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B.A. Johnston

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B.A. Johnston
Johnston playing outside Toronto's Bovine Sex Club on top of his van in 2024.
Background information
Birth nameChristian
BornHamilton, Ontario, Canada
GenresComedy
Occupation(s)Musician, performance artist
Websitewww.bajohnston.ca

Christian Johnston,[1] known professionally as B.A. Johnston, is a Canadian comedic musician and performance artist based in Hamilton, Ontario.

Career

[edit]

Johnston was born and grew up in Hamilton, Ontario.[2] He began touring around Canada in 2002, performing songs that are often comedic in nature and include pop cultural references to sports teams, junk food, and video games.[3][4] Accompanying himself on guitar and keyboard, he performed as the character B.A. (Bored Again) Johnston who lives at home with his mother.[5] By birth, his name is Christian Johnston, but in high school was given the nickname “Bored Again Christian". It stuck over the years and became his stage name.[6]

By 2006 Johnston had recorded four albums of original songs, completing a cross-country tour travelling exclusively by Greyhound bus before beginning to tour in an old station wagon or mini-van.[7] Johnston's 2010 album Thank You for Being a Friend appeared on the !Earshot National Top 50 Chart.[8] Since that time he has continued touring extensively across Canada year-round, mainly performing in clubs and bars.[9][10][11] In 2014, Noisey compared him to American singer, songwriter GG Allin.[12] His ninth album Shit Sucks was released in 2015 and was a long list nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.[4] Exclaim! magazine described it as "simplistic synth-pop and aggressive acoustic folk."[13][14]

In 2017 a collaboration between Johnston and Sawdust City Brewing Company resulted in the launch of Olde B.A. Johnston's Finest Malt Liquor.[5] That year his album Gremlins III, a mixture of folk and punk music, was released through Wyatt Records.[15] That year a feature article about Johnston in the Globe And Mail acknowledged his polarizing status in the Canadian music scene, noting that for some he is a "modern-age Stompin' Tom Connors."[16] However, unlike Connors, Johnston's references to life in modern-day Canada are exaggeratedly irreverent and unromanticised, featuring ironic swipes at large Canadian institutions like Foodland, No Frills, and Tim Hortons.[citation needed]

As of 2022, Johnston continues to tour across Canada, performing his energetic and humorous show.[17]

Discography

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Albums (CD, LP)

  • Bury Me at Make Out Creek (2001)
  • In Situation Bad (2003)
  • Love Letters to the Girls in My High School Art Class (2003)
  • My Heart Is a Blinking Nintendo (2005)
  • Call Me When Old and Fat Is the New Young and Sexy (2006)
  • Stairway to Hamilton (2008)
  • I Was a Young Man Once (2009)
  • Thank You for Being a Friend (2010)
  • Hi Dudes! (2012)
  • Mission Accomplished (2013)
  • Shit Sucks (2015)
  • Gremlins III (2017)
  • The Skid Is Hot Tonight (2019)
  • Werewolves of London, Ontario (2022)
  • Argos Suck (2023)

Singles, Splits, & EPs

  • Songs About a Stewardess (2005)
  • B.A. Johnston & The Moby Dicks (2011)
  • B.A. Johnston featuring The Magnificent Sevens (2011)
  • B.A. Johnston Supreme Quarantine 7” Split w/ The Burning Hell (2020)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ritchie, Matthew (12 April 2012). "BA Johnston's '80s music". The Coast Halifax. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. ^ "B.A. Johnston Mission Accomplished". Exclaim!, By Farah Barakat, September 3, 2013
  3. ^ Rockingham, Graham (15 March 2017). "Donair sauce runs in B.A. Johnston's veins". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Interview: Why Shit Sucks for BA Johnston". Electric City Magazine. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b Spencer, Lukas (18 September 2017). "The finest folk in Hamilton". The Silhouette. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  6. ^ Webb-Campbell, Shannon. "Heart act to follow". The Coast Halifax. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  7. ^ "B.A. Johnston: still broke, still trying". The Journal, Queen's University, November 24, 2006 Meghan Harrison
  8. ^ "The National Top 50 For the Week Ending: Tuesday, October 26, 2010". !Earshot.
  9. ^ "B.A. Johnston Jimmy Jazz, Guelph ON, April 6". Exclaim!, By Vish Khanna, April 7, 2013
  10. ^ "B.A. Johnston Pat's Pub, Vancouver BC June 9". Exclaim!, By Alan Ranta, June 11, 2012
  11. ^ "B.A. Johnston, Remi Royale and Robots!EVERYWHERE!! at Irene’s – Ottawa". Grayowl Point, April 8, 2012. by Erin Red
  12. ^ "B.A. Johnston Is Canada's Answer to G.G. Allin". Noisey. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  13. ^ Murphy, Sarah (17 February 2015). "B.A. Johnston 'Shit Sucks' (album stream)". Exclaim!. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Shit Sucks - Polaris Music Prize". Polaris Music Prize. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  15. ^ "B.A Johnston Gremlins 3". Exclaim!, By Blake Morneau, March 1, 2017
  16. ^ Wheeler, Brad (16 March 2017). "Is this schmo the new Stompin' Tom Connors?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  17. ^ Slingerland, Calum (February 15, 2022). "B.A. Johnston Maps Out 2022 Canadian Tour Dates". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022.
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