Don Dixon (musician)

Don Dixon (born December 13, 1950) is a record producer, songwriter, musician, bass guitarist, and very occasional actor. Dixon is considered to be one of the key producers of what is called the jangle pop movement of the early 1980s.

Don Dixon
Born	(1950-12-13) December 13, 1950 Lancaster, South Carolina
Genres	Alternative country Rock music Folk music Jangle pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, bass, guitar
Years active	1980s-present
Labels	Enigma Records Capitol Records Gadfly Records 123 Records Arcade Records Sugar Hill Records Dixon Archival Remnants
Associated acts	Marti Jones R.E.M. Chris Stamey Mitch Easter Tommy Keene The Smithereens

Early life

Don Dixon was born in Lancaster, South Carolina. He learned guitar at age 13, and made his first recording as a jazz bassist at age 15. He attended the University of North Carolina, where his roommate was the writer Bruce Brooks.[1]

Dixon and several fellow UNC freshmen formed the band Arrogance, who recorded six albums and inspired others in the North Carolina music scene. Dixon spent thirteen years as a member, and learned the essence of record production during this time.[2]

Production

Dixon was still playing with Arrogance in 1982 when Mitch Easter asked him to co-produce R.E.M.'s debut LP Murmur and their 1984 follow-up LP Reckoning (both Dixon and Easter are credited in the Reckoning liner notes as "Machinists").[2]

Dixon then spent several years producing the work of artists including Chris Stamey (formerly of The dB's), The Smithereens, Fetchin Bones,[3] Richard Barone, Guadalcanal Diary and Marshall Crenshaw.[2] Considered to be a highlight of this period was Tommy Keene's Run Now EP.[4]

Working with Mitch Easter at Fidelitorium Recordings in Kernersville, NC, Dixon produced Mixed Reality, the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Gin Blossoms. It was released on June 15, 2018, on Cleopatra Records.[5]

Recordings

In 1985, success as a producer led to Dixon's solo debut Most of the Girls Like to Dance But Only Some of the Boys Like To, a collection of early demos. This album reflected his love of classic pop melodies and spiky, Nick Lowe-inspired word play.[6]

In 1987, Dixon recorded Romeo at Juilliard described as Big Star-style power pop. Chi-Town Budget Show (1988) was a recording of a Chicago’s Park West nightclub broadcast. In 1989, his album EEE featured The Uptown Horns.[6]

In 1992 Restless Records released a Don Dixon "Best Of" album entitled "(If) I'm A Ham, Well You're A Sausage".

In 1995, after taking time off to raise a family, Dixon released Romantic Depressive, a somewhat darker-themed album.[6]

In 1996, Dixon produced the original cast recording of King Mackerel & The Blues Are Running (Songs And Stories Of The Carolina Coast) which featured Bland Simpson (Red Clay Ramblers) and author/composer Jim Wann.[7]

It was another four years before he released The Invisible Man (2000), an album about mortality, with songs from viewpoints of people of various ages.[8]

Note Pad #38 in 2001 was an odds-and-ends collection of unreleased material from his solo career.[6]

In 2006, Dixon released The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room, a concept album revolving around rooms in a house.[9]

Dixon and wife Marti Jones released the download-only album Lucky Stars: New Lullabies for Old Souls in 2008. A departure from their previous sound, this project began as a request from a friend who was putting together an album of lullabies to sell in hospitals to new parents. The album featured six vocal songs and five instrumentals.[10]

In 2008, Dixon released The Nu-Look with The Jump Rabbits, his bandmates of 20 years: Jamie Hoover of The Spongetones, and Jim Brock.[11]

In 2009, a book of Dixon's song lyrics, Songs 101: the Lyrics of Don Dixon was published by VanZeno Press.[12]

Although Dixon and wife Marti Jones have collaborated on each other's albums for years, in 2011 they released Living Stereo, their first proper duet album.[13]

In 2014, Dixon released High & Filthy & Borderline, based on the lives of a male and a female assassin.[13][14]

Personal life

Dixon has been married to the singer/artist Marti Jones since 1988.[15]

Discography

Studio albums

• 1985: Most of the Girls Like to Dance but Only Some of the Boys Like To (Enigma Records)
• 1987: Romeo at Juilliard (Enigma Records)
• 1989: EEE (Restless Records / Capitol Records)
• 1995: Romantic Depressive (Sugar Hill Records)
• 2000: The Invisible Man (Gadfly Records)
• 2006: The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room (125 Records)
• 2010: Don Dixon Sings the Jeffords Brothers (Arcade Records)
• 2014: High & Filthy & Borderline (Dixon Archival Remnants Records)

Live album

• 1988: Chi-Town Budget Show (Restless Records)

Don Dixon & Marti Jones

• 2008: Lucky Stars: New Lullabies for Old Souls (Lava Head Music)
• 2011: Living Stereo (Dixon Archival Remnants Records)

Don Dixon & the Jump Rabbits

• 2008: Nu-Look (Dixon Archival Remnants Records)

Compilations

• 1992: (If) I'm a Ham, Well You're a Sausage (Restless Records) - best of
• 2001: Note Pad #38 (Dixon Archival Remnants Records) - rarities

