Happy Opening Day.  The cycle begins anew.  In stride with the blooming of new Spring life and the shedding of our winter layers, we have a new baseball season upon us.  A re-birth of sorts.  We will celebrate by heading to points Southeast, starting tomorrow night in Birmingham with our longtime friends and Brethren In Rock, Drive-By Truckers.  Due to a handful of other projects and releases we’re involved in, Centro-matic touring will be pretty limited this year, so come on out if you can.

Fri. Apr 6 – Birmingham AL @ WORKPLAY THEATER w DBT’s
Sat. Apr 7 – Birmingham AL @ WORKPLAY THEATER w DBT’s
Mon. Apr 9 – Athens  GA @ GEORGIA THEATER  w David Barbe & the Quick Hooks/District Attorneys (No DBT’s on this show)
Tue. Apr 10 – Pensacola FL @ VINYL MUSIC HALL w DBT’s
Wed. Apr 11 – Gainesvllle FL @ FLORIDA THEATER  w DBT’s
Thu. Apr 12 – Tampa  FL @ THE RITZ YBOR  w DBT’s
Fri. Apr 13 – Orlando  FL @ THE BEACHAM  w DBT’s
Sat. Apr 14 – Charleston SC @ THE MUSIC FARM  w DBT’s

CENTRO-MATIC SPRING FESTIVAL SHOWS
We’ll be heading back over to Alabama soon to play Standard Deluxe’s Old 280 Boogie. I’ve wanted to take part in this fest for a few years now, and we’re all pleased that the invite was extended and the scheduling worked out.  We’ll also be at Homegrown Festival in Dallas in May, alongside Hays Carll, Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears, and a lot of other great folks.

Sat. Apr 21 – Waverly, AL @ STANDARD DELUXE – 280 BOOGIE

Sat. May 26 – Dallas, TX @ HOMEGROWN FESTIVAL

CENTER OF THE COUNTRY SOLO LIVING ROOM TOUR
I’m loading the car again for a short living room tour in May.  These tours have been a lot of fun over the last couple of years.  They lend some opportunity for shared stories, new songs, a little less volume on neutral turf, and tend to bust down many of the barriers sometimes encountered in standard public venues.  I’ll also have some new art prints in tow.  Here’s the trek:

Wed. May 9 – Houston, TX
Fri. May 11 – Springfield, MO
Sat. May 12 – St. Louis, MO
Sun. May 13 – Chicago, IL – SOLD OUT
Mon. May 14 – Milwaukee, WI
Tues. May 15 – Madison, WI
Wed. May 16 – Minneapolis, MN
Thurs. May 17 – Sioux Falls, SD
Sat. May 19 – Kansas City, MO
Sun. May 20 – Fayetteville, AR

Tickets are available at undertowtickets.com

Tucked in the middle of this tour is a solo show on Thursday May 10 at the Belmont Hotel in Dallas, TX.

CENTRO-MATIC – AGAINST THE LINE VIDEO
The next Centro-matic video is almost out of the oven and ready for the world.  Shot by the great Matt Pence and edited by our friend Mike Marshall, it is our humble tribute to those who endured the 2011 Bastrop County wild fires, and the positive and powerful rebuilding efforts that have followed.

NEW RECORDINGS
I plan to release a new solo full length later this year.  Scorpion is recorded by, mixed and mastered by Matt Pence, and it will hopefully see the light of day by year’s end with full US and European rounds of touring to follow.  Additionally, the next Centro-matic full length is also written, and we plan to break ground on those recordings before the year’s over.

For now, thanks for supporting our efforts, and take care.  -Will J

Check out the latest Super 8 Film for the Will Johnson song “To Copeland Lines” live at Frank in Austin, TX. This film was shot by Christopher Morse, Sean Schiavolin, Rachel Stuckey and John Williams. See more video, lots of cool photos and get all the audio tracks from this show over at Transistor Six

Will sang the National Anthem at the Rice University baseball game on Sunday, April 1.

Will Johnson will embark on a short run of living room shows in May. This will be a totally acoustic tour (no sound system) hosted by fans in their homes. Limited to only 30-40 tickets per show. Please help us spread the word.

May 9 – Houston, TX
May 11 – Springfield, MO
May 12 – Saint Louis, MO
May 13 – Chicago, IL
May 14 – Milwaukee, WI
May 15 – Madison, WI
May 16 – Minneapolis, MN
May 17 – Sioux Falls, SD
May 19 – Kansas City, MO
May 20 – Fayetteville, AR

TICKETS GO ON SALE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21 @ 3pm

Check out Will and Sarah’s new Daytrotter Session!

“I think the game itself, no matter what level it’s played on, is one of the most incredible inventions of strategy, physics and geometry that humans have come up with,” artist and musician Will Johnson said of baseball.  ”It’s humbling and humanizing.  As Willie Mays said: it’s “violence under wraps”.  There’s a duality in its flawless simplicity, and consuming, psychological complexities.”

READ MORE AT MODERN AMERICAN…