-The Waller Archive-Recordings from Daniel Johnston’s Garage-‘95-’03
Rejected Unknown and beyond

Between 1995 and 2003, I regularly packed up my studio and drove out to Waller, Tx to record Daniel Johnston in his garage. (That was his music room.) Sometimes I’d go solo, sometimes I’d bring a musician or three along, and occasionally he’d have a surprise guest waiting when I arrived. I came at his request more than 34 times… not nearly as often as he wanted, but often enough to record at least 133 unique songs, many of which were never recorded or even performed ever again. The first song we recorded together was “Caspar”, for the Larry Clark film, “Kids”. The albums “Rejected Unknown” and “Lost and Found” are from this batch of recordings, as well as 2 unreleased records- “If”, which was finished with Dan’s help and guidance in 2016, and “Weird Love”, finished in 2024.

The story of Daniel Johnston’s life is layered, dense, and at times chaotic. But even in his darkest times, his art, music and lyrics were the world he could control. In turns he’s surreal, playfully comedic, cryptic, depressive, joyful, clichéd, deeply sincere, deeply ironic, formally classic and bizarrely inventive. It all springs from Daniel’s evolving, self sustaining personal mythology, and he somehow spun his visions into art that resonates deeply and unexpectedly.


I was Dan’s friend, but, more than anything, I was his friend in music. If he had a concept about recording a song (preposterous or otherwise) I was there for him, and I’d do what I could to help him achieve it. He had a rare, fond impression of the artist/ producer relationship, and we worked hard and had a blast, pretending anything was possible till it actually was. It was thrilling to work with him, and it still is.

This is the story of my little window into Daniel’s personal musical universe.

I met Daniel Johnston in Austin, Texas in 1985.

He ended up in town after abandoning his job working the corndog stand with a traveling carnival. (Something to do with misguided jealousies, a port-a-potty, and Daniel getting severely beaten.) He knew of Austin as a comics mecca, but he landed in a community buzzing with young bands performing original music. He started handing out copies of his self released 1983 cassette “album” Hi How Are You to anyone who looked interesting to him (and was willing to take it from his hand after hearing his brief, sincere schpiel). He had given a copy of Hi How Are You to my Glass Eye bandmate Kathy McCarty in late ‘84. She tucked the tape in her guitar case and forgot about it. When Daniel finished Retired Boxer, he came to a show and gave Kathy a copy of this latest “album”. When she finally listened to the tapes, she called me up and insisted on coming over and playing them for me.


Daniel’s unique style and abilities are difficult to explain, but, for some reason, most people plainly remember the very first time they heard his music. Love ’em or hate ‘em, his songs tend to pierce quickly and deeply. When Kathy played me those 2 tapes, something shifted in my brain. I gleaned some info from a monologue at the beginning of his song “Strange Boy”, and somehow determined that Daniel must be working at local restaurant called Tom’s Tabooli. I looked up the number in the phone book, called the restaurant, and asked for Daniel Johnston. A puzzled sounding manager put Dan on the phone. 
Daniel had personally given Kathy the tapes, and he was a fan of our band Glass Eye. When I told him who I was, he was all star struck at the wonder of getting a phone call at work from a celebrity. What a gas!


We arranged to have him open for us at a club called The Beach, and many local luminaries (from the punks to the new wavers, and all the art damaged loners in-between) showed up to see this mysterious newcomer. He’d been lurking and sniffing at the edge of our humble, yet vital scene, and now he was singing for us. It sounded like flowers spontaneously growing in the soil of a nervous breakdown. He played 3 songs and escaped through the bathroom window, but he was cemented into our imaginations. He had short circuited our little minds in the very same room all at the same time!



Daniel and I were friends from that point forward, and we had mini adventures and made music together on occasion between ’85 and ‘88. His life in Austin is well documented, and as his germinal fame took root, his struggles with mental illness soon made living independently a risk to both Dan and his peers. By late ’94, he had been living with his parents in Waller, Tx. for a few years when I got a phone call from the music director for the film “Kids”, asking if I could record and produce a Daniel song called “Caspar” for the movie. So I brought a bass, guitar, drums, my portable recording set-up, and my friend Craig Ross down to Waller. Daniel had written a song expressly for the movie… (This is NOT Daniel’s more famous song, “Caspar the Friendly Ghost”, although that appears in the film, as well.) He taught us the tune, and then we performed a basic track with Dan on drums, Craig on guitar, and me on bass. We recorded two takes, determined the second one was better, and then Dan overdubbed his vocal. I brought the tape straight back from Dan’s garage to the home studio in MY garage (dubbed “The Raj” in those days), did a few overdubs and called Jon Hagen in to come play some psychedelic cello. I submitted the song, and everyone was happy.


