Toronto insiders already know Michael Louis Johnson as the epitome of IYKYK. The musician, actor, writer, activist/artist is best known for his legendary Saturday afternoons at the Communist’s Daughter or the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Toronto’s original Slavic-Balkan-Klezmer-Party-Punk-Super-Band.
Since 2011, every Monday he also hosts a night of vinyl records and democracy called Dcide on the Bside. Michael has been on the vanguard of Canadian music since his days as sidekick to Big Rude Jake, their SwingPunk revolution dominating Canadian indie charts for a large part of the 1990’s.
Michael made his acting debut in Stratford this year (as the kind-hearted waiter) in Death of a Salesman. While there, he broke new ground in theatre history with his creation of a prologue, including an original land acknowledgment and fresh score. He also hosted a series of eight house concerts with pianist Jack Wyndham.
Interview with Michael Louis Johnson
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Michael Louis Johnson about his journey across music, film and theatre, the art of collaboration, and finding different ways to share stories.
We also discussed his upcoming cabaret and storytelling show, Half Moon, Half Crazy.
Half Moon, Half Crazy
Now that Michael’s acting debut at Stratford has wrapped, he has a new show: an evening of cabaret, Half Moon, Half Crazy.
The show is an intimate evening of tunes and tales told with the wit and charm of a veteran entertainer. The house concerts with Jack while in Stratford served as a lab to develop original material for the project.
Michael Louis Johnson is a hopeless romantic, an aging SwingPunk, two parts Sinatra, one part Strummer with a dash of L. Cohen.
Jack Wyndham improvises a piano score as Johnson tells stories both funny and touching, charting three decades of his on-again, off-again relationship, his journey from lonely musician to struggling parent and all the philosophizing that comes in between.
Half Moon, Half Crazy goes on the road first to Ottawa on November 19-20, then Toronto on November 27 and finishing, for the time being, in Kingston on December 4.
For Half Moon, Half Crazy showtimes, as well as, information on all of Michael’s offerings, please visit MichaelLouisJohnson.ca.
Images by Steven Gruber.
