Biography
Centro-Matic started out in 1995 when Denton, Texas-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Will Johnson launched the outfit as a personal side project. Although a handful of singles appeared that year, the endeavor only coalesced into a proper band two years later. Johnson cut the 23-song debut Redo the Stacks at the home studio of friend Matt Pence, then brought Pence aboard as drummer while adding cellist/violinist Scott Danbom and bassist Mark Hedman to complete the lineup. The quartet tracked more than sixty songs at a Milstadt, Illinois facility owned by Son Volt’s Jay Farrar; the quieter, more introspective material surfaced on the 1999 Idol Records album Navigational, whereas the louder, lo-fi numbers, together with B-sides and other unreleased tracks, formed the Quality Park release The Static vs. the Strings, Vol. 1 that same year.
Still holding a backlog of material, the group secured open-ended agreements with both labels, enabling an unrestricted release schedule that commenced with All the Falsest Hearts Can Try in 2000. Johnson simultaneously developed an inner side project called the dour South San Gabriel Songs/Music. Centro-Matic nevertheless issued Distance and Clime on Idol in 2001, after which Johnson completed his debut solo effort, Murder of Tides, issued in 2002. Love You Just the Same arrived the following year, at which point following Johnson’s ceaseless songwriting activity proved nearly as compelling as the music itself.
Throughout this period the band maintained a relentless touring schedule, crossing the United States and Europe alongside such varied artists as Jay Bennett, Brendan Benson, Slobberbone, and the Promise Ring. Leftover tracks from the Love You Just the Same sessions emerged in 2004 as the Flashes and Cables EP, and Johnson also put out the solo album Vultures Await later that year. Survey/Voyage followed as another solo release in 2005. Centro-Matic remained highly active in 2006, delivering both the Triggers and Trash Heaps EP and the full-length Fort Recovery while marking the group’s tenth anniversary. Activity tapered afterward; the two-disc set Dual Hawks appeared in 2008, its second disc devoted to South San Gabriel material, before Johnson paused to play drums with Monsters of Folk. He rejoined Centro-Matic in 2010, and the band set about refining and recording songs written prior to the break, resulting in Candidate Waltz in 2011.
The following year the group posted an online announcement that work on a new album had begun. While sessions continued, Johnson undertook multiple solo tours, including many intimate living-room concerts, and released an album with his side project Overseas, whose members included David Bazan, Bubba Kadane, and Matt Kadane. Fans were finally rewarded in June 2014 when Centro-Matic issued its twelfth album, Take Pride in Your Long Odds.
Still holding a backlog of material, the group secured open-ended agreements with both labels, enabling an unrestricted release schedule that commenced with All the Falsest Hearts Can Try in 2000. Johnson simultaneously developed an inner side project called the dour South San Gabriel Songs/Music. Centro-Matic nevertheless issued Distance and Clime on Idol in 2001, after which Johnson completed his debut solo effort, Murder of Tides, issued in 2002. Love You Just the Same arrived the following year, at which point following Johnson’s ceaseless songwriting activity proved nearly as compelling as the music itself.
Throughout this period the band maintained a relentless touring schedule, crossing the United States and Europe alongside such varied artists as Jay Bennett, Brendan Benson, Slobberbone, and the Promise Ring. Leftover tracks from the Love You Just the Same sessions emerged in 2004 as the Flashes and Cables EP, and Johnson also put out the solo album Vultures Await later that year. Survey/Voyage followed as another solo release in 2005. Centro-Matic remained highly active in 2006, delivering both the Triggers and Trash Heaps EP and the full-length Fort Recovery while marking the group’s tenth anniversary. Activity tapered afterward; the two-disc set Dual Hawks appeared in 2008, its second disc devoted to South San Gabriel material, before Johnson paused to play drums with Monsters of Folk. He rejoined Centro-Matic in 2010, and the band set about refining and recording songs written prior to the break, resulting in Candidate Waltz in 2011.
The following year the group posted an online announcement that work on a new album had begun. While sessions continued, Johnson undertook multiple solo tours, including many intimate living-room concerts, and released an album with his side project Overseas, whose members included David Bazan, Bubba Kadane, and Matt Kadane. Fans were finally rewarded in June 2014 when Centro-Matic issued its twelfth album, Take Pride in Your Long Odds.
Albums