I soon got a phone call from Dan’s A&R guy at Atlantic, wanting me to record a Daniel song to submit for the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Movie” soundtrack. He wanted a specific song called “Impossible Love”. I rallied up Pete LaFond (guitar), and John Paul Keenan (drums), and we headed down to Waller.
 We soon had all of the instruments and recording gear set up, and we were ready to learn the tune. Daniel was making a show of shuffling through notebook after notebook, and he was saying “I can’t find it… I can’t find the song Impossible Love”. Then he looked me in the eye and said “but I wrote ANOTHER song called Impossible Love”. What was I to do? He played it for us, and of course, it was brilliant. We learned the tune, Daniel placed himself in front of a microphone, and we did a take. It sounded great, but Daniel’s performance was drowned out by the drums. We were a small rock band playing at moderate volume in an echoey 2 car garage… I expected that his performance might be a placeholder, and that he might have to re-record his vocals, but when I asked him to sing it again, he said “Why? I already sang it.” 
What followed was about 20 minutes of Dan chain-smoking Kools while I begged him to sing it one more time, along with the track we had just recorded. He eventually crushed out his 3rd stumpy butt and sang it again (beautifully), but I had learned my lesson. If I couldn’t capture Daniel when he did his stuff, the first time… just push record and let it happen, I wasn’t doing my job right. 
I headed back to Austin, did a couple of overdubs and sent a ruff mix off to the A&R dude. Alas, it was NOT what he had asked for. “It’s whiny” he said, and “it’s in a minor key”, and “the drums sound like shit”. Dan was soon dropped from Atlantic, but he started calling me and asking me to come record him. He was not offering me any money… he had none to offer, as far as I knew. But he was Daniel Johnston. I had never been around anyone in my life who had such vision and commitment to their art… someone who was so plainly an “Artist”.

Daniel kept calling me and asking me to come back down to Waller to record him, and I kept doing it- again, and again, and again. (He was lonely…) For 8 years I made these semi regular pilgrimages to Daniel’s garage. Although each visit was different, we gradually developed a loose style of working together. His stormy psyche and the resulting frequent adjustments of his strong medications meant that I could not necessarily depend on getting consistently great performances from him. I soon learned that if I came back a week or two later, his performance powers might be back with a vengeance. His compulsion to make stuff was always his best medicine. At this point he had no label or management structure to promote him. He wasn’t playing out at all, and he knew his star was losing some shine. But he kept asking me to come record him (again), and he kept writing songs. Daniel was always a self fulfilling prophecy, unfolding in front of your eyes. During these years he was fighting to show he was still significant… he may have been a fading star in his mid 30’s living with his parents, but as far as he was concerned, he was making records. And could I come out again next week, with a band? 

Here’s a great piece Micheal Hoinski wrote about my recording history with Daniel Johnston as Daniel and I were finishing his unreleased record, “If”.
Here’s an article by Rachel Roscoe from the Austin Chronicle about “If”

-The Waller Archive-

This is a near complete and mostly chronological list of songs performed by Daniel Johnston and recorded by Brian Beattie in Dan’s garage between 1995-2003. I’ve included links to the tunes, where available.

The timeline listed below is as accurate as I can give right now, but when I first started recording Daniel I often didn’t chronicle the specific dates, so this is a careful reconstruction. The dates listed on the tapes pictured above are mostly correct, but contain a few inconsistencies. (One tape may be used on numerous dates) The dates listed below are more historically detailed and more closely representative of the corrected timeline. There likely are errors concerning specific dates, and I will continue to refine and tune up the chronology of this archive as more information comes to light.

First Visit, early ‘95

1) Caspar- (from the film “Kids”) Daniel- vocals and drums, Brian Beattie, bass, background vocals, Craig Ross- guitar, John Hagen- cello.

Daniel played drums while Craig played guitar and I played bass, and then Daniel overdubbed his vocals. I added John Hagen’s cello and finished it up back at the studio in my garage in Austin, a place dubbed “The ‘Raj”.

Second visit, Spring ‘95

2) Impossible Love- (From “Rejected Unknown”) Dan- vocals. Brian- bass, guitar, lap steel, background vocals. John Paul Keenan- drums. Pete LaFond- guitar.

Everything was live tracked except the lap steel and gut string guitar, which I added later.

