{"id":8927,"date":"2026-10-18T14:12:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T14:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8927"},"modified":"2026-10-18T14:12:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T14:12:31","slug":"j-mascis-dinosaur-jr-fender-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=8927","title":{"rendered":"J Mascis has nothing better to do"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis is known as something of a slacker guitar god. He stands stoically onstage, barely moving, as he seemingly effortlessly works through deft guitar solos and lopsided riffs. Unfortunately, Mascis has developed a similar reputation as an interview subject, quietly sitting and offering deft nonanswers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s not to say that Mascis can\u2019t be funny or charming. As our interview was winding down and I was thanking him for his time, he started to loosen up a bit. He told me about his youth as a mini golf \u201centhusiast.\u201d \u201cI had a 3-foot putt for the win\u201d at a mini-golf tournament, he said, but \u201cthat\u2019s when I realized that I was a choker \u2026 When I was 11, I choked.\u201d And that\u2019s when he decided, \u201cI should maybe not do sports.\u201d So, instead of becoming a professional mini golfer, Mascis went on to form one of the most important bands in alternative rock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While most of his contemporaries have called it quits or are just going through the motions onstage for a paycheck, the original lineup of Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow, and drummer Patrick Murphy are still regularly putting out new LPs of reliable rockers. But Mascis says there isn\u2019t any grand secret to the band\u2019s longevity. Over 40 years deep, he says, \u201cI guess we have nothing better to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What, for an interviewer, can come off as frustrating indifference might actually be the key to Mascis\u2019 staying power \u2014 for better or worse. Creatively and professionally, his modus operandi seems to be rolling with the punches and not overthinking things.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For the new record There Near<\/em><\/a>, he said, the band \u201cjust didn\u2019t push it.\u201d There were no eight-hour marathon studio sessions. They weren\u2019t meticulously fine-tuning basslines or trading Logic sessions back and forth remotely. Mascis would roll in with fully prepared demos and the band would immediately start recording, even as Barlow and Murph were still learning their parts, \u201con the off chance that it comes together quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The same sort of relaxed approach also informs Mascis\u2019 gear choices. He said, \u201cI am kind of a tube purist guy, but it\u2019s just also kind of inconvenient sometimes,\u201d so he uses whatever works. That means while he mixes and masters to tape, he\u2019s also tracking in Pro Tools.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When it comes to designing signature instruments with Fender, he\u2019s just as easygoing. \u201cI try to, you know, do the important things that I want, but not make it too complicated \u2026 I think it\u2019s better to keep it kind of cheap \u2026 just so people can do what they want with it.\u201d The neck is his biggest concern, he said. \u201cI\u2019m a sucker for jumbo frets and, you know, if the neck is good and the frets and stuff, that\u2019s the main thing. Most of the other stuff, you know, you can swap out if you want.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But that somewhat lackadaisical attitude has also caught him some heat. Two years ago, Mascis released a video for his solo track \u201cOld Friends<\/a>\u201d that was made using generative AI. Speaking with The Verge<\/em>, he finally publicly addressed the controversy. \u201cYeah, just some kid did it,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought it looked cool, so\u2026 Yeah, that\u2019s dipping my toes into the… I don\u2019t do much with videos.\u201d He trailed off repeatedly while answering before finally admitting, \u201cBut yeah, I guess that\u2019s a slippery slope.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Similarly, he said that while he doesn\u2019t believe there is a place for AI in music making, we have to acknowledge that it\u2019s here whether we like it or not, and \u201cI guess we\u2019re learning how to deal with it. And hopefully it won\u2019t kill us all.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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About the only thing that Mascis could muster strong feelings about was the band\u2019s infamously loud live shows. (Dinosaur Jr.\u2019s recent performance at the tiny Baby\u2019s All Right is what finally convinced me to start packing earplugs.) \u201cI noticed the audience too seems more desperate for something kind of reality-based,\u201d he said, letting a touch of his purist heart show. \u201cWe don\u2019t have in-ear monitors or click tracks. We have amps and you know, just, I think some people are responding to the reality of it. Like they really need something that\u2019s not, you know, computer-generated or something.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He bemoaned the lack of amps onstage (Mascis plays in front of three full stacks, even in a 280-person-capacity club) and the reliance on high-tech front-of-house setups. \u201cIt\u2019s very weird. Now, soundmen create the sound instead of capture the sound,\u201d he said. Of course, his recognition of the visceral power of live music and directly connecting with an audience makes his indifference to AI all the more baffling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Dinosaur Jr. are currently touring the US<\/a> behind There Near<\/em>, which is out now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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