Monday throwback: The Weekly raps with J Mascis.

J Mascis is gearing up to release his new record, Tied to a Star, and go on tour (See link to story below). A few years ago, the Dinosaur Jr. frontman hit Big Sur. The Weekly caught up with Mascis the night before he played the Henry Miller Library. Check out what he had to say. 

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/j-mascis-talks-new-mellow-solo-album-tied-to-a-star-20140611

Where have you been vacationing?

San Ramon, California.

Give me some highlights.

Ummm…who knows? I’m exhausted. I’ve been running around with a 3-year-old. We saw an octopus at the aquarium. I guess that was exciting.

What made you decide to cover Edie Brickell’s “Circle?”

The [Dinosaur Jr.] drummer used to play it in the band cause we were touring when it came out and Megan [Jasper], who runs Sub Pop, was our t-shirt person at the time and she suggested it. She thought it would be a good song. I hadn’t listened to it much since then but it was played so much that I went from hating it to liking it. I play it quite a bit now. I might put it out on a 7” soon. (Check out Mascis playing the tune in Philly, below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOQmMzn7djw

Are you a Paul Simon fan?

Ahhhh…a little bit. Not too much. I think he’s interesting somehow but some of the stuff I hate and some of it I like. 

How does it feel to play without the noise of Dinosaur Jr. behind you? Do you ever feel ultra exposed?

Yeah, it’s harder. I’m getting used to it cause it gets easier the more you do it. But it’s definitely a lot harder to try to create the energy all by yourself. It has lower volume and stuff.

Thurston Moore also just released an acoustic album. Why do you think noisemakers from the ’80s and ’90s have turned to acoustic music? (Mascis is close with Sonic Youth. In fact, Kim Gordon did the lettering on his newest solo album, Several Shades of Why.)

I think everybody likes different types of music. It’s like taking a break to rest the ears a little bit and explore the mellower side of things.

Has family life made you softer?

I don’t know.

How did you hook up with Kurt Vile?

I just asked him because he’d been working with the same engineer that I’d been working with for years so they both came over to the house and recorded some stuff. (Check out Vile playing with Mascis below.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dbm53BhGHA

What about Vile’s music drew you in?

I guess it’s some kind of atmosphere he creates or something. The sound is not something I’d do myself but I wanted something more atmospheric.

Did you guys have any fun on tour together?

All you do is drive, play music, eat and sleep. There’s not much time to do anything.

How did you feel the first time you heard Several Shades of Why in full after it was mastered and released?

Alright.

Any criticisms?

It could always be better but it came out pretty good.

You’re going to be doing a bunch of shows where you play Bug in its entirety. What meaning does that album have for you?

It’s interesting because it’s my least favorite album so in that way it will be interesting. Some of the songs we’ve never played before and I know people like it more than I do so it will be interesting to see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzKDRPyvQr0

What other album would you rather play?

We did it once with You’re Living All Over Me and that’s more appropriate to me. The same guy asked us to do Bug back then but we steered him to You’re Living All Over Me. Now he’s back asking for Bug and I know a lot of people want to hear it so we’ll play it.

How do you prepare for something you’re not that enthusiastic about?

We gotta practice. There are a lot of lyrics.

Is it true that Henry Rollins will be interviewing you onstage before the shows?

Yeah. 

What’s that about?

I don’t know. We asked [Rollins] to do spoken word for this benefit concert and we asked him if he wanted to do any more shows. He was more interested in doing this interview thing than spoken word. It seems so bizarre that somehow it’s gotta be entertaining.

Have you ever been to Big Sur?

No.

Are you a fan of Henry Miller?

No. I often play at Provincetown in Cape Cod and [Miller] has a house there and everyone’s like, “You know that’s Henry Miller’s house?”

What’s the one thing you like best about music these days?

[Long pause] I’m glad I find something good that comes out that’s new and still happening. It seems like there’s so much stuff, it’s harder to fish through to find the good stuff.

Where do you find new music these days?

Usually from friends’ recommendations and seeing bands live. I like this band Soft Moon (see below) that somebody told me about and I saw them at SXSW. They’re pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9t8Oex9BpQ&feature=related 

What do you have planned for the future?

The summer’s pretty booked up but not sure after that. I’ll just try to write more songs or something or other.