Performs on

• 1985: Marti Jones - Unsophisticated Time (A&M Records)
• 1986: The Golden Palominos - Blast of Silence (Axed My Baby for a Nickel) (Celluloid)
• 1986: Various Artists - Welcome to Comboland (Making Waves)
• 1988: Marti Jones - Used Guitars (A&M Records)
• 1990: Richard Barone - Primal Dream (Line Records)
• 1993: Various Artists - Feast of the Mau Mau (Mau Mau)
• 1994: Mary Chapin Carpenter - Stones in the Road (Columbia Records)

Production credits

As producer

Selected albums

Artist	Title	Label	Year	Other notes
Dumptruck	Positively Dumptruck	Enigma	1986
Fetchin Bones	Cabin Flounder	DB	1984
Fetchin Bones	Bad Pumpkin	Capitol	1985
Guadalcanal Diary	Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man	DB	1984
Guadalcanal Diary	2x4	Elektra	1987
Guadalcanal Diary	Flip-Flop	Elektra	1989
Fetchin Bones	Galaxy 500	Capitol	1987
R.E.M.	Murmur	IRS	1983	co-produced with Mitch Easter
R.E.M.	Reckoning	IRS	1984	co-produced with Mitch Easter
The Smithereens	Especially for You	Enigma	1986
The Smithereens	Green Thoughts	Capitol	1988
The Smithereens	A Date with the Smithereens	RCA	1994
Chris Stamey	Instant Excitement	Coyote	1985
Wednesday Week	What We Had	Enigma	1987
James McMurtry	Where'd You Hide the Body	Columbia Records	1995
The Red Clay Ramblers	Yonder	RCR Records	2001

More complete list

Artist	Title	Label, Other notes
Rod Abernethy	Solo	Avanti
The Accelerators	Leave My Heart	Profile
The Accelerators	The Accelerators	Profile
Chris Allen	Goodbye Girl and the Big Apple Circus	Rosa
Chris Allen	Things Unbroken	Rosa
Arrogance	Give Us A Break	Sugarbush
Arrogance	Prolepsis	Sugarbush
Arrogance	Lively	Moonlight
The Backsliders	Southern Lines	Mammoth
Richard Barone	Primal Dream	Paradox/MCA
Matt Barrett	The Ruse	Moonlight
Beat Rodeo	Staying Out Late with Beat Rodeo	Zensor/IRS
Bell & Cooper	Forty Words for Fear	Gaff
Bell & Cooper	Postcards Out of the Blue	Dogjaw
The Blazers	Ten Easy Lessons	Moonlight
Jim Brock	Tropic Affaire	Reference
Brotherhood Of Peace	Cuttin' Loose	Avanti
Mark Bryan	30 On A Rail	Atlantic
The Buzz of Delight (Matthew Sweet)	Sound Castles	DB
Kim Carnes	Gypsy Honeymoon	EMI
The Carpenter Ants	Picnic with the Lord
The Carpenter Ants	Insect Ball	Alpo
The Carpenter Ants	Ants in Your Pants
Andrew Cash	Boomtown	Island Canada
David Childers and the Modern Don Juans	Room 23
David Childers	Run Skeleton Run	Ramseur Records
John Cody	Zelig Belmondo	Duke Street/MCA Canada
The Common	Stare Too Long	Balls City Blasting Co.[16]
The Connells	Darker Days	TVT
Marshall Crenshaw	Mary Jean & Nine Others	Warner Bros.
Kyle Davis	Raising Heroes	N2K Encoded Music
Pat DiNizio	Songs And Sounds	VelVel/BMG
Don Dixon	Most of The Girls Like To Dance...	Mega DK / Demon UK / Enigma US
Don Dixon	Romeo at Juilliard	Enigma
Don Dixon	EEE	Enigma
Don Dixon	Romantic Depressive	Sugar Hill
Don Dixon	The Invisible Man	Gadfly
Don Dixon	Notepad #38	DAR
Don Dixon	The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room	125 Records
Dumptruck	Positively Dumptruck	Big Time/RCA
emmet swimming	Arlington To Boston	Epic/Sony
The Fabulous Knobs	The Fabulous Knobs	Moonlight
Fast Annie	Unsafe At Any Speed	Chelsea
Fetchin Bones	Cabin Flounder	DB/Capitol
Fetchin Bones	Bad Pumpkin	DB/Capitol
Fetchin Bones	Galaxie 500	DB/Capitol
Moxy Früvous	Thornhill	Bottom Line/BMG
G.B. Leighton	Shake Them Ghosts	Sallycat
The Graphic	People In Glass	Dolphin
Greer	Between Two Worlds	Sugarbush; collector’s item in the UK; value US$300+
Guadalcanal Diary	Walking In The Shadow of The Big Man	Elektra
Guadalcanal Diary	2 x 4	Elektra
Guadalcanal Diary	Flip Flop	Elektra
The Hangups	Second Story	Restless/BMG
Hey Mavis	Red Wine	2010 Self-Release
Hey Mavis	Honey Man	2013 Self-Release
Hootie & the Blowfish	"City By A River"
Hootie & the Blowfish	Scattered Covered & Smothered	Atlantic
Hootie & the Blowfish	"Use Me"
In Tua Nua	The Long Acre	Virgin UK
Jesus: The Epic Mini-series	CBS TV soundtrack	Sparrow/Capitol
Marti Jones	Unsophisticated Time	A & M
Marti Jones	Match Game	A & M
Marti Jones	Used Guitars	A & M
Marti Jones	Any Kind of Lie	RCA
Marti Jones	Live At Spirit Square	Sugar Hill
Marti Jones	My Long-Haired Life	Sugar Hill
Marti Jones	My Tidy Doily Dream	DAR
Tommy Keene	Places That Are Gone	Dolphin
Tommy Keene	Back Again...Try	Dolphin
The Killer Whales	The Killer Whales	Moonlight
Toby King	Operator	Josie
Let's Active	Cypress	IRS
Original Cast Recording	King Mackerel & The Blues Are Running	Sugar Hill
Michael McDermott	Gethsemane	SBK
James McMurtry	Where'd You Hide The Body	Columbia/Sony
Jeff O’Kelley	Just Passing Through	Buddy Dog Records
The Pinetops	Above Ground And Vertical	Soundproof/Monolyth
The Pressure Boys	Rangledoon	Root-a-Doot
R.E.M.	Murmur	IRS
R.E.M.	Reckoning	IRS
R.E.M.	Dead Letter Office	IRS
The Reivers	Saturday	DB/Capitol
Rosavelt	The Story of Gasoline	Gaff
Bland Simpson	Follow You All Over the World	Gaff
Madison Smartt Bell & Wyn Cooper	40 Words for Fear	Gaff; with Jim Brock
The Smithereens	2011	E1 Music	The Smithereens	Especially for You	Enigma
The Smithereens	Green Thoughts	Enigma/Capitol
The Smithereens	A Date with The Smithereens	RCA
Sneakers	In The Red	Carnivorous
Treva Spontaine	S'il Vous Plait	Moonlight
Chris Stamey	InstantExcitement	Coyote/TwinTone/A & M
Surfaholics	Tiki-A-Go-Go	Pixler Discs
Matthew Sweet	Inside	Columbia
US Secret Service	US Secret Service	Moonlight
Jim Wann	Sings Johnny Mercer; Pardon My Southern Accent vol 1	Creekmore
Jim Wann	Sings Jim Wann; Pardon My Southern Accent vol 2	Creekmore
Wednesday Week	What We Had	Enigma
X-teens	Big Boy's Dream	Moonlight
X-teens	X-teens	Dolphin
X-teens	Love & Politics	Dolphin

