Interviews
INTERVIEW
Jonathan Coulton
By Shaun Hatton - June 20th, 2008
Jonathan Coulton is an independent singer/songwriter whom you gamers may know as “that guy who wrote that song from Portal.” And while that particular tune did give him a lot of notoriety and exposure to those who hadn’t previously heard of him, he’s been making a living as a musician ever since leaving his last day job as a computer programmer.
As fun as the robotic GLaDOS-crooned “Still Alive” is, I’ve found that the real magic in his music is the sincerity of his voice, which is really obvious in songs like “First of May,” “Better,” and “Skullcrusher Mountain.” I happily dare anyone - robots excluded - to listen to one of his songs and not crack a smile. It’s just not possible.
His music is heard by loving fans around the world who can pay what they want (or can) to download his tunes (take that, record labels). Because of this, he’s been able to make a living at doing what he loves best: making music.
While internet stardom means that many of his fans have never seen him play live, us Torontonians are in for a real treat, since Coulton will be playing at the Lula Lounge in Toronto on July 9, 2008 with Paul and Storm. The show’s 19+ but if you’re underage, you can get in by bringing a guardian.
Coulton (or JoCo as we sometimes like to refer to him) spent some time chatting with me over the phone from his New York home/studio last week about music, video games, and music video games (among other things). Read on for the interview.
