Tom Lynch

Beloved DIY nutcase Daniel Johnston started handing out his home-recorded tapes in Austin while he was still a teen. With his Beatles-inspired pop songs that featured mostly just Johnston's nasally, often-terrible voice on top of a clumsily played piano, he found fans in the indie-music biz because of his wholesomeness and dedication to having his songs heard. Mainstream, as in MTV, attention came after Kurt Cobain wore a Johnston T-shirt during a photo shoot, and the artist finally got the opportunity to tour. However, complications arose after his family discovered that he was mentally unstable, and multiple stints in institutions hindered what could've been a remarkable--if quirky--career. Much of this saga is documented in the great 2006 documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," which, if memory serves, tragically only screened in Chicago for a handful of weeks. A beautiful tribute record was also made a couple years ago, called "The Late Great Daniel Johnston," with contributions from the Flaming Lips, Eels, Death Cab for Cutie and even Tom Waits. Expect a night of never-realized crushes (almost every song) and optimistic advice, as in "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Grievance" (pronounced gree-vee-ance in classic Johnston fashion). (2007-05-08)

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