Jad Fair (born June 9, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist,

graphic artist A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, p ...

, and founding member of

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

group

Half Japanese Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair around 1975, sometime after the family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playi ...

Biography

Fair was born in

Coldwater, Michigan Coldwater is a city in Branch County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County, located in the center of the southern border of Michigan. The city is surrounded by Co ...

. In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi group

. Since then, Half Japanese has released nearly 30 records. Besides Half Japanese, Fair performs and records as a solo artist, and collaborates with artists such as Terry Adams, Kramer, Norman Blake,

Kevin Blechdom Kevin Blechdom (born Kristin Grace Erickson; 1978 in Florida) is an American experimental electronic musician and performance artist. She is based in Santa Cruz, California. Early life and education Kristin Grace Erickson was born in 1978 in Fl ...

Isobel Campbell Isobel Campbell (born 27 April 1976) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and cellist. She rose to prominence at age nineteen as a member of the indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, but left the group to pursue a solo career, first as The Gentle Waves ...

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

, DQE,

Steve Fisk Steve Fisk is an American, Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. As a musician, he has been in bands such as the instrumental alternative/indie rock band Pell Mell and the electronic band Pigeonhed. He has long been as ...

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

, God Is My Co-Pilot,

Richard Hell Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and T ...

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...

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 arti ...

Jason Willett Jason Willett is an American musician, known largely for his work with experimental rock groups including Half Japanese, Can Openers, Pleasant Livers, X-Ray Eyes, The Dramatics (Martha Colburn and Jason Willett), The Jaunties, The Attitude Robots ...

Monster Party ''Monster Party'' is a video game for the NES, released in North America in 1989 by Bandai. It was and remains a relatively obscure platform game for the console, having a small following among some players. The game both pays homage to and parod ...

Weird Paul Petroskey Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People * "Weird Al" Yankovic ...

R. Stevie Moore Robert Steven Moore (born January 18, 1952) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter who pioneered lo-fi (or "DIY") music. Often called the "godfather of home recording", he is one of the most recognized artists of the cas ...

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...

The Pastels The Pastels are an indie rock group from Glasgow formed in 1981. They were a key act of the Scottish and British independent music scenes of the 1980s, and are specifically credited for the development of an independent and confident music scen ...

Phono-Comb Phono-Comb was a Canadian instrumental/modern surf rock group that formed in 1993 in Toronto. History Phono-Comb first materialized when Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet played with Jad Fair when he was performing in Toronto to promote a film a ...

Steve Shelley Steven Jay Shelley (born June 23, 1962) is an American drummer. He is best known as the longtime drummer of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, for whom he played from 1985 until their 2011 disbandment. Biography Shelley was born in Midland, ...

, Strobe Talbot,

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Bellshill near Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), all of whom shared ...

The Tinklers The Tinklers are a band from Baltimore who have been together since 1979. The group consists of Charles Brohawn and Chris Mason, both of whom sing, play guitar, and percussion instruments of varying degrees of quality (including cigar boxes, spo ...

Moe Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...

Bill Wells Bill Wells (born c. 1963)Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Bill Wells", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, is a Scottish bassist, pianist, guitarist and composer. Biography Wells is completely self-taught, and began performing in clubs in ...

, Adult Rodeo, Lumberob,

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...

, and

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

. In 1982 Fair released his first solo work, the single "The Zombies of Mora-Tau" followed by the full-length album ''Everyone Knew ... But Me'' one year later. Besides his musical career Fair is also active as a visual artist, drawings, as well as

papercutting Papercutting or paper cutting is the art of paper designs. Art has evolved all over the world to adapt to different cultural styles. One traditional distinction most styles share is that the designs are cut from a single sheet of paper as oppo ...

s. He took up papercutting to alleviate boredom while touring on the road. Many of the album covers are made by Fair. Four books of Fair's art have been published. Exhibitions of Fair's paper cuts and drawings have taken place in New York, Tokyo, Glasgow, Austin, Paris, London, Houston, The Hague at the State-X New Forms festival, and in Nantes at

Le Lieu Unique The lieu unique is a center for contemporary culture located in Nantes, France. Opened at the beginning of the 21st century, it is housed in a former biscuit factory at the center of the city. It was founded by Jean Blaise, directed by Patrick Gyg ...

together with Daniel Johnston. ''

It's Spooky ''It's Spooky'' is a collaborative album by musicians Jad Fair (of the band Half Japanese) and Daniel Johnston. It was first released in 1989 on 50 Skidillion Watts Records, under the title ''Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston.'' Although receiving pr ...

