“Do yourself a favor and listen to Daniel Knox’s ‘Ghostsong’ at least 398 times in a row. Never has something so mean been so beautiful.” – Robyn O’Neil, The Believer
“Sly and refreshingly mean-spirited”—Time Out NY
"deeply weird and subversive, a kind of sentimental journey without the sentimentality."—Dusted Magazine
Daniel Knox: John Atwood Black & Whites
As an artist in residence at Robert Wilson's esteemed Watermill Center in Water Mill, NY, Nov 29 - Jan 22, Daniel Knox will create a long-form composition and song cycle based on the photographs of John Atwood. The pieces, titled John Atwood: Black & Whites, will premiere live at 92YTribeca, performed by piano, voice, bass, horns, strings, accordion and percussion, and set to projected images. John Atwood's work will also be displayed in the gallery, with an opening party immediately preceding the performance.
The music will dwell at the intersection of serious composition and popular song in much the same way as the works of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin - and more recently - Gavin Bryars, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Hynrick Gorecki and David Byrne.
Performers joining Daniel Knox onstage include:
Jim Cooper (Bobby Conn, Van Dyke Parks) - Music Director & Double Bass
John Atwood - Video projections
Meena Bhasin (Vampire Weekend, Jethro Tull) - Viola
Ralph Carney (B52's, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Marc Ribot) - Horns
Keats Dieffenbach (ACME, Steve Reich) - Violin
Chris Hefner (The Pink Hotel) - Musical Saw
Clarice Jensen (ACME, yMusic, the National, Grizzly Bear) - Cello
Ronnie Kuller (Mucca Pazza) - Violin
Paul Parts - Electric Bass
Jason Toth (the Handsome Family, Edith Frost) - Drums
Gallery opening at 6 pm. Mainstage doors at 7 pm, show at 8 pm.
$12 advance / $15 day of show.
92Y Culture Klatsch Q&A With Daniel Knox
How much do you use Twitter and Facebook (or other social networking services)?
More than I’d care to. Facebook is like a miserable human experiment that’s mostly made me feel worse about who my friends are. When you give people the chance to say shit to everyone they know at the same time you just get a lot of people posing and and acting like the person they want you to think they are.
As a performer it’s essential and really helpful because people always know what I’m up to, and it’s a good way to sort of test people’s interest in things and see how word spreads. But it’s also an easy way to find yourself giving a shit about things that aren’t important. Twitter is much more interesting because it’s instant and public and you aren’t given the space to ramble on. But I’m sure they’ll find a way to change that.
Read the full Culture Klatsch Q&A with Daniel Knox on the 92Y Blog
Chicago-based songwriter Daniel Knox will be at 92YTribeca on January 25 for the world premiere of his new long-form composition based on the photographs of fellow Chicagoan John Atwood. The pieces, titled John Atwood: Black & Whites, will be performed by piano, voice, bass, horns, strings, accordion and percussion, and set to projected images.
Fans of Daniel Knox and those who want to hear his music should sign up for his mailing list. He'll send you a free mp3.
ABOUT DANIEL KNOX
Daniel Knox is a self-taught songwriter and composer from Springfield, IL, living and working in Chicago. His most recent album, Evryman For Himself, was released in 2011 on La Société Expéditionnaire. He has performed in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland with artists such as Jarvis Cocker, David Lynch, and the Handsome Family.
Praise for Daniel Knox's album Evryman For Himself:
“A haunting debut… Brings misanthropes and misfits to life with dry wit and offbeat details.”—Mother Jones
“With a clarion voice somewhere between Caruso and Leon Redbone, [he] frequently haunts the Hungry Brain on West Belmont, plunking out beautiful, heartfelt tunes that evoke the classic, near-traditional songwriting of Paul Williams or Randy Newman.”—Chicago Sun Times
ABOUT THE WATERMILL CENTER
The Watermill Center is an interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts and humanities completed in 2006. Founded by theatre and visual artist Robert Wilson as a place for young and emerging artists to work, learn, create, and grow with each other, Watermill integrates performing arts practice with resources from the humanities, research from the sciences, and inspiration from the visual arts. Watermill is unique within the global landscape of experimental theatrical performance, and regularly convenes the brightest minds from all disciplines to do, in Wilson’s words, "what no one else is doing."
Honorary chairs at Watermill Center include Pedro Almodavar, Lauire Anderson, Iman & David Bowie, Philip Glass, Antony Hegarty, Isabella Rossellini and Rufus Wainwright, to name a few.