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Cool giveaways for J’s OZ fans, couple CD’s & tickets to a show, hope it’s not to late…
A Man Of Perpetual Motion J Mascis :aliensmile:
It’s almost de riguer to start a J Mascis article with the statement that he really, really doesn’t like doing interviews. He is a man who definitively prefers to let the music do the talking. It’s not that he’s particularly shy, either – I’d met Mascis last time he was in Adelaide in 2001 and had a brief but entirely pleasant, pressure-free conversation with him – but start interrogating him about his music and immediately it all goes to hell.
And that’s unfortunate because ‘Free So Free’, the second record he’s recorded under the banner of J Mascis & The Fog, is a cracker of an album – I’d say his best since Dinosaur Jr’s ‘Where You Been?’ in 1993 – chock-filled with memorable chorus’ and big, searing guitar solos. What’s more, the fact that he’s about to appear at the Governor Hindmarsh should be a matter of public rejoicing, and I’m pretty chuffed to be talking to a man that I’ve admired since first hearing Freak Scene as a callow indiekid.
Mascis, however, is having a "medium" day. "It was supposed to be…" he begins, in a cracked drawl, "…sunnier." He pauses for an uncomfortably long time before adding "But now it’s raining."
Mascis constantly sounds as though you’ve just woken him and that he’s about to go back to sleep. His extended pauses don’t help – at first I suspect that the question I’ve just asked is so far beneath contempt that he’s having trouble gathering the strength to answer, then suspect that he’s just dozed off. It’s not that he’s rude, or dismissive, or unpleasant: it’s just abundantly clear that given the choice between talking to some twat from Adelaide and having extensive dental surgery, he’d be putting on a bib and edging toward the chair.
Both ‘Free So Free’ and it’s 2000 predecessor ‘More Light’ are credited to J Mascis & The Fog, although, they’re solo records in all but name much like the final Dinosaur Jr records. Why not simply credit them to Mascis alone? "’Cause it’s like a band-sounding thing, I don’t know," he sighs. Would a J Mascis solo record be more of an introspective acoustic affair? "Maybe."
You see what I mean? I’m all but sweating with the effort of drawing him out, asking if there’s a current Fog lineup since he’s doing this tour solo. "There is a Fog," he croaks, "I just can’t afford to bring them down there. It’s just me alone. It’s just like three weeks or something, I don’t really have a plan, I guess. It’s just a couple of guitars and a couple of pedals, like a looping pedal so I can jam with myself."
Mascis promises all the hits’n’memories, or as he puts it: "I go through my whole recorded history, pretty much."
He warms up slightly when I ask him about the subject of freedom, which has clearly been on his mind a lot. ‘Free So Free’ boasts titles like Freedom, Set Us Free and the title track, and almost every song has the word "free" in it somewhere. Does he feel some sort of liberation at the moment? "It’s more the lack of freedom from the government here since September 11," he says, with as close to a snarl as I suspect he could muster. "Especially now, it’s ridiculous. It’s just feeling claustrophobic, and we have less freedom."
It’s not all in his head either. Mascis has experienced the new American paranoia firsthand. "It’s just weird things," he shrugs, with a dark chuckle. "like I went to park in a parking garage in Boston yesterday, and [the staff] are like ‘where are you going?’, and I’m like ‘um, what do you mean?’ I’m going to eat at some restaurant, and they’re asking ‘do you have photo ID,’ just to park somewhere."
And with that I let him go, hoping that he’ll feel more animated at the Gov. I’ve assured him that he’ll be able to park wherever he likes.
Andrew P Street
J Mascis performs solo at the Governor Hindmarsh on Tues 13 May. ‘Free So Free’ is out now through Dew Process/UMG. See Prize Frenzyâ„¢ for giveaways.
Thanks for the interview. Allison. I am always amazed at how frustrated jounalists become with J when he doesn’t do what they want or hold discussion in an accustomed manner for someone in his position. What’s worse is that the journalists, in frustration, begin projecting this or that onto J, musing to fill in the dead space. JAFO.