'' is a 1989 collaboration album by

and Jad Fair. '' Strange but True'' is a collaborative album between the band

and Jad Fair. It was released by Matador Records in 1998. Song titles on the album were taken from outrageous newspaper headlines. In 2002 Fair recorded an album with

, titled FairMoore, described as "a lovely, heartfelt effort that shows both in top form" by Dave Mandl, who stated that it "brings together two fiercely original figures in the American music underground", the album consisting of Fair reciting his poetry over Moore's instrumental backing. Words Of Wisdom And Hope is a collaboration between Glasgow, Scotland's

, and Fair, released in 2002. In 2008

Vincent Moon Vincent Moon (real name Mathieu Saura, born 25 August 1979) is an independent filmmaker, photographer, and sound artist from Paris. He was the main director of the Blogotheque's Take Away Shows, a web-based project recording field work music vide ...

made a short documentary called ''Paris lost in Texas'', which is part of his The Take-Away Shows-series. In this short movie he visits Fair in-house in Texas. In the same year experimental instrument builder

Yuri Landman Yuri Landman (born 1 February 1973) is a Dutch inventor of musical instruments and musician who has made several experimental electric string instruments for a number of artists including Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Liars, Jad Fair of Half Japan ...

constructed for Fair a special 2 string instrument called the Bachelor QS. In 2011 Half Japanese reunited as a live band and toured through Europe. In 2011

Thick Syrup Records Thick Syrup Records is an independent record label from Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded by Travis McElroy in 2006, it specializes in indie rock and underground music. It has released the work of known acts such as Matt Cameron, Jad Fair from Half ...

released the compilation album '78 LTD. This album features the track "36 Perfect Ways I Ching of Love" Fair made with

Ken Stringfellow Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow (born October 30, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. Best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star, Stringfellow's discography include ...

( Posies,

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative ...

). In 2012 Fair contributed to the Landman album ''That's Right Go Cats'' with a 22-minute vocal contribution on side A of the record. The

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

-based venue

has organised a large exhibition of graphical work made by Fair and

in April 2012. In the same month Fair released a lost album called ''Songs from a Haunted House'' with Gilles Reider on Interbang Records. In 2012 Jad Fair released on

Joyful Noise Recordings Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an a ...

a collaboration with French experimentalist trio Hifiklub, and German guitarist/producer kptmichigan. The band was originally assembled to provide the audio component to Jad Fair's art exhibition at Le Dojo – Nice in France, 2011.

Discography

In Half Japanese

Solo

Albums

* ''Everyone Knew ... But Me'' (Press, 1981) * ''Monarchs'' (Iridescence, 1984) * ''Best Wishes'' (Iridescence, 1987) * ''Great Expectations'' (Bad Alchemy, 1989) * ''I Like It When You Smile'' (Paperhouse, 1992) * ''Short Songs'' (Smells Like Records, 1993) * ''Greater Expectations'' (Psycho Acoustic Sounds/TEC. Tones, 1995) * ''Sunshiney Sunshine'' (download) * ''His Name Itself Is Music'' (

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

, 2011)

Compilation albums

* ''Mr. Snail's Halloween Party'' (Snail Sounds, 2005) * ''Beautiful Songs (The Best Of Jad Fair)'' (3xCD, Comp), 2011 Fire Records

EPs

* ''The Zombies of Mora-Tau'' (Press, 1982)

Singles

* "Good Day" – (Arts & Crafts Series Vol. 1, 2004) * "Three Cycles" (France, 2005) * "Samantha" (Third Uncles Records, 2009)

With David Fair

* Jad and David Fair – ''Best Friends'' (UK Vesuvius, 1996) * Jad and David Fair – ''26 Monster Songs for Children'' (

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known ...

