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Freak scene

The ongoing saga of Dinosaur Jr.

By: MATT ASHARE

It’s been more than a year since Dinosaur Jr. — the original line-up of singer/guitarist J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow, and drummer Murph — announced they’d be re-forming for the first time since Mascis kicked Barlow out of the band in 1989. Given the openly aired animosity that persisted in the wake of Barlow’s firing, it hardly seemed likely the reunion would last. But with Merge reissuing the band’s first three albums last year, and Dino entering the studio to record a new one, Beyond, there’s been more than enough interest to keep the reunited outfit busy. Maybe it helps that Barlow, who went on to have his own success as the leader of Sebadoh and the Folk Implosion, lives in LA whereas Mascis and Murph have remained in the Northampton/Amherst area. Or maybe Mascis has just mellowed with age. With the band set to play a two-night stand at the Paradise on November 23 and 24, I checked in on him at his Amherst home. . . .

Did you have any idea the reunion would last this long?
Yeah, I guess it’s gone on longer than I thought it would.

So what did you anticipate?
I don’t know. Not much. It seemed like we’d do a few gigs and they’d seem to go all right so we’d do a few more gigs, and it just sorta went on and on like that. There wasn’t any plan.

Is this current round of touring the last?
I don’t know.

Do you guys talk about it?
No. Not really. We have a gig in England in May of next year, and we might go to Japan or something.

How often do you see each other?
Well, I mean, we saw each other all summer, so . . .

Okay, what’s the last time you were all in the same room together?
I guess when we played Conan. I’m not sure when that was. Or, maybe, then we played in Portland, Oregon. So our last show was in Portland, Oregon, in September. It was the beginning of September — September 15 or something.

Do you talk to Lou regularly?
No.

So that’s all done through management?
Yeah, mostly.

Have the two of you buried the hatchet, so to speak?
Uh, haven’t really thought about it too much.

I remember you saying that Lou never talked much in the early days of the band, and when he did start talking, you didn’t like him very much. Do you remember saying that?
Yeah, I said that.

Do you still feel that way?
I mean, yeah, that’s what happened back then.

Have things changed?
I still liked him better when he didn’t talk. Murph’s always talking now when we’re all together in the room. He’s always been an important part of the equation.

Do you have plans to do any more recording?
No plans.

Are you doing anything outside of Dinosaur Jr.?
Oh sure, I mean, I was trying to record with this other band I was in, Witch. We were trying to do something in the studio this month or next month. It’s not very similar to Dinosaur Jr. I play drums. We have one album already. And I just played drums on another record by MV & EE with the Golden Road. It’s on Ecstatic Peace.

How did that come about?
Just from hanging out. You know it’s kind of the same people at all of the shows out here — the same 20 or 30 people. And I ended up playing guitar on some of Thurston Moore’s new album. He recorded it at my house.

Do you hang out with him regularly?
Yeah, there are a lot of shows — like, you know the weirder noise-type Thurston shows go on out here.

So you all go out together?
Yeah, sometimes.

How else do you spend your off time?
Well I just had a kid — a boy named Rory. So that’s taking up all of my time. It doesn’t leave much time to do anything else.

Has the dynamic of the Barlow/Murph Dinosaur Jr. Changed much since the early days?
It has, actually. We’re all different people. And I think Murph is more into the band now. Back then he wasn’t sure we were any good. He didn’t take it that seriously and stuff. And now he realizes that we’re good or something. And back then Lou was really more into the band as much as Murph was kind of nonchalant about the band. It seemed more like a life-and-death kind of think to be in a band or something to Lou. Now Lou has other creative outlets, and he doesn’t think of Dinosaur as the biggest thing in his life or something.

How about you?
Me? I don’t know. It’s harder for me to judge where I’m at. I actually like playing live more now than I used to. Before I’d only want to play three gigs and then have a day off. And now I don’t care if we play every day. I just somehow enjoy it more now. I used to think of it as more of a burden. I think I used to think of everything as more of a burden.

Copyright © 2007 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group

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