J Mascis NXNE Celebrity Interview

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http://www.nxne.com/index.cfm/2007/4/17 … -Interview

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Indie Rock Legend J Mascis Signs on for NXNE Celebrity Interview

Dinosaur Jr. to play set at Phoenix Concert Theatre
TORONTO – April 16, 2007 – Not many musicians can say they influenced an entire musical genre. Even fewer can say they were instrumental in launching a new one. But J Mascis, founding member and frontman for indie rock animals Dinosaur Jr., can say he did both. And us? Well, we can say we’ve snared the notoriously elusive bandleader into answering some questions at an extremely rare speaking engagement on Friday, June 8. J Mascis

The 13th annual North By Northeast Music Festival and Film Conference, Canada’s "Best New Music" festival, is excited to announce that J Mascis, not known for his love of the spotlight, has signed on for a celebrity interview on Friday, June 8, from noon in conference rooms B and C at the Holiday Inn on King (370 King W.). Mr. Mascis will be interviewed in an intimate setting by 102.1 The Edge radio personality Dave Bookman. As host of the Indie Hour (Wednesday nights, 11 pm), Mr. Bookman is an integral part of the Canadian indie music scene. Holders of a delegate badge (on sale online at https://www.nxne.com/reg) can attend this very special interview.

We can’t think of a better place for an indie rock legend such as Mr. Mascis to share his vast musical experience than at NXNE, a festival that continues to be instrumental in introducing the best in indie music to the world. The festival runs from June 7 to 10.

Not only did Mr. Mascis bring the art of the guitar solo to punk rock, but Dinosaur Jr.’s style – their furious mix of punk, metal and rock – is universally acknowledged as the trail blazing sonic precursor for the grunge movement. The Dinosaur Jr. sound would eventually set forth a course that would launch a thousand bands, most famously Nirvana. Mr. Mascis monolithic, blistering guitar solos are one of the highlights of Dinosaur Jr. albums, and a feature still more frequently associated with hard rock than with indie.

In conjunction with Mr. Mascis’s interview, Dinosaur Jr. will be performing a set at the Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne) on Friday, June 8. One hundred NXNE delegate badges and/or wristbands will gain admission to the show. Doors open at 6 pm. Tickets cost $34.50 and are on sale at Ticketmaster (414-870-8000), ticketmaster.ca, Rotate This (416-504-8447) and Sonic Temple (416-222-2004). The opening bands are Uncut and Awesome Colour.

This is a rare chance to catch one of the most influential bands of the indie rock movement. Formed in 1983, Dinosaur Jr.’s distinctive sound is characterized by their extensive use of feedback and distortion. The group not only influenced the indie scene, but also infiltrated popular culture. Their songs have appeared in several skateboarding videos, including Blind’s Video Days, Toy Machine’s Jump Off A Building and Alien Workshop’s Memory Screen, and Mr. Mascis recently designed a pair of Nike skate shoes using the band’s signature purple and silver colour scheme.

The original, and most highly regarded line-up of Dinosaur Jr. dissolved 1989 in a spectacularly nasty and well-documented fashion. Their totally unexpected, and extraordinary, reunion came about in 2005 when the original members Mascis (guitars, vocals), bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph shocked fans and came together in support of the re-issue of the bands first three records. The success of these shows snowballed and the band kept going, playing to sold-out audiences across the globe. They plan to release Beyond, the original line-up’s first new album of original material since the 1988 classic Bug, on May 1st on Fat Possum Records.

Mascis carried the Dinosaur Jr. moniker with him (with various lineups) until he retired the name in 1997. Since then he has been a music producer, film composer, playing both solo and with his band J Mascis + the Fog. More recently Mascis went back to playing the drums (as he did with Deep Wound, the hardcore precursor to Dinosaur Jr.) forming the 70s-inspired hard-rock project Witch. Mascis launched Witch in 2006 with long-time friend Dave Sweetapple and co-conspirator Kyle Thomas of the New England avant-folk outfit Feathers. Witch’s eponymous debut (on Tee Pee Records) is a superb slab of stoner rock that recalls the best of Sabbath at their Ozzy-fronted pinnacle. He has also appeared in such films as Gas Food Lodging (1992), Grace of My Heart (1996) and Things Behind the Sun (2001).

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