, 1998) * Jad and David Fair – ''Six Dozen Cookies'' (2006) * David and Jad Fair – ''Halloween Songs'' (Thick Syrup Records, 2008) * David and Jad Fair – ''I'll Be Moe'' (Thick Syrup Records, 2009)

With Daniel Johnston

* Jad Fair and

– ''

'' (50 Skidillion Watts, 1989) * The Lucky Sperms – ''Somewhat Humorous'' (

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...

, 2001)

With Kramer

Albums

* Jad Fair and Kramer – ''

Roll Out the Barrel "Beer Barrel Polka", also known as "The Barrel Polka", "Roll Out the Barrel", or "Rosamunde", is a 1927 polka composed by Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda. Lyrics were added in 1934, subsequently gaining worldwide popularity during World War II a ...

'' (1988, Shimmy-Disc) * Jad Fair and Kramer – '' The Sound of Music (An Unfinished Symphony in 12 Parts)'' (1998, Shimmy-Disc) * Jad Fair and Kramer – '' The History of Crying'' (2017, Second-Shimmy - Limited Edition Vinyl)

In Mosquito

* Mosquito – ''Oh No Not Another Mosquito My House Is Full of Them!'' (Psycho Acoustic Sounds, 1993) * Mosquito – ''Time Was'' (ERL/

Smells Like Records Smells Like Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey, formed by Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley in 1993. Groups that have recorded under the label include Blonde Redhead, Cat Power, The Raincoats, and The Rondelles. ...

, 1993) * Mosquito – ''UFO Catcher'' (Japan. Time Bomb, 1993) * Mosquito – ''Cupid's Fist'' (Hol. Red Note, 1994)

With Na

/h2>

Albums

* Jad and Nao – ''Half Robot'' (Paperhouse, 1993) * Jad and Nao – ''Half Alien'' (Sakura Wrechords Japan, 1997) * Jad and Nao – ''Half Monster'' (Misc. Music, 2008)

With The Pastels

EPs

* Jad Fair and

– ''This Could Be the Night EP'' (Paperhouse, 1991) * Jad Fair and The Pastels – ''No. 2 EP'' (Paperhouse, 1992)

With The Shapir-O Rama

* ''We Are the Rage'' – Jad Fair & The Shapir-O'Rama (1996) * ''I Like Your Face'' – Jad Fair & Shapir-O'Rama (1999)

With Teenage Fanclub

Albums

and Jad Fair – '' Words Of Wisdom And Hope'' ( Domino Recording Company, Domino, 2002)

Singles

* Teenage Fanclub and Jad Fair – "Near To You" (Geographic, 2002) * Teenage Fanclub and Jad Fair – "Always in My Heart" (Alternative Tentacles, 2002) * Teenage Fanclub and Jad Fair – "Like a Monkey in a Zoo" (Pema, 2006)

With Jason Willett

Albums

/Jad Fair/Gilles Rieder (Megaphone Limited) (1992) * Jason Willett & Jad Fair – ''It's All Good'' (Megaphone Limited) (1995) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''Honeybee'' (Dr Jim's) (1996) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''The Mighty Super-Heroes'' (Marginal Talent) (1997) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''Wonderful World'' (Shrimper) triple cassette (1997) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''Twister'' (Dark Beloved Cloud) lp (1997) * Jason Willett & Jad Fair – ''We're Going to the Moon'' (Megaphone Limited) cd (1998) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''Wild'' (Megaphone Limited) cd (1998) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''The Mighty Hypnotic Eye'' (Dr Jim's) cd (1999) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''Enjoyable songs'' (Alternative Tentacles) lp & cd (1999) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''The Attack of Everything'' paperback + cd (2002) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''Superfine'' (Public Eyesore) cd (2005) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – ''The Greatest Power'' ( Dymaxion Groove) (2015)

Singles

* Jad Fair & Jason Willett – "Punk Rock" (Chlorophyl, 1996) * Jad Fair & Jason Willett – "The Corpse is Missing" (Slab-O-Concrete, 1996)

With Yo La Tengo

* 1998:

– '' Strange but True'' (an album based on the unusual stories taken from the ''Strange but True'' column of newspapers)

With Phono-Comb

*''In A Haunted House'' 7" (Derivative Records, 1995) *''Monsters, Lullabies...and the Occasional Flying Saucer'' CD ( Shake the Record, 1996)

Other projects

* Between Meals – ''Oh No I Just Knocked Over a Cup of Coffee'' (Iridescence, 1983) * Coo Coo Rocking Time – ''Coo Coo Party Time'' (

50 Skidillion Watts 50 Skidillion Watts, also known as "50,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Watts Records", was the label used by brothers David and Jad Fair of the punk rock band Half Japanese to release their first albums recorded in the late 1970s. After a ...