Additional credits

Including co-production, engineering, etc.

Artist	Title	Label, Other notes
Bill Agle	Captiva	TGS (arrangements)
Mike Cross	Born in the Country	TGS
The Spongetones	Where-Ever Land
Rebecca Rippy	Telling Stories	vocals

Actor

• Played an alcoholic composer in Todd Graff's 2003 film Camp .
• Appeared onstage in the musical King Mackerel & the Blues Are Running: Songs & Stories of the North Carolina Coast, co-created with Jim Wann (Pump Boys and Dinettes) and Bland Simpson (of The Red Clay Ramblers).

References

1. Bledsoe, Wayne (7 October 2016). "Singer-songwrier-producer Don Dixon may be doing the Devil's work". Knoxville News. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
2. Himes, Geoffrey (18 March 1987). "Don Dixon, Out On His Own". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
3. Ira Robbins. "Fetchin' Bones". Trouser Press. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
4. Jack Leaver. "Talk Memphis". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
5. Gary Graff. "Gin Blossoms Return With Tom Petty-Inspired 'Break': Premiere". billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
6. Cummings, Jon (3 November 2008). "The Popdose Guide to Don Dixon". Popdose. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
7. Jim Wann. "King Mackerel & The Blues are Running". jimwann.com. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
8. archive (30 April 2000). "Don Dixon: The Invisible Man". No Depression. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
9. Harris, Will (2006). "Don Dixon: The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room". bull-eye.com. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
10. Cummings, Jon (2 March 2009). "The Popdose Guide to Marti Jones". Popdose. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
11. Wright, Renee (29 August 2015). "Don Dixon & the Jump Rabbits at the Evening Muse". AXS. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
12. archive. "Songs 101: The Lyrics of Don Dixon". pretty famous.com. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
13. Ward Law, Matt (29 October 2015). "The Remnants of the Day: Don Dixon and Marti Jones Make Albums at Their Own Pace". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
14. Borack, John (2014). "Some things old, some things new". Goldmine Magazine. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
15. Gerson, Ruth (6 June 2008). "Don Dixon: Songwriter, Producer, Musician in Living Stereo". Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
16. https://thecommon.hearnow.com/?fbclid=IwAR2n2S5V7VeyhvWe0i5QSeYE4JoKYKZx3VcbYs0Nla1BASREJyNKOn8_o4I

External links

• Don Dixon at AllMusic
• Don Dixon discography at Discogs