J Mascis

J Mascis (/ˈmæskɪs/ MASS-kiss; born Joseph Donald Mascis, Jr.; December 10, 1965) is an American musician. He is best known as the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. and described as a figurehead of grunge. He also developed a solo career releasing six albums while also playing drums on other projects. His latest album Tied to a Star was released in August 2014. As a notable guitarist he was ranked number 86 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", and in 2012 was also ranked 5th in Spin's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Biography

Mascis was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, the son of a dentist and grew up in the same area together with his sister Patty and an older brother. His family name is Italian, from the province of Foggia, in the region of Apulia in the south of Italy. His mother, Theresa (an avid golfer), died in 1985 while his father, Joseph Sr., died in 1993.

At the age of 17, Mascis joined the short-lived hardcore group Deep Wound with Lou Barlow, Scott Helland, and Charlie Nakajima in the early 1980s. He started out playing drums, but moved to guitar when he went on to found Dinosaur Jr. with bassist Barlow and drummer Emmett Jefferson "Patrick" Murphy (aka "Murph") in 1984 and achieved national success. His vocals have been described as "Neil Young-like" and his guitar riffs as "monolithic". Mascis dismissed Barlow from Dinosaur Jr. in 1989 and over the next eight years recorded several more Dinosaur Jr. albums, as well as the 1996 acoustic solo album Martin + Me. In 1989 Kurt Cobain suggested that Mascis join Nirvana.

Dinosaur Jr.

Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name.

The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums). After three albums on independent labels earned the band a reputation as one of the formative influences on American alternative rock, creative tension led to Mascis firing Barlow, who later formed Sebadoh and Folk Implosion. His replacement, Mike Johnson came aboard for three major-label albums. Murph eventually quit, with Mascis taking over drum duties on the band's albums before the group disbanded in 1997. The original lineup reformed in 2005, releasing three albums thereafter.

Mascis's drawling vocals and distinct guitar sound, hearkening back to 1960s and '70s classic rock and characterized by extensive use of feedback and distortion, were highly influential in the alternative rock movement of the 1990s.

Ernie Ball

Ernie Ball (born Roland Sherwood Ball; August 30, 1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American entrepreneur, musician, and innovator, widely acclaimed as a revolutionary in the development of guitar-related products. He began as a club and local television musician and small business entrepreneur, building an international business in guitars and accessories that would eventually gross US$40 million a year.

Early years

Ball was born Roland Sherwood Ball in Santa Monica, California, USA, and grew up in a musical family, the son of Frances (née Shankland) and Roland Adelbert Ball. His paternal grandfather, Ernest Ball, wrote the standard, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" and his father was a car salesman who taught Hawaiian steel guitar on the side. Although Ball initially picked up the steel at age nine to please his father, he became bored and gave it up. In his early teens he began to take a renewed interest in the instrument, practicing as many as three hours a day. Within a year he was a member of the Musicians Union.

Dinosaur

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, 231.4 million years ago, and were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for 135 million years, from the start of the Jurassic (about 200 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (66 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of most dinosaur groups at the end of the Mesozoic Era. Until the late 20th century, all groups were believed to be extinct; however, the fossil record indicates that birds are modern feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from theropod ancestors during the Jurassic Period. As such, birds were the only dinosaurs to survive the mass extinction event.

Several Shades of Why

Several Shades of Why is the debut solo studio album by Dinosaur Jr frontman J Mascis, released March 15, 2011 on Sub Pop Records.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by J Mascis. 

Bonus tracks

Personnel

References