Christian Johnston,[1] known professionally as B.A. Johnston, is a Canadian comedic musician and performance artist based in Hamilton, Ontario.
Career
Johnston was born and grew up in Hamilton, Ontario.[2] He began touring around Canada in 2002, performing songs that are often comedic in nature and include pop cultural references to sports teams, junk food, and video games.[3][4] Accompanying himself on guitar and keyboard, he performed as the character B.A. (Bored Again) Johnston who lives at home with his mother.[5] By birth, his name is Christian Johnston, but in high school was given the nickname “Bored Again Christian". It stuck over the years and became his stage name.[6]
By 2006 Johnston had recorded four albums of original songs, completing a cross-country tour travelling exclusively by Greyhound bus before beginning to tour in an old station wagon or mini-van.[7] Johnston's 2010 album Thank You for Being a Friend appeared on the !Earshot National Top 50 Chart.[8] Since that time he has continued touring extensively across Canada year-round, mainly performing in clubs and bars.[9][10][11] In 2014, Noisey compared him to American singer, songwriter GG Allin.[12] His ninth album Shit Sucks was released in 2015 and was a long list nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.[4]Exclaim! magazine described it as "simplistic synth-pop and aggressive acoustic folk."[13][14]
In 2017 a collaboration between Johnston and Sawdust City Brewing Company resulted in the launch of Olde B.A. Johnston's Finest Malt Liquor.[5] That year his album Gremlins III, a mixture of folk and punk music, was released through Wyatt Records.[15] That year a feature article about Johnston in the Globe And Mail acknowledged his polarizing status in the Canadian music scene, noting that for some he is a "modern-age Stompin' Tom Connors."[16] However, unlike Connors, Johnston's references to life in modern-day Canada are exaggeratedly irreverent and unromanticised, featuring ironic swipes at large Canadian institutions like Foodland, No Frills, and Tim Hortons.[citation needed]
As of 2022, Johnston continues to tour across Canada, performing his energetic and humorous show.[17]
Discography
Albums (CD, LP)
Bury Me at Make Out Creek (2001)
In Situation Bad (2003)
Love Letters to the Girls in My High School Art Class (2003)
My Heart Is a Blinking Nintendo (2005)
Call Me When Old and Fat Is the New Young and Sexy (2006)
Stairway to Hamilton (2008)
I Was a Young Man Once (2009)
Thank You for Being a Friend (2010)
Hi Dudes! (2012)
Mission Accomplished (2013)
Shit Sucks (2015)
Gremlins III (2017)
The Skid Is Hot Tonight (2019)
Werewolves of London, Ontario (2022)
Argos Suck (2023)
Singles, Splits, & EPs
Songs About a Stewardess (2005)
B.A. Johnston & The Moby Dicks (2011)
B.A. Johnston featuring The Magnificent Sevens (2011)
