Image of Johnston and Falkner from Hi, How Are You

Our city’s beloved musical icon Daniel Johnston is having an eventful year. First up, he’s releasing his first album in six years, Is and Always Was, which he recorded with fellow Beatles fanatic Jason Falkner, a solo artist and former member of the power-poppy groups Jellyfish and The Grays. He’s also performing at ACL at the Austin Ventures stage on Friday, and we figured now would be a perfect time to talk to the man.

This interview was fraught with some communication problems right from the start. I had to ring up Daniel’s elderly father Bill to set up the interview, who seemed puzzled and a little disturbed by my phone calls. Bill informed me that Daniel was not at home when I called, but that I should call around 2 pm the next day, as his son likes to sleep in. Thinking I’d give him some time to collect himself, I called at 2:15, only to learn that Daniel had come in at 2 pm, grew frustrated with the wait, and left. Bill told me to call back at 3 pm, and I was sure to be prompt about it.

Daniel was pretty quiet on the phone, and it was a bit of a struggle to get him to open up. It was also, to be completely honest, nerve-racking speaking to the man behind the legendary Hi, How Are You and so many other great records. Still, we made some good headway talking about his new album and playing live.

Posted via web from chrismullins’s posterous