In the face of historic hurricanes and ever-changing musical landscapes – which we discussed at length earlier today – David Johansen remains an all-around hard-working, genre-bending, perma-touring musician. While the Dolls are on a break from touring, Johansen’s bringing a solo acoustic show to The Hamilton in Washington, DC on November 12th—and we’ve got a pair of tickets to award for Monday’s show.
The frontman for The New York Dolls strutted his way into the chaotic music scene of the ‘70s, and stuck around as an inventive and genre-defying solo artist. The Dolls dissolved after a handful of furious years, yet despite a decades-long hiatus the proto-punk/glam/dirty rockers are riding a resurgence in acclaim and popularity.
In fact, the band (whose surviving original members include Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain) have released more albums since their 2005 reunion than they did during their early ’70s heyday.
From Hamilton’s website in regard to Monday’s show: When not playing with the Dolls, David can be found performing an acoustic show with his old pal and collaborator Brian Koonin on guitar. Says Johansen, “I’ve been wanting to sing a bunch of songs unplugged that I don’t normally get the opportunity to sing in a loud and fast Dolls show.
As much as I love that, I also like to explore the more soulful side of singing, I’ll be singing songs from throughout my career and maybe some songs that have inspired me, with acoustic guitar accompaniment in a mellow and intimate setting. It’s very musical and beautiful.”
Enter to win our pair of tickets to see David Johansen by telling us in the comments below, your suggestion for a song you’d like to see make the evening’s set list—be it a Dolls tune, a solo track, or an unexpected curveball. The suggestion with the smartest accompanying rationale wins the tickets! We’ll award one pair to one winner on Monday morning, 11/12 at 10AM.
David Johansen Photo © Joe Gaffney