Third visit, one fine day in September ’95

3) Speeding motorcycle- (take 1) Daniel- vocals. Brian Beattie- bass. Will Indian- Guitar. Rusty Traps- Drums

4) Speeding Motorcycle- (Take 2)

5) Favorite Darling Girl- (From “Rejected Unknown”) Same as above, with Will Indian on slide guitar and John Hagen on cello
 This was live tracked except for the cello.

6) Soda (take 1) (Same as tracks 3 & 4)

7) Rejected

8) Soda (take 2)

9) Soda (take 3)

10) It’s Impossible

11) Caspar the friendly ghost

Fourth visit, one fine day in October, ’95

12) Rejected- (take 1) Daniel- vocals. Brian Beattie- bass. Craig Ross- guitar. Pete LaFond- guitar. David Jungen, drums

13) Rejected- (take 2)

14) Rejected- (take 3)

15) I’m a Believer- (take 1) (the Monkees song, by Neil Diamond)

16) I’m a Believer- (take 2)

17) It’s Impossible

18) Madly- (take 1)

19) Madly- (take 2)

20) Dairy Queen- (take 1) Personnel same as above, add Daniel on Acoustic Guitar

21) Dairy Queen- (take 2)

22) NaNaNaNaNa- (shorty for abbey road style medley?)

23) Country Song- (From “Lost and Found”) Dan improvised this song on the spot. We sorta followed him, like comets follow the sun. Tracks 23- 26 are fine examples of the sound of Dan’s garage, filled full of Dan and his friends having a collective spiritual experience. At certain moments, Daniel had a super creativity antenna that he could shoot into the stratosphere, and he’d pull back a fully formed creation, like he’d plucked something out of the Cosmic River of Songs. His antenna was at full mast on this day.

24) Mrs Daniel Johnston- (From “Lost and found”) The recording starts mid- line, because Dan started playing without warning, and if tape wasn’t rolling, I had learned at this point to always be ready to push “record”. He was definitely on a roll. Daniel plays electric chord organ and sings, otherwise, same as above. This is also a completely live recording of an improvised song.

25) Johnny’s Head- (From Daniel’s unreleased record “If”.) Same as above, except I added guitar, cimbalom and mixed it in 2016. Daniel opened his notebook, I pushed record, he tapped a few notes on the chord organ to find his key, said “Ready yet?”, and off we went. It was all new to us. Everybody listened hard and tried not to ruin the moment. Dan used to play a version of this song with The Rhythm Rats, but this one is apparently a bit different. I had brought my plastic chord organ along, and he used it beautifully in “Mrs. Daniel Johnston” and “Johnny’s Head”.

26) Billions/Rock- (From “Rejected Unknown”) Personnel, date same as tracks 12-19 above. All live, except the audience.

These last 4 tunes are not only a testament to Dan’s inspired spontaneity, and his instantaneous connection to form and function in music, but also to the amazing musicians who managed to keep up with him as he reached the heights- Craig, Pete, Dave- Thank you!

Fifth Visit, 11/23/95- a spiritually stormy day

27) Improv/ Jailhouse Rock- Dan- vocals. Brian Beattie- bass. Paul Leary- electric guitar. Dale Dudgeon- acoustic guitar. Dave Jungen- drums.

28) You’ve Got a Friend- (by Carole King. From Dan’s unreleased record “If”) Same as above, except I added more guitar, some mellotron and mixed it in 2016

It was very important to Dan that day that we play “You’ve Got a Friend”, so he pulled out his Carol King songbook, and with no rehearsal, (which was also very important, apparently...) this is what happened. It was glorious and disastrous, no one knew what was going on, but Daniel was INSPIRED! Naturally, my tape ran out 6 minutes into a bedraggled 9 minute version. I struggled to insert a new tape, and luckily caught the end of the song, but then it stayed unfinished and unloved for all these years. Daniel had asked me about this version, and I’d always had unusually fond memories of this performance, so it was such a joy to finally edit it together into one piece, and give it a few finishing flourishes.



(Daniel was hospitalized for a few months following this visit)

Sixth visit, 10/18/1996

29) Dream Scream take 1 Daniel-vocals, piano. Brian- bass

30) Dream Scream (From “Rejected Unknown”) Daniel- vocals, piano, whirly piano. Brian, bass, guitars. John Paul Keenan- drums. The drums were added a little later, back at the ‘Raj.

