J Mascis + The Fog was an American rock band formed by
J Mascis
Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo art ...
in 2000, following the break-up of
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 Barlo ...
. The project released two albums; 2000's ''More Light'' and 2002's ''Free So Free''.
History
After fulfilling his contractual obligations to Blanco y Negro in the UK and Sire/
Reprise
In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...
in the US, Mascis holed up in his home studio in
Amherst, MA
Amherst () is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (although the county seat ...
, which he named Bob's Place after his pet
bulldog
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.''More Light'', an album title inspired by Mascis's growing interest in "hugging saint"
Ammachi
Mātā Amritānandamayī Devī (born Sudhamani Idamannel; 27 September 1953), often known as Amma ("Mother"), is an Indian Hindu spiritual leader, guru and humanitarian, who is revered as 'the hugging saint' by her followers.
In 2018, she w ...
. One of the pivotal songs on the album, "Ammaring", is also about Ammachi. Mascis signed with
Artemis Records
Artemis Records was a New York-based independent record label, founded in July 1999 by Danny Goldberg with Daniel Glass as President, and closed in April 2006. The label was acquired by E1 Entertainment.
Artemis had a leading share of the U.S. ...
to release the album.
To promote ''More Light'', Mascis enlisted former Dinosaur Jr. drummer George Berz and former Minutemen/ Firehose bassist Mike Watt. Mascis had worked with Watt several times before – most notably producing the final Firehose album '' Mr. Machinery Operator'' (1993), on which he also contributed some guitar and vocal parts, and contributing guitar and drum performances to several songs on Watt's first solo album ''
Ball-Hog or Tugboat?
''Ball-Hog or Tugboat?'' is the 1995 debut solo album by American musician Mike Watt, previously known for his work as the bass guitarist and songwriter for the punk rock groups Minutemen and fIREHOSE.
The title references the difference bet ...
''. They embarked on four separate tours between October 2000 and the spring of 2001, including a tour of Japan and Australia, a European tour, and two full tours of the US. The set lists would be a mix of songs from both ''More Light'' and the Dinosaur Jr. back catalog, along with a handful of Stooges songs and a version of Black Flag's "I've Had It" with lead vocals sung by Watt.
During their first European tour, J Mascis + The Fog participated in a John Peel session for
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
The Ruts
The Ruts (later known as Ruts DC) are an English reggae-influenced punk rock band, notable for the 1979 UK top 10 hit single "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was highly regarded and regularly pla ...
' "In a Rut". This session is the only commercially available studio recording of the 2000–2001 line-up featuring Watt, and, along with a later J Mascis solo session from 2002, was released on CD by the Strange Fruit label in 2003.
At some of the tour dates, the band were frequently joined onstage by former Stooges guitarist
Ron Asheton
Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 6, 2009) was an American musician , who was best known as the guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter for the rock band the Stooges. He formed the Stooges along with Iggy Pop and his brother, ...
, during which time Mascis and The Fog would play several Stooges songs. Sometimes the group would be joined by guest vocalists like
Evan Dando
Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and frontman of the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015 Dando was inducted into the Boston Music Award ...
and Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie; a London appearance by The Fog with Asheton and Gillespie was marred when a fan spat upon Gillespie, which provoked the singer into hitting the fan with a
microphone stand
A microphone stand is a free-standing mount for a microphone. It allows the microphone to be positioned in the studio, on stage or on location without requiring a person to hold it.
The most basic microphone stand is a ''straight stand''. It u ...
as The Fog and Asheton were playing "No Fun". The Gillespie incident notwithstanding, these appearances by Asheton later led to a one-time supergroup of Mascis, Watt, Asheton, and Ron's brother and fellow Stooge
Scott Asheton
Scott Randolph Asheton (August 16, 1949 – March 15, 2014) was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band the Stooges.
Asheton was born in Washington, D.C. and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan with his family at the age of ...
, which led to the reformation of the Stooges themselves with vocalist Iggy Pop and Watt replacing the late original Stooges bassist Dave Alexander.
A second European tour behind ''More Light'' was cut short when the band was involved in a van accident en route to a Swedish concert. Mascis suffered minor back injuries but rebounded from them fairly quickly and began work on the second J Mascis + The Fog album ''Free So Free'', released in 2002. Around the "Free So Free" tour, Mascis enlisted Kyle Spence on drums and
Dave Schools
David Allen Schools (born December 11, 1964) is a bass player and founding member of American rock band Widespread Panic. He is also a record producer, songwriter and journalist with articles published in a wide variety of music magazines. Schoo ...
(from
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and g ...
) on bass. This would be the final touring incarnation.
In 2003, the house and studio owned by Mascis burned down.
In 2005, Mascis put The Fog project on hold. This was mainly due the reformation of the original Dinosaur Jr. lineup to coincide with the re-release on the
Merge
Merge, merging, or merger may refer to:
Concepts
* Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road
* Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program
* Merger (politics), the comb ...
label of their first three albums (which had previously been on
Homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
* Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...
and SST).
In December 2009, Mascis played a few shows in England with The Fog, using the Spence/Schools lineup. Mascis and Spence also briefly reconvened in March 2012 – this time with Hayride bassist Kevin Sweeney – to perform at the Alyeska Resort Daylodge in Girdwood, Alaska.
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...