Album Notes

DANIEL FOSTER JOHNSTON

Daniel was raised in the wonderfully diverse musical atmosphere of Memphis, Tennessee. He became enthralled with his older brother’s equally diverse record collection, ranging from Classical and jazz standards to the leaders of the folk music revival of the nineteen-sixties: Odetta, Josh White, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and many others. By age six he had become an avid listener to a variety of music genres, many of which would influence his compositional style.

At the age of twelve Daniel was given a Sears “Silvertone” arch-top guitar that his cousin had abandoned. He taught himself how to play and began figuring out songs by ear. When asked to join a friend’s band as a bass player he learned the instrument on his own. He played bass and guitar in acoustic/rock bands throughout his college years, majoring in string bass and classical guitar. He eventually chose the acoustic steel-string guitar as his primary instrument, focusing on finger-style techniques. Early influences include James Taylor, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. More recent influences include Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, and Tony McManus.

After a ten-year stint as a recording engineer in Nashville, Daniel returned to Memphis and focused his efforts on writing and learning pieces for solo guitar. His first CD release, “From the Attic Window,” is the result of those efforts. “From the Attic Window” is a collection of Daniel’s own compositions along with two arrangements of traditional Scottish melodies, and a piece written by Jim Corcoran, a predominant French Canadian recording artist.


In addition to his musical duties Daniel is a practicing psychotherapist. He alternates between Memphis and his vacation home in Montezuma Gap, North Carolina, in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.