31) Funeral Girl (From “Rejected Unknown”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, guitars, drums, organ. Barbara Marino- baritone sax. The cricket was hiding in the garage and singing along with Daniel. The first 2/3rds of the song (the slow part) was pre composed, but the entire uptempo ending was improvised by Daniel on the spot. He seemed to suddenly think it was so dismal it needed a quick pick-me-up… The basic track is Daniel singing and playing, with me playing bass. I took it back to the ‘Raj for a few overdubs. When he heard my first ruff mix, he said “It’s good, but the end needs riffing saxophones, like Savoy Truffle”. A perfect idea! I could hear what he meant instantly, but, apparently, it required me to compose the part and find and pay the sax player. (Daniel had passed the ball to me, in a classic “artist to producer” fashion. Be still my heart!) Barbara Marino of the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet was in Austin, and she bridged the expanse between earthy American Jazz, the Beatles, and Daniel Johnston seamlessly. This is the first take of the only “studio” version of the song Dan ever recorded, as far as I know. I guess he nailed it. (Especially considering that he was composing the last third while he played it…)

32) Month of May- Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass

33) Doin so fine- Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass

34) Rock ’n’ Roll is King/ Laurie’s Lap Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass

35) The Night Before- (a Daniel/ Beatles rewrite) Daniel- vocals, guitar. Brian- bass

36) You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away- (a Daniel/ Beatles re-write) same as above

Seventh visit, 10/27/96

37) Instrumental 10/27 (Daniel- piano. Brian- bass, acoustic guitar. Craig Ross- electric guitar

38) Been a Long Time

39) Lonesome Road- Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass. Craig Ross- guitar

40) Some Time Spent in Heaven (from “Lost and Found”) Daniel-vocals, drums. Craig Ross- guitar. Brian- bass. This is an improvised song- Daniel would often tell whoever had come out to play with him to “play something like (insert band, album, or song name)” This time he sat down at the drums, ready to roll, and, if I remember correctly, said something like “play something riff-y, like AC-DC”. Craig pulled a pattern out of the air, and I just followed along on bass, trying not to ruin it. I rewound the tape and got set up to record his vocals while Daniel sat (very briefly) with a pencil and his notebook and scratched a few things down Then he stood up and sang it. I later added some acoustic guitar back at the ‘Raj, and mixed it.

Eighth visit, 10/31/96

41) Lonesome Road Daniel- piano, vocals. Brian- bass. Ethan Azarian (?) - drums.

42) Instrumental 1

42) Instrumental 2

43) Lonely Song Daniel- piano, vocals. Ethan Azarian- guitar, vocals

45) Rockin ‘round the Christmas Tree (From “Lost and Found”) same as above, with Brian Beattie- bass and electric guitars. Ken Lieck- drums and vocals. Ethan also plays tambourine and sings. It’s all live, except I added the electric guitars and mixed it back at my studio.

46) Instrumental jam Daniel- piano, Brian- drums, Jd Foster, bass

47) Improvised song Same as above

48) Love Forever (Practice) Dan-piano and vocals, same date

Ninth visit, One fine day in early January, 1997

49) Improv bit Daniel- piano, vocals. Brian- bass. Dave Jungen- drums. Craig Ross- guitar. Pete LaFond- guitar

50) Blues

51) Love Forever practice 1 (personnel, date same as above)

52) Love Forever practice 2

53) Love Forever (From “Rejected Unknown) (same as above) This is a wonderful example of a completely live recording from Dan’s garage. In this era, as I’d learned Dan’s habits and tendencies, I would occasionally choose a song or 2 to practice with the band at hand in advance of our visit to Waller. I’d play them Daniel’s demos in Austin, or partial recordings of songs that he’d played for me. Then we’d learn the tune and practice together enough so that we’d be ready when we got to Waller, and not test Dan’s attention span. “Love Forever” is the sound of Dan playing with a band of friends in his garage, weaving a moment of bliss.

54) Rejected take 1

55) Rejected take 2

56) Rejected take 3

57) Rejected take 4



(Daniel was hospitalized for a few months in middle of ’97)

Tenth visit, September, 1997

58) The Beatles (from “Lost and Found”) Daniel-vocals Brian- bass, drums guitars

59) Dairy Queen (from Daniels upcoming record, “Weird Love”) Daniel-vocals. Kathy McCarty, vocals, background vocals. Brian-guitars, bass, background vocals, bowed basses, mellotron, leslie guitar, wurlitzer, percussion, claps. John Paul Keenan- drums.

60) It’s Impossible (from “Lost and Found”) Daniel- vocals. Brian- Bass, ukulele, drums, guitars. These first three tunes we worked on this day (tks 58- 60) are basic tracks that I recorded back at my studio. I brought my set-up down to Waller for Dan to do vocals and any overdubs he might think of.

