Eric D. Johnson
Eric Donald Johnson (born June 7, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the leader and sole permanent member of the influential folk-rock band Fruit Bats, and for his tenure as a member of The Shins. He has also scored films, most notably Our Idiot Brother and Smashed.
For other people named Eric Johnson, see Eric Johnson (disambiguation).
Eric D. Johnson
EDJ
June 7, 1976
1997–present
In 2019, Johnson formed the folk group Bonny Light Horseman, alongside Anaïs Mitchell and multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman.
Early life[edit]
Johnson moved around the Midwest as a child and spent his adolescent and teenage years in Chicago’s Western Suburbs.[1] He planned on becoming a filmmaker or screenwriter but discovered an interest in songwriting after joining a local band in high school.[2]
Johnson did not attend college but instead moved to Chicago and became involved with the local music scene there, getting a job at the Old Town School of Folk Music where he taught classes and worked as a house manager for concerts.[3]
Career[edit]
Pre-Fruit Bats[edit]
In the late 1990’s, Johnson fronted an indie-rock band called I Rowboat. In early 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 the record label Sub Pop.[4]
Personal life[edit]
Johnson has been in a relationship since 2004 with Annie Beedy, an artist and permaculture landscape designer. They were married in 2011. Johnson describes himself as having a “slightly nomadic childhood and… a nomadic adulthood, too.”[30] A Chicago native, Johnson has lived in Seattle, Portland, and, as of 2017, Los Angeles.
Fruit Bats (studio albums)
Fruit Bats (compilations and live albums)
Bonny Light Horseman
EDJ
I, Rowboat
Other appearances