WOW, J’s on the cover of that mag
nice to see so many Australian interviews with J
although this one… it looks like the guy who wrote it didn’t know many new things to ask. I guess it should be quite boring to talk about "Feedom is the most used word on FsF" (or the skydiving issue) again and again and again …
It seems that interviewers think that J is the only one who is not talkative enough when there`s alot of musicians in interviews who say very little for example John Coltrane thought the music spoke for itself then him talking about what this song title refers to,etc. I also heard that Lou Reed does`nt say much either.
Interviewers:think up some better questions
:slap:It’d be funny if we started keeping track of how many times he has to explain his ‘September 11th…claustrophobic’ theme behind the album title. Journalists should track down interviews with him before just blindly asking the same questions he’s been getting for months.
Here’s another small interview, without new revelations, just the same questions again
I think it must be hard to come over with some new reply to all those repeating questions, but I never read, that J replies exactly with the same words to one question.
I guess that’s why he doesn’t appear to be talkative: he has to think hard about how to vary the words in his replies
:aliensmile:But obviously, the political issues seem to be really important for him.
J Mascis And The Fog
Freedumb [:?
; FC]As leader of the seminal punk band Dinosaur Jr, J Mascis became one of the most admired and influential musicians in the indie world. With the acknowledgment that even truly great things must come to an end, Mascis pulled stumps on Dinosaur Jr in 1999. Since then his attentions have turned to his new outfit, J Mascis And The Fog. Speaking to Mascis – the quietly spoken man with the lazy drawl – CHRIS HAVERCROFT found out about J Mascis And The Fog’s latest release Free So Free.
Mascis plays most of the instruments on the Fog records. After the years of being in one of the loudest indie rock bands around (Dinosaur Jr), how has Mascis found being basically a one man band? "It’s something that I did during the Living All Over Me to Green Mind period of Dinosaur before I had a band play on the later records," Mascis begins. "I just love drums. My favourite is drums. I find it easier to sing to the drums that I have played so it just makes sense to do the Fog records that way."
J Mascis And The Fog is a more acoustic based entity than the blistering punk of Dinosaur Jr. Mascis admits that you are a product of all the music you are exposed to. Does he see the difference in the sound of the Fog due to his exposure to a greater range of music than the punk music that appeared to influence Dinosaur? "Well actually Dinosaur was supposed be country music played loud," Mascis says matter of factly.
Much has been written about Mascis and his love of the game of golf. For the bio that accompanies Free So Free, it mentions that he has a new found passion – skydiving. Mascis is brutally honest when asked about his latest interest. "The guy who wrote the bio made that up," he states bluntly. "He ran out of sports that I play that he could write about so he made that one up."
So with that misconception out of the way, it’s on to the more obvious theme of freedom that runs throughout the record. "I see freedom as being the ultimate," he continues. "It’s of the utmost importance. Particularly in America at the moment, where more and more of our freedoms are being taken away. Things have really changed over the last few years."
With the events of September 11 clearly influencing the content of the songs on Free So Free, Mascis obviously has an opinion on the current assault on Iraq. "I’m saddened that we have an unelected President," he says. "I couldn’t be more disappointed that the Supreme Court allowed Bush to become President. When the last bastion of democracy – the Supreme Court – appears to be corrupt then I rapidly lose hope. There is nobody that I speak to that is in favour of this war. It’s very sad what is happening in the USA." [never read a statement of J cocerning the war, before; FC]So, as important – what to expect from a Mascis solo show: "You can expect to hear some of the tunes from all of the eras and probably a little bit of fuzz." And there you have it.
J Mascis will be in Perth for a solo show at the Rosemount Hotel on Tuesday, May 6. Free So Free is out now through Universal Music.
"Valentine Frankenstein" wrote:And that’s unfortunate because ‘Free So Free’, the second record he’s recorded under the banner of J Mascis & The Fog, is a cracker of an album – I’d say his best since Dinosaur Jr’s ‘Where You Been?’ in 1993.This is where I stopped reading.
hey rambleon,
it’s the usual press photo with Bob, but cool to see J on a magazine cover, anyway
[img]http://www.dbmagazine.com.au/303/303cover.jpg[/img]
cool thanks ! sorry it’s taken me so long to reply … my computer went a bit insane or something when i was away and we only got our internet up and running last sunday and our email only a few mins ago … and we got back from our US hol on the 20th of may !!! … ugh
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