61) Down on the Farm Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- guitar, bass, drums, mellotron This is an improvised song. The guitar, drums and mellotron are overdubs..

62) She was a Girl Daniel piano, vocals. Brian. bass. Another improvised song.

63) Laurie (partially used as a transitional piece of “Rejected Unknown”. Improvised.

64) Cathy Cline (From “Rejected Unknown”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian-bass, accordion, organ. Collette Haney- cello. Shane Madden - violin. Cindy Lee- violin. This song was improvised on the spot by Daniel, on his piano, in his garage, and everything else was added back in my garage.

65) Some People Don’t Even Know if it’s Christmastime (from Daniel’s upcoming record, “Weird Love”) Daniel- piano, vocals. Brian- marimbula, percussion, mellotron, fizz bass, carillon. Improvised. Daniel played piano and sang, and I added the other instruments in ’23.

66) You Really Don’t- (From Dan’s unreleased record “If”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, guitar, bells. Improvised. Daniel played piano and sang this one. I added the rest in 2016.

67) The Spook- (From “Rejected Unknown”) Daniel- vocals. Brian-guitar, bass. John Paul Keenan- drums. Improvised. Daniel said “You play guitar on this one.” I pushed record and started playing. He said “It’s recording?” and we were off. I had to follow what he was doing, but he was following me… He led me through a beginning, middle and end. I brought back to the ‘Raj, and John Paul Keenan put on the perfect drums.

68) Daniel Does Robert Plant Daniel- vocals, Brian-guitar Improvised.

69) Cathy Cline- (a different song) Daniel, vocals. Brian- guitar. Improvised.

70) Fallen Heroes- Daniel vocals. Brian- guitar. Improvised.

71) Squiggly Lines- practice Daniel- Piano, vocals

72) Squiggly Lines- (From “Lost and Found”) Daniel- vocals, guitar, piano, Brian- bass, drums

Eleventh visit, One fine day, mid December, 1997

73) Crazy Times Daniel- vocals. Brian Beattie- bass. Bill Anderson- guitar

74) Cold, Dark Terror- same as above

75) Gonna Win

76) Witch Girl

77) Lonely Song- 1

78) Lonely Song 2

79) Lonely Song w/ Pam Barger on drums (recorded December-97)

80) Lonely Song- (From “Lost and Found”) (Dan- vocals, Brian- bass, piano, guitars, background vocals. Pam Barger- drums. Pam and I recorded this basic track in the ‘Raj, I added the other instruments, and brought it to Waller for Daniel to sing. Daniel wrote this song on guitar, but he changed the melody and the timing of the verse when he performed it on piano. This is one of the basic tracks I pre-created in my studio without Daniel, and I brought down to Waller for him to do his vocals. I based the arrangement on his “piano” version of the song. I love the tune, but he never played me the guitar version. I think I like his guitar version even more.

81) Month of May Daniel- vocals. Brian- bass, guitar, drums, cricket, train

Twelfth visit, 1/11/98

82) Love Was the Mystery take 1 Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass. Darwin Smith- guitar. Pete LaFond- guitar. Scott Marcus- drums

83) Love Was the Mystery Same as above. In 2023 I added piano, some guitar and background vocals.

84) The Artist 1

85) The Artist 2 (from Daniel’s upcoming record, “Weird Love”) Same musicians as track 82. I added Mellotron, percussion and some guitar in 2024

86) The Artist 3

87) The Artist 4

88) The Artist partial

89) The Artist 5

90) Bluesy improv (I’m the disappointed)

91) Get Back variations

92) Low Grungy Jam

93) Desperate Man Dream 1

94) Desperate Man Dream 2

95) Desperate Man Dream 3

96) Desperate Man Dream 4

97) Desperate Man Dream 6

98) Miracle, with Mabel and Dick

99) I Wonder Who She’s Fucking Now? 1

100) I Wonder Who She’s Fucking now? 2

101) Improv tune “heaven said go to hell”

102) narration bit from “Rejected Unknown”

Thirteenth visit, 4/11/1998

103) Rejected- Daniel-vocals. Brian- bass. Craig Ross Guitar, John Paul Keenan, drums

104) Hot Dog Shoppe- (From Daniel’s unreleased record “If”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, guitar, mellotron, drums, percussion. Anna Roenigk- Saxophones (basic track recorded 4/11/1998- finished and mixed at Dan’s behest and with his guidance in 2016)

105) Hot Dog Shoppe- 2 Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass

106) Hot Dog Shoppe- 3

107) Hot Dog Shoppe- 4

108) Hot Dog Shoppe- 5

109) Miracle- w/ Bill 1 Daniel-vocals, guitar. Bill Johnston, drums

110) Miracle- w/ Bill 2

111) Prettiest Girl at church- 1 Daniel- vocals, piano

112) Prettiest girl at church- 2

113) Love Sorrow- (From Daniel’s upcoming record “Weird Love”) Daniel- vocals, harmony vocals, piano. Brian- fuzz bass, guitars, percussion, drums, pump organ, mellotron. Amy Annelle- background vocals.

