J. Mascis’ multiple personalities
by Sarah Rodman

Friday, October 27, 2000

J. Mascis disbanded Dinosaur Jr. in 1997. In its last few years, the beloved guitar-rock band consisted of one member, J. Mascis. The Amherst native has just released a great new album, “More Light” – which sounds a lot like a Dinosaur Jr. album – with a new band called The Fog. Who is in The Fog, you ask? J. Mascis.

For the purposes of his six-week tour, which comes to the Middle East on Halloween, temporary membership has been granted to former fireHOSE/Minutemen bassist Mike Watt and Dino Jr. drummer George Berz.

Why The Fog and not just Dinosaur Jr.? “Why not,” Mascis answers by phone from his New York home in his usual laconic but genial fashion.

And why invent a phantom band name? Why not just J. Mascis? “Because it’s a band-sounding thing and I’ve been doing some acoustic shows,” he says. “So if you saw `J. Mascis and The Fog’ you’d know it’s a band, but if you saw `J. Mascis’ you would think it’s just acoustic.”

“More Light” is anything but acoustic. It’s classic Mascis, with lacerating guitar solos, chugging rhythms, his offhandedly compelling vocals and, for the first time, some elegant piano passages. Amazingly, the guitar hero played these himself, in his first pass at keyboards. “Well, I’ve banged around on them before,” he concedes, “but I just play the white keys.”

As for it sounding like much of his previous material, Mascis says simply, “It’s not bad or good if they sound similar. I’m just trying to make something I would want to listen to.”

Original Source – http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/sara10272000.htm

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