Jay Farrar (born December 26, 1966) is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis. A member of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001. Beyond his established talents as a songwriter, he is a guitarist, pianist, harmonicist, and a vocalist.

Uncle Tupelo

Farrar formed Uncle Tupelo with

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in hi ...

and

Mike Heidorn Mike Heidorn, born 1967 in Belleville, Illinois, is the former drummer and founding member of alternative country bands Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. Heidorn also played with the Uncle Tupelo precursors the Primitives (or ) and the one-off band Coff ...

in 1987 after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primatives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville Records, before signing with Sire Records and expanding to a five-piece. Shortly after the release of the band's major label debut album ''Anodyne'', Farrar announced his decision to leave the band owing to a soured relationship with his co-songwriter Tweedy.

Son