114) Train of Thought- Daniel, vocals, piano. Bill Johnston, drums.

Fourteenth visit, 4/25/1998

115) Prettiest Girl at Church- (from Dan’s unreleased record “If”) Daniel, piano. Brian- bass, guitar. Dave (Lisa) Cameron- drums

116) Prettiest Girl at Church- 2

117) Thrill- (From “Rejected Unknown”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian, bass, guitars, claps. Dave (Lisa) Cameron- drums. Wammo, thrilled background vocals

118) I Hate Myself- Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass. Dave (Lisa) Cameron.

119) I Hate Myself -2

120) Worry Free Music- 1

121) Worry Free Music- 2

122) Worry Free Music- 3

123) I Still Love you- 1

124) I Still Love You- 2

125) I Still Love You- w/ trumpet

Fifteenth visit, 5/1/1998

126) Living Life- 1

27) Living Life- 2

128) Living Life- 3

129) Wishing You Well- 1

130) Wishing You Well- (From Daniel’s record “Lost And Found”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, guitar, percussion. Craig Ross- guitar

131) Daniel the Idiot Savant Rockstar- (From Daniel’s upcoming record “Weird Love”) Daniel- vocals, guitar. Kathy McCarty- vocals. Brian- bass, guitar, carillon, mellotron. Daniel sang and played guitar while Kathy sang along for the basic track. I added the other elements in December, ‘23.

132) Hurt (You Hurt Me) Daniel- vocals, piano

Sixteenth visit, 6/6/1998

133) Girl of My Dreams- (From “Rejected Unknown”) Daniel, vocals, piano. Brian-bass, guitar, organ, electric piano. Dave (Lisa) Cameron- drums. 
Daniel’s piano and vocals, the bass and Dave (Lisa)’s drums were all tracked live. I added the other instruments back at the ‘Raj.

134) Girl of My Dreams 2

135) Pain in My Heart- (From Dan’s upcoming album “Weird Love”) Dan, vocals, piano. Brian- bass, harmony vocals, guitar, percussion, mellotron. Dave (Lisa) Cameron- drums. Leila Henley- baritone sax. Daniel played piano and sang while Dave played drums and I played bass. I added the other instruments, and Leila played sax in 2024.

136) Grandma- 1

137) Grandma- 2

Seventeenth visit, 7/11/1998

138) Wishing You Well- later 1

139) Wishing you well- later 2

140) Wishing you well- later 3

141) Wedding Ring Bells Blues- (From Rejected Unknown) Dan- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, organ. Craig Ross- guitar. John Paul Keenan- drums. Daniel recorded this song solo, and I brought it back to the ‘Raj and recorded the rest.

142) Rock This Town- (from “Lost and Found”) Daniel- vocals, guitar. Brian- bass, guitar, background vocals. Craig Ross guitar, John Paul Keenan- Drums. This song was recorded live with Daniel singing and playing with a drum machine while Craig and I played along. I recorded the drums and other overdubs soon afterward back at The ‘Raj.

Eighteenth Visit, 8/9/1998

143) Girls- (From Dan’s upcoming record “Weird Love”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Bill Anderson- guitar. Brian- bass, guitar, percussion, carillon, mellotron. Dave (Lisa) Cameron- drums. Leila Henley- baritone sax. This song originally appeared on Daniel’s 1985 record, Continued Story. Bill played on that version as well. On this day Daniel played piano and sang live with the drums, Bill played guitar and I played bass. I replaced the bass and added the other instruments and Leila on sax in late ’23 and early ’24.

144) I Lose- practice Dan- vocals, piano. Brian- bass. Bill Anderson- Guitar. Dave (Lisa) Cameron- drums

145) I Lose- (From “Rejected Unknown”) Dan- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, organ. Bill Anderson- Guitar. Dave (Lisa) Cameron- drums

146) Party- (from “Rejected Unknown”) Same as above.

