Eric D. Johnson
| Eric D. Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | EDJ |
| Born | June 7, 1976 |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Folk rock, alternative country, indie rock |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Perishable Records, Sub Pop, Easy Sound Recording Company |
| Associated acts | Fruit Bats, EDJ, The Shins, Vetiver, Califone, Ugly Cassanova |
| Website | www |
Eric Donald Johnson (born June 7, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the leader of the influential folk-rock band Fruit Bats, and for his frequent collaborations with bands such as The Shins, Vetiver and Califone. He has also scored films, most notably Our Idiot Brother and Smashed. In 2014 it was announced he would begin a new solo recording project called EDJ.
Johnson formed Fruit Bats as a solo 4-track project in the late 1990s. At the time he was an instructor at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, and fronted a band called I Rowboat. In 2000 he became a member of the experimental folk-rock group Califone. It was on tour with Califone that he befriended the members of Modest Mouse and The Shins, who took an interest in Fruit Bats and made an introduction to Sub Pop records.
Fruit Bats would become part of Sub Pop’s early 2000s folk-rock boom and record 4 albums for the label, with Johnson being the only constant over many lineup changes. They played at festivals such as Sasquatch Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival, and Le Guess Who, and made TV appearances on Last Call with Carson Daly and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Fruit Bats’ 2003 song “When U Love Somebody” was featured in the film Youth in Revolt, and was later covered by The Decemberists. In November 2013 Johnson announced he would be dissolving Fruit Bats. They played their last show at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, OR on November 16, 2013.
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