, 1990) * The Making of the Album, 1991, Seminal Twang – TWANG 02 CD Maxi Single w/

, Gilles Reider &

Tom Recchion Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

* Workdogs in Hell – ''Workdogs in Hell'' (Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1993) * Strobe Talbot – ''20 Pop Songs'' (Alternative Tentacles, 2001) * Jad Fair and

– ''FairMoore'' (Old Gold, 2002) * Jad Fair & Bill Wells – ''Whale'' EP (Friends And Relatives Records, ?) * Jad Fair And

Daisy Cooper Daisy Cooper (born 29 October 1981) is a British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans (UK Parliament constituency), St Albans s ...

– South Pole (Lathe, 8", Ltd, Shape, Cle), People in a Position To Know, 2007 * Human Adult Band / Jad Fair – Samantha (7", Spl) 2009, Third Uncle Records * Coo Coo Rocking Time – ''Seven Ways To Sunday'' (

Box Set, 2010) * Coo Coo Rocking Time – ''Coo Coo Party Time – Remastered Louder'' (Thick Syrup Records, 2011) * Yuri Landman Ensemble feat. Jad Fair &

Philippe Petit Philippe Petit (; born 13 August 1949) is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his unauthorized high-wire walks between the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and of Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973, as well as between the Twi ...

– ''That's Right Go Cats'', 2012, (CD

, LP Siluh Records) * Monster Party: Jad Fair, Gilles-Vincent Rieder – ''Songs from A Haunted House'' CD/LP ( Interbang Records, 2012) * Whistling Joy Jumpers: Jad Fair, Thollem McDonas, &

Brian Chase Brian Chase (born February 12, 1978) is an American drummer and drone musician who plays in the New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He was ranked at #50 in Gigwise's list of ''The Greatest Drummers of All Time''. He plays drums with tradition ...

– ''Surprising Wooden Clocks'' (

, 2013) * Jad Fair & Strobe Talbot, ''Let's Born to Rock'', Joyful Noise Recordings, 2014 * Jad Fair &

Danielson Danielson is an American rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey, that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates. Smith has also released solo work as Bro ...

, ''Solid Gold Heart'',

Sounds Familyre In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

, 2014 * Jad Fair & R. Stevie Moore, ''The Great American Songbook, Vol. 1'', Joyful Noise Recordings, 2014 * Jad Fair, Tenniscoats, & Norman Blake, ''How Many Glasgow'', Sweet Dreams Press, 2014 * Jad Fair & Norman Blake, ''Yes'', Joyful Noise Recordings, 2015

Compilations

* Jad Fair / Tom Recchion / Ant Farm – ''Slowscan Vol. 4'' (Cass, Comp, Ltd, C60), 1986 Slowscan * ''I Said No Doctors!'' (2017, Dymaxion Groove)

Biography

Discography

In Half Japanese

Solo

Albums

Compilation albums

EPs

Singles

With David Fair

With Daniel Johnston

With Kramer

Albums

In Mosquito

With Na

/h2>

Albums

With The Pastels

EPs

With The Shapir-O Rama

With Teenage Fanclub

Albums

Singles

With Jason Willett

Albums

Singles

With Yo La Tengo

With Phono-Comb

Other projects

Compilations

References

External links

Biography

Discography

In Half Japanese

Solo

Albums

Compilation albums

EPs

Singles

With David Fair

With Daniel Johnston

With Kramer

Albums

In Mosquito

With Na/h2>

Albums

With The Pastels

EPs

With The Shapir-O Rama

With Teenage Fanclub

Albums

Singles

With Jason Willett

Albums

Singles

With Yo La Tengo

With Phono-Comb

Other projects

Compilations

References

External links

With Na

/h2>