147) Daniel jams on piano (same as track 152)

148) Girls, worser versions

Nineteenth Visit, One fine day in November, 1998

149) Man Obsessed- takes 1-5 or so Daniel- Vocals, piano. Brian- bass

150) Man Obsessed- (From Dan’s upcoming record “Weird Love”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, guitar, background vocals, mellotron, ocarina. John Paul Keenan- Drums

151) I Had a Dream that God was Dead- Daniel- Vocals, piano. Brian- bass

152) She’s a Clown- (From Dan’s unreleased record, “If”) Daniel vocals, guitar. Brian, bass, guitars. Amy Annelle, background vocals. Done Wynn- ruffneck ’n’ thug drums. Basic track (vocals, piano, bass) recorded Nov. 1998. Other tracking and mixing in 2016.

153) Davinaire- (From “Rejected Unknown”) Daniel- vocals, guitar, soda, toilet. Brian- bass, electric guitar, piano, organ. Spot, viola. Susannah Erler- violin
. Daniel’s guitar and vocals were recorded live while I played bass. I added the rest shortly afterwards in the ‘Raj.

Twentieth visit, December, 1998

154) December Doom- (From Dan’s upcoming record “Weird Love”) Dan- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, guitar, synth, mellotron, drums, percussion. Leila Henley- baritone sax. Amy Annelle, background vocals. 
Daniel sang and played piano while I played bass on the basic track. I replaced my bass, added the other instruments, and recorded Leila’s sax and Amy’s vocals in late ’23.

155) Ron English bit

156) As Far As the Bible Goes- (from Dan’s unreleased record, “If”)

Twenty-first visit, January 23rd, 1999

157) Weird Love- p1 Dan- vocals, piano. Brian- bass

158) Weird Love- p2

159) Weird Love- 1

160) Weird Love- (From Daniel’s upcoming record “Weird Love”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, guitars, mellotron, drums. Daniel played and sang the basic track, and I added the drums, bass and guitar shortly afterward in the ‘Raj in early ‘99. I added the mellotron and another guitar and mixed it in ‘24.

161) History of Our Love- personnel as on tk 157

162) Everlasting Love

163) Has Been Love

164) Like a Dream 1

165) Like a Dream

166) History of Our Love (from Lost and Found) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, bowed bass, guitars, percussion, drums, pump organ. Basic track is vocals and piano. My overdubs were added shortly afterwards in the ‘Raj.

167) Love Was (from Daniel’s upcoming record, “Weird Love”.) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, fuzz bass, guitar, pump organ, carillon, mellotron, drums, percussion. Leila Henley- Baritone Sax. Daniel’s piano and vocals are the basic tracks. The other instruments were added in late ‘23 and early ‘24.

168) Daniel greatest hits medley

169) Frustrated Artist

Twenty-second visit, February 20th, 1999

170) A Girl Like You- 1 Daniel- vocals, acoustic guitar. Bill Anderson- electric guitar. Brian- bass

171) A Girl Like You

172) Folly- (From Daniel’s upcoming record “Weird Love”) Daniel- vocals, guitar. Bill Anderson- electric guitar. Brian- bass, percussion, mellotron, guitar. Daniel played this song a few months later on his live solo record called “Why Me”, recorded in Berlin on 6/6/1999

173) Folly- 2

174) All Away- 1

175) All Away

176) Try to love- p

177) Try to love- 1

178) Jed Davis

179) Try to Love- (From “Lost and Found”) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, bowed bass, pump organ, organ, guitar

Twenty-third visit, March 27th, 1999

180) Why Can’t Love- 1 Dan- vocals, piano

181) Why Can’t Love- 2

182) Worship

183) Just Can’t Get Over You

184) Without Love- (From Daniel’s unreleased record, “If”) Dan vocals, piano. Brian- bass, guitars, mellotron, pump organ, background vocals. Dony Wynn- drums, percussion. Jolie Holland- background vocals. Daniel’s piano and voice recorded 3/27/1999. Overdubs and mixing done at Dan’s behest and with his guidance in 2016

185) Love Not Dead- (same as track 181, etc.)

186) Lose Your Man

187) Everlasting Love

Daniel’s father, Bill, who was managing him at the time, asked me to stop coming to record Daniel for a while. In the meantime, “Rejected Unknown” was released, and Daniel started touring again. In 2002, Dan’s record company wanted a second record, so Daniel and I started finishing “Lost and Found”

Twenty-fourth visit, November 2002

188) Haunt- solo Dan, vocals, piano

189) Just Can’t Get Over You

190) Worship- 1

191) Worship- 2

192) Oh, Baby, won’t you love me (again)

193) Haunt p

194) Everlasting love p

195) Everlasting love 1

196) Pretty

Twenty-Fifth visit, December, 2002

197) Haunt- p1 Dan- piano, vocals

198) Haunt- p2

199) Bumblebee

200) There is Love- 1

201) There is Love- p

202) There is Love- 2

203) Haunt- solo

204) Partial improv tune

205) I’ll Meet You in Front of the Church

206) Foolin’- (From Lost and Found) Daniel- vocals, piano. Brian, bass, guitars, drums, percussion, organ

207) Bumblebee- 2

Twenty-sixth visit, mid december, 2002

209) Everlasting Love- (From “Lost and Found”) Daniel- vocals. Brian- piano, organ, bass, guitars, background vocals. Jon Greene- drums (December, 2002)

210) Haunt- (From “Lost and Found”) Daniel, vocals, piano. Brian- bass, drums, guitars, organs (Date same as above. I recorded these 2 basic tracks (209 and 210) in my studio garage and brought them to Daniel’s garage for him to sing.)

211) History of Our Love- (From Lost and Found) Daniel, vocals, piano. Brian- bass, bowed bass, pump organ, percussion, drums, background vocals, guitar (recorded one fine day in mid December, 2002, overdubs a little later at the ‘Raj)

Twenty-Seventh visit, January 29th, 2003

212) Bumblebee Dan- vocals, piano

213) Foolin’- 2

Twenty-eighth visit, one fine day in May, 2003

214) Favorite Valentine- (from Daniel’s unreleased record, “If”) Daniel- vocals, piano, drums. Brian- bass, guitars, organ. Craig Ross, Daniel, and Brian, background vocals. Daniel, singing and playing piano, drums, and harmonies) recorded one fine day in May 2003. Overdubs from May 2003. Finished and mixed in 2016

215) Compassion- Daniel, vocals, piano, drums

216) Waiting- (same as above)

217) Lady Luck

Twenty-Ninth visit, One fine day in June, 2003

218) Wish Away- 1, 2, 3, Daniel vocals, piano (recorded one fine day in June 2003)

219) Luxury- Daniel, vocals, piano

220) Know What I Mean?

221) Mind Movies

Thirtieth visit, One fine day in July, 2003

222) Love Machine- Daniel- vocals, piano

223) Cloudy

Thirty first visit, One fine day in August, 2003

224) Lonely Teardrops- (from Dan’s unreleased record, “If”) Dan- vocals, piano. Brian- bass, guitars, mellotron, carillon, background vocals. Dony Wynn- drums, percussion. Anna Roenigk- Saxophones (Daniel’s piano and voice recorded August, 2003, overdubs and mixing in 2016, at Dan’s behest and with his guidance and approval)

225) Lizard Girl- Daniel- piano, vocals. Bill Anderson- guitar Brian- bass

226) Gone Forever

227) Crazy

228) Funny

Thirty-second visit, One fine day in September, 2003

229) Don’t War- (From Dan’s unreleased record “If”) Daniel- vocals, piano, chaos drums. Brian- bass, guitars, order drums, toy sax, whistles (Daniel’s vocals and piano September, 2003. Overdubs and mixing in 2016, at Dan’s behest.)

230) Way Beyond- Dan- vocals, piano, drums

Thirty third visit, OFD in October, 2003

231) Care Less- (You Could Care Less) Dan, piano, vocals, drums. Brian, bass

232) Shoe

233) Dream Girl 1, 2, 3

234) Love Machine

Thirty fourth visit, OFD in November, 2003

235) Same Old Thing (recorded November 2003)

236) Lonely Teardrops 


After “Lost and Found” was released, Bill asked me to stop coming to record Daniel

Although Daniel continued to call me regularly, asking me to work on the unreleased recordings from “The Waller Archive”, Daniel’s management expressed no interest in releasing them. The tapes stayed with me through the years till 2016, when Daniel asked me to finish up some of those tracks we had lovingly recorded all those years ago. I got permission from his management team, and Daniel and I finished the record he called “If”. In 2023, when I was re-transferring and cataloguing The Waller Archive, I was once again struck by the quantity of amazing songs and performances that have never seen the light of day. The shape of the album “Weird Love” slowly emerged from this fertile mass of semi finished recordings. “Weird Love” is the first Daniel Johnston record that I ever finished without his constant guidance and assistance, but I definitely felt the presence of Daniel the Chain Smoking Friendly Ghost, sitting in the corner. Smoking.