Julie Christensen & Stone Cupid - A Sad Clown
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Julie Christensen 2018 bio

Julie Christensen’s story is woven into decades of the fabric of underground and roots rock ’n’ roll. Julie tells her stories, “conveying the beauty of suffering with a subtlety that has become her signature,” no matter what the genre they are sung in. For Julie, “A Sad Clown” is about striding into her own spotlight, focusing some attention on what’s at the center of that light, and taking a triumphant bow.

Born and raised in Iowa, Christensen left college to tour with her first country-rock band, Longshot, hit the road with a cover band, and landed for a time in Austin, Texas to sing and come of age before heading to LA in the early 80s to eventually meet Chris D. at a session with Top Jimmy. After cutting a country tune, she became a pioneer with punk-roots rockers Divine Horsemen.

Julie co-founded LA’s Divine Horsemen with Chris D (who also became her husband.) Their landmark proto-Americana album “Time Stands Still” (recently reissued on Atavistic) was studded with a who’s-who of LA post-punk: Texacala Jones, Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Kid Congo Powers, John Doe, Dave Alvin, Dan Stuart, and others. The band itself went electric and became a powerhouse live headliner, as well as sturdy opener for X, TSOL, Concrete Blonde and others, touring the country on the strength of 2 SST Records full-length albums and 2 EPs from 1984-87.

Before and during this time, Julie formed a relationship with Leonard Cohen’s 1979 and 1985 touring band, Austinites with whom she’d performed jazz and blues prior to moving to Los Angeles and forming Divine Horsemen. Roscoe Beck and the others had also played with Joe Ely and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and with Jennifer Warnes, whose position in Cohen’s band Julie would fill when Warnes’ “Famous Blue Raincoat” record came out.

When drug addiction broke up Julie and Chris’ marriage and the band in 1988, Julie stepped on to the path of sobriety where she is today. She was also available, and Julie was asked to sing backup and duet on a short European and North American tour in support of Leonard Cohen’s 10-million-seller “I’m Your Man” that expanded to well over seven months. Partly, it was because of the audition Christensen gave in front of famed engineer Henry Lewy (Joni Mitchell, Lucinda Williams) but mostly, it was because when she met Leonard at his apartment and had lunch with him and musical director Roscoe Beck that early spring day in 1988. She and Leonard began a musical and true friendship when Leonard let her know the work would be hard, and Julie, in her months-new sobriety, let him know she was up to the task. She looked in his eyes and they shook on it. For that tour and even through another tour after the birth of her son in 1993, she did not let him down. She sang and toured extensively with Leonard Cohen over a six-year period.

Christensen has shared concert bills and friendships with some of the greats who still populate Americana/Roots Rock today, like Exene Cervenka and John Doe of X, Dave Alvin of The Blasters, Chuck Prophet, Peter Case, Johnette Napolitano, and Alejandro Escovedo. These and other artists used her talents in the studio: Leonard, Exene, John Doe, Van Dyke Parks, Steve Wynn, Iggy Pop, PiL, and more. Todd Rundgren produced her major label debut; in the book, “The Greatest Music Never Sold,” Todd Calls it The Female Sgt. Pepper. Afterward, Christensen opted for family life in Ojai, CA and making five independent albums utilizing the talents of her friends, stellar musicians including Karen Hammack, who also played with fellow Cohen singer Perla Batalla, Robben Ford, (Julie returning the favor on a couple of his albums,) Greg Leisz, (who plays on most of Bill Frisell and Lucinda Williams’ records,) Tom Lackner and Bill Flores (Jeff Bridges,) Jim Christie (Merle Haggard, Lucinda, Dwight Yoakum), and Jeff Turmes (Mavis Staples.)

From 2003-2006, Christensen was asked to sing lead and backup in Hal Willner’s “Came So Far For Beauty” concerts, where she sang alongside Nick Cave, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Linda Thompson, and Antony Hegarty (now Anohni.) The 2005 Sydney shows became the feature documentary “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man,” which relaunched Leonard’s career. At a 2006 show Julie and Lou Reed dueted on Cohen's song "Joan of Arc,” one she had often done with Cohen himself. In January 2016 old friend Alejandro Escovedo invited Julie to sing at his special Leonard Cohen Influence Evening at ACL at the Moody Theatre in Austin. In September 2018, Julie will be inducted into the Iowa Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame in the “Women Who Rock” category, an honor she will share with 2015 inductee Wanda Jackson. Members of Divine Horsemen including Julie and Chris will reunite in October for a short West Coast tour.

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  • Members:
    Chris Tench, Sergio Webb, Steve Latanation, Jeff Turmes, Renée Wahl
  • Sounds Like:
    Secret Sisters, Lucinda Williams, Neko Case, Shelby Lynne
  • Influences:
    Lucinda Williams, Gram Parsons, The Band, Neil Young, The Pretenders, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt
  • AirPlay Direct Member Since:
    02/13/18
  • Profile Last Updated:
    02/05/24 09:52:40

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