User:Safadancer/Justin winokur
Justin Winokur | |
|---|---|
| Justin Winokur in 2009 Justin Winokur in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | United States, born in 1976 |
| Genres | Pop, Rock |
| Occupation(s) | songwriter, Agent |
| Years active | 1986 – present |
Justin Winokur is a musician, photographer, and producer, and well known for his blog, jwinokur.com. His work with the Swedish band Brainpool supported a sold-out run of their anti-consumerist rock opera Junk in Los Angeles, as well as a staged reading off-Broadway. Justin is currently working with the band and organizations such as the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce to fund a Swedish tour of the opera, which first premiered in 2004 in Malmö. A North American tour is also being planned.
Music
[edit]As a performing artist, Justin toured with metal band Spitkiss, whose first E.P., 1995's Not for Human Consumption, gathered Spitkiss a huge following in the underground scene. The band released Violence Is Golden, an experimental electronic music CD, in 1998, and followed that with an as-yet unreleased album, Shift Control. The other members of Spitkiss, Adam Bannister and Boris Popkoff continue to collaborate on Justin's individual projects, and the band members remain close.
Justin's first solo CD, Thirteen Songs About Love was recorded at Christoffer Lundqvist's studio, the Aerosol Grey Machine, in Sweden from November 2002 through March 2003. This album features Jens Jannson (Brainpool, Righteous Boy, A Camp) on drums and Christoffer Lundquist (Brainpool, Roxette, Per Gessle, Ulf Lundell) on almost everything else. Additional players include select members of Malmö's Philharmonic Orchesta and vocalist Helena Josefsson. The album includes songs like No Truth Anymore (which appeared on the TV show Passions) and Blue Eyes, as well as Just Go Out With Me, which played on The Daily Source Code. Just Go Out With Me also serves as the foundation for a currently-in-production short film, which will be released in 2009. The album was runner-up in the 2006 DIY Music Festival, and enjoyed popular success on iTunes and CDBaby.
After its release, Justin departed on a year–long trip across the US in a Fiat convertible. The trip was not only devoted to promoting Thirteen Songs on a grass–roots level, but also served as a way for Justin to meet and stay with fans of his online writing, many of whom had offered support and funding for his musical projects. He is currently working on a book proposal of nonfiction essays about his travels, and continues to blog.
In June of 2009, Justin released Leaving entirely on iTunes. This album was based on asking his friends what songs they would like played at their funerals; all songs are original works by Winokur, except Don't Fence Me In, which was originally made famous by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. "That's the song I want played at my funeral," Winokur explains. The title song, Leaving, was written for Spitkiss band-mate Adam Bannister's mother.
Currently, Justin has started playing bass guitar with Professional Murder Music, a Los Angeles-based industrial band signed by Wormhole Records. Their music has been used on film and video game soundtracks, and on MTV's The Real World. Working with PMM has brought Justin a recent endorsement deal with Schecter Guitar Research, whose guitars will be seen on PMM's next tour, currently in production.
Photography
[edit]Justin's professional photography specializes in wedding, special event, and portrait photography. His shoot of a Star Wars wedding appeared in Offbeat Bride, which drew hundreds of hits and a magazine interview. Justin has had work in shows throughout California, as well as curating a photography benefit exhibit in 2008 for the documentary film Faerie.
His work as agent for photographer Glenn Campbell and their joint project, the LA Photobooth, have appeared at parties, weddings, and major special events, while Glenn Campbell's work appears in advertising, magazines, and tear sheets across the world. Justin's individual photography can be seen at Justin Winokur Photography.