland.

2009-07-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

We're are coming to you. All the general ticketing has begun, for the most part. Click on them thar links--- to your right--- to buy! This is only the beginning; we are road hogs. To get you stoked, here are pictures from the last tour of the North American wilderness.

RAISED BY A MURDER OF CROWS

2009-07-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

ON THE ROAD AGAIN, AGAIN

2009-06-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Good morning to you all! As you can see, we’ve got some tour dates up for you. The pre-sale tickets are up for purchase this morning at 10AM, local venue time.

Get ‘em while they’re hot here: https://tix.concertmaps.com/fruitbats/ .

Don’t freak if you don’t see your hometown; we’re going to be filling in all of those gaps over the next few days, so just keep checking back. Also, there will be a few different support acts for different chunks of the tour. That info will be up in the next few days as well. AND... lots more fun and weird things to tell you in the coming weeks. Get ready for a torrential summer downpour of Fruit Bats!

2009-06-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

MOUNTAIN

2009-06-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

I've gotta use this blog more often, I know. It's been since January, dang! If you haven't heard, the album is called "The Ruminant Band," its done, and comes out in about six weeks time. We're putting the finishing touches on a full US tour (with a small slice of Canada in there), and I'll have dates and info within a week or two. Once we hit the road, you will see frequent and poetic posts on this deal.

Here's a little digression for you.

This picture above was taken by me, with a blue plastic Fisher Price 110 camera. I'm guessing the year as 1986. That tiny brownish plateau in the far distant middle of the picture was (and is) a landfill. I had never really seen a mountain yet in 1986, and this was as close as it got. I was pretty obsessed with this thing. It was the most dramatic piece of the horizon for miles until you hit the towering skyscrapers of Chicago. In the winter it would get covered in snow like a little tiny Matterhorn. If you ever got up close enough you'd see that the whole mound was covered in busy flocks of gulls, crows, and garbage trucks zooming up and down the side. The area around it was no less captivating to me - a patchwork of corn and soybean fields, some natural prairie, a trickly little river, a Civil War era cemetery, and an old stone quarry that, like all old stone quarries, was haunted by the ghosts of drowned boys. And this big garbage heap towering over it all. It was creepy and weird and beautiful and rad.

I went back to visit my folks not too long ago and now the mountain is much bigger and covered in wavy green grass and purple clover. They took down the barbed wire fence around it and stopped filling it, and put a hiking trail right up to the top. The field in the foreground is all McMansions now, though, stealing the view for themselves. These days I live in a place with gigantic gorgeous snow capped beastly peaks, but I still will always love that little trash pile the most of any mountain.

Talk to you guys about Fruit Bats shows next week. Much love, EDJ.

Been Rehearsin'

2009-01-23T21:53:00.000-08:00

That's it, really. Sounding pretty good, I think. Excited to hit the road. Oh, and hey, midwesternites... We're coming to Chicago on March 28th and Iowa City on April 2. Should be fun!

Pants and Such

2008-12-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

I just got back from spending most of the month of December driving around my mother land - the blustery, snowy Midwest. I had the sincere pleasure of doing an extended sit-in with my pals Vetiver, who also happen to be one of my favorite bands of the past decade or so. It's a true joy to sit up on stage and get to bask in the sweetness of Andy Cabic's tunes. Not to mention getting to play on said jams. For those of you Fruit Bats/Vetiver fans who came and talked to me - nice to have seen you!

Shortly thereafter, I pulled into Chicago, and immediately put my Fruit Bats pants back on. I am speaking metaphorically. I don't have actual Fruit Bats pants, although a pair of puffy chef pants adorned in cartoonish Fruit Bats would be sweet. I only own two pairs of pants these days; gray Levi's and some black H&M slacks. I keep them both very clean, mind you. Apologies for the digression. Anyway, in Chicago I holed up with my band mates for a couple of days of practice at Graeme's apartment. It was the first Fruit Bats rehearsal in three years. It worked out really well. We are ready for you.

Here's the band... Ron Lewis has moved out from behind the kit and will be handling the keyboard duties as well as any other instrument we put in front of him. Ron is very tall, sings like an angel, and talks in impenetrable Missoulian lingo. Graeme Gibson, formerly of one of my favorite short lived Chicago bands, The Boas, will play drums. His joining us makes the Fruit Bats 20% Canadian, and more importantly, 20% Kelownan. He also plays in the great band Disappears. Chris Sherman will play bass. That dude's been playing with me officially longer than anyone else. Since Mouthfuls. He might be the most unsung bassist in a town filled with bassists. He's from Cereal City, USA, grows a beard in a day and can fix shit on the van that no one's ever heard of. The fantastic Sam Wagster will handle guitar duties, and he might be the first true lead guitarist I've ever had in this band. Sam's joining us makes the Fruit Bats now 20% Texan. Plus he plays pedal steel, which is the instrument that God probably plays.

For those of you guys coming to the upcoming shows: you should dance. Or tap your feet. My amp will now be turned up to seven instead of the usual four or five.

We are going to choogle for you.

GOIN’ ON TOUR, MAKIN’ A RECORD!

2008-11-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

So, here we go. This is the Fruit Bats’ first blog entry. And my first as a human. It’s not like I’m some sort of hyper-anachronistic chap who only travels by wheelbarrow, communicates via pigeon, and enjoys hardtack and johnnycakes for meals. I just haven’t gotten around to it.

So hopefully I will keep you informed and perhaps even slightly entertained with this gul-durned newfangled thingamabobber.

Here’s the musical news. After three years or so, Fruit Bats are back in the saddle. I spent the last couple of years playing in The Shins (a fine day job if there ever was one), but I’m back in full force with the first love of my musical life. Songs have been written. Recording dates have been written in permanent ink. To prove that I’m serious about this, Fruit Bats will be touring the west coast of the United States of America. How ‘bout it? Other parts of the country, as well as other nations, will be visited later in the year.

In the interest of getting everybody the chance to come out, we booked as many all ages shows as was possible. If we’re not doing all-ages in your town, there’s a good chance we’ll be doing one pretty near by. All I gotta say is “road trip.” Right?

So come on out! Go to the new and improved www.fruitbatsmusic.com or www.myspace.com/thefruitbats and check out the dates and information.

Oh, and more to come...