Bill Callahan

Bill Callahan showed up on our porch in 1991 saying his name was Smog.

We took him in and he has been with us ever since. We think you will feel the same way about him once you look into his hungry eyes. Over the years he reminisced about "Cold Blooded Old Times" and told us to "Dress Sexy At My Funeral," releasing over twenty records as Smog and then, unfettered, as Bill Callahan. He is a recording studio guru, a tastefully rampant singer-songwriter, a heartthrob, a visual artist, a statesman for the times and an author.

After a couple albums recorded at home in the early 90's, he began recording in studios and teamed up with potent individuals such as musician/arranger Jim O'Rourke. His output has been constant for two decades and his tours have become larger and more impressive. Bill's songs have been featured in films such as High Fidelity, Dead Man's Shoes, and Youth in Revolt, all of which feature Zach Galifinakis (or should). Artists as diverse as Gil Scott-Heron, Flaming Lips and Cat Power have recorded his songs.

In 2007 Bill Callahan dropped the pseudonym and begin releasing his albums under his own name.

2009 saw the orchestrated juggernaut Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle. The album received terrific reviews across the board and then it took off, becoming a fixture on top-10 lists of 2009, including 2nd best album in MOJO (the 2nd best magazine in England!).

A live LP came next, Rough Travel for a Rare Thing, which was a critic's choice review in the NY Times. This must mean he's a force on stage, yes yes?

Summer of 2010, Callahan published his first work of fiction, Letters To Emma Bowlcut. The dapper novelette features sixty-two letters from a nameless protagonist to a woman he saw at a party. The book is cutting, discursive, tender and laced with punch lines. Funny ones.

Callahan has performed readings from the book for audiences in New York, London and Chicago, among other cities.

As we edge ever closer to the fateful year 2012, Bill Callahan jumps the gun with his own personal Apocalypse (04/19/11). This is important work. Brace yourself. Apocalypse is coming.

Official Bio