Watch Daniel Johnston Perform “Funeral Home” in “Intense” 1986 Video

Today is the birthday of the late Austin, TX lo-fi music legend, Daniel Johnston. If he hadn’t passed away in 2019, Johnston would be turning 64 today. We are longtime fans of the songwriter/musician/visual artist. In fact, Daniel was one of the first few people that I ever interviewed for this site. When I spoke with him, he was heavily medicated for his bipolar disorder, and, it brought some hurdles to the conversation. Navigating that initial obstacle and, ultimately, locking into a space where he trusted me and we were dialed in with one another was a challenge, but an opportunity that I cherish to this day. It’s something that left a genuine impact on me.

A remarkable individual, the outsider artist was nothing if not prolific. When he passed, he left behind an extensive catalog of brilliant songs and inspired visual art. Beyond the more widely released and publicized work, underground recordings and footage continue to resurface. Johnston‘s roots were in home recording and self-released cassette tapes and, during his time in Austin, he integrated himself into an arts community with an underground DIY ethos. It’s not outrageous to assume that there could be any amount of illustrations or unearthed VHS footage of Daniel packed away in random garages or basements somewhere.

An institution known as Austin History Center which has made it their mission to collect and preserve local artifacts has one especially intriguing piece of Daniel Johnston footage in its archive. Titled “Daniel Johnston ‘Funeral Home’ (1986),” the video is featured on their YouTube channel with the following description:

“Recorded in an old empty house on 41st Street in Austin, with a string missing from his guitar! Be aware that the intro to this video is a little intense. This was one of several videos sponsored by the Austin Chamber of Commerce to be aired in New York at the New Music Seminar (NMS 7) in 1986 to promote the eclectic Austin music scene.
Director: Tim Hamblin for Videotic Productions.”

Watch it below.

The caption is right about the video being “intense,” with the uncomfortable, yet tongue-in-cheek(?) threat of violence and Johnston‘s disconnected look while strumming his discordant acoustic. Aesthetically, the spooky green lighting reminds me of the cover of the 1968 self-titled debut by Brazillian tropicália outfit, Os Mutantes. Interestingly enough, this isn’t the only grainy video of Daniel performing “Funeral Home” while in a questionable mental state. 

If you’ve ever seen the award-winning 2005 documentary, The Devil And Daniel Johnston, you may recall the part where Johnston plays an in-store concert at a record store. That performance was recorded in 1988 at the now-defunct Pier Platters Records in Hoboken. The full show is available on YouTube, but the clips they focus on involve Daniel getting the crowd to sing along to “Funeral Home” and his religious rantings about satan directed toward the audience. The show continues to devolve and, by the end of it, the songwriter is crying with his eyes shut tight and singing about god. 

Between the recording of the Austin History Center video and the Pier Platters show, Daniel experienced what he referred to as his “lost year.” Heavily medicated throughout the majority of 1987, he spent the year in bed, groggy and unable to write new music. It was later determined that he was on the wrong medication. Once he started to show some improvement, Daniel was invited to New York City to hang out with Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. Johnston first met future-collaborator, Jad Fair (Half-Japanese) on this trip. The plan was for him to link up with famed producer and Shimmy-Disc founder, Kramer, to record at his Noise New York studio and even work with Velvet Underground drummer, Moe Tucker.

There are a couple of things particularly interesting about this video sponsored by the Austin Chamber Of Commerce. In 1986, Johnston won some local music awards and began to gain widespread recognition, but it was also when everything began to emotionally and psychologically unravel for him. At this point, the full extent of his struggles was only beginning to reveal itself. The stated purpose of this raw, lof-fi recording was to be aired in New York to promote the Austin music scene. Although it may seem like random irrelevant footage, it predates so much that would later unfold while capturing a period that directly informed everything that would come to pass. 

When Johnston finally made it to the Big Apple 2 years later, his mind was set on leaving his mark and becoming famous. As he saw it, he was “on a mission from god.” Shelley confronted Daniel after the concerning behavior he demonstrated at the Pier Platters show and the pair had a falling out. DJ didn’t want to leave New York, convinced that this was his big chance and that the devil was pulling the strings by getting his friends to betray him. He feared that, if anyone contacted his parents, he would be sent home and recommitted to a “loony bin.” In reaction, Johnston vanished. After hours of scouring the streets, Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo finally tracked him down in a motel parking lot in New Jersey. Before leaving town, Dan spent time in a shelter and even a night or two in Bellevue, which he was released from on a clerical error, only to open up for fIREHOSE that night at CBGB. Once he got home, he was immediately hospitalized.

The live Pier Platters version of “Funeral Home” ended up on the Kramer-produced album, 1990, but a studio version of the track initially appeared on Johnston‘s self-released 1985 cassette, Continued Story. This clip finds Daniel performing the tune right at the end of a prolific creative period, before a series of events would redirect the course of his entire life. As a fan, I enjoy stumbling across these sorts of things and appreciate those who put in the effort to preserve such cultural history.

Austin History Center describes itself as “the local history collection of the Austin Public Library and the city’s historical archive.” They’re always looking for donations to the collection, so anybody who believes they might have anything relevant to offer should hit them up.