MUSICBLITZ

MP3 Exclusives

New Arrivals

Alt-Country
Alternative
Blues
Electronic
Jambands
Jazz
Metal
Pop
Punk
R&B
Rap/Hip Hop
Reggae
Rock

Top Downloads
Features Archive
Contests
Control Panel
MUSICBLITZ Alert!

METALBLITZ
REGGAEBLITZ
BLUESBLITZ
Musician's Friend

Alt-Country
Alternative
Blues
Electronic
Jambands
Jazz
Hip Hop
Metal
Pop
Punk
R&B
Reggae
Rock

Getting Started
Free Players

	Welcome !

J. Mascis + The Fog
J Mascis has been called "The Godfather of Alternative Rock," and analyzing the massive influence that he's had on the genre, it's hard to disagree. Born Joseph D. Mascis, he formed Dinosaur in 1983. Still in high school at the time, he hooked up with bassist Lou Barlow, and initially played drums before recruiting Emmett "Murph" Murphy and moving to guitar. By 1985, Dinosaur had released a self-titled EP, and were starting to gain a cult following. A lawsuit from a bunch of real rock dinosaurs (ex-members of the Jefferson Airplane and Country Joe & the Fish) necessitated a name change in 1986, and the band quickly became Dinosaur Jr.

In 1987, Dinosaur Jr. signed to seminal indie label SST, and their first album, You're Living All Over Me, was an immediate critical success, with Mascis' distinctive, feedback-heavy guitar drawing rave reviews. While their success continued to grow, though, the personal relationship between Mascis and Barlow deteriorated, and by the time 1988's Bug was released, Mascis and Barlow rarely spoke to each other. In 1989, Mascis told Barlow that Dinosaur Jr. was breaking up, then reformed the band without him the very next day.

Barlow moved on to form the indie rock giants Sebadoh, but Dinosaur Jr. soldiered on with a variety of guest bassists. The band released a cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" late in 1989, and the college radio success of the single led directly to the band signing with Sire Records. Mascis waited two years to work on another full-length, instead producing acts like Buffalo Tom and collaborating with the likes of Sonic Youth. Green Mind finally emerged in 1991, and was recorded almost entirely by Mascis, despite the band finally taking on a full-time bassist in Mike Johnson. They headed out on the road with a fledgling band from Seattle called Nirvana, but before long, their Nevermind shot into the stratosphere. It seemed a sure bet that Dinosaur Jr. would follow Nirvana into the limelight, but instead, the band quietly released an EP, Whatever's Cool With Me, and Mascis took time off to score and appear in Alison Anders' film Gas Food Lodging.

When Dinosaur Jr. re-emerged with 1993's classic Where You Been, it was to their greatest commercial success to date. Critics played up Mascis as a founding father of alt.rock, and for the first time, a Dinosaur Jr. record hit the pop charts, peaking at number 50. The band accepted a slot on the third Lollapalooza Tour, but soon after, Murph quit the band to join the Lemonheads.

1994's Without A Sound was again almost entirely a Mascis affair. MTV and modern rock radio jumped on the single, "Feel The Pain," and the album did well (though not quite as well as Where You Been). Over the next two years, Mascis again took to solo work, releasing his first "official" solo album, Martin & Me, and again scoring and appearing in an Alison Anders film, Grace of My Heart. The experience seemed to solidify Mascis' independent streak, as he cut Johnson loose and recorded the final Dinosaur Jr. album, 1997's Hand It Over, completely solo.

Though Dinosaur Jr. was a solo project by this point, Mascis decided to put the name to rest, feeling it had "just kinda run its course." When he next surfaced in 2000, it was as J Mascis + the Fog. While the "band" is again ostensibly a solo project, the resultant record, More Light, does feature contributions from such friends as My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields and Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard, and the touring version of the Fog includes indie legend Mike Watt on bass.


J. Mascis + The Fog	Where'd You Go?	MP3	Alternative
Where'd J. Mascis go after the end of Dinosaur Jr.? Back into the studio, out on the road, and to Ultimatum Music for More Light, the must-hear first effort from his new band, J. Mascis + the Fog. The first single, "Where'd You Go," is a guitar-charged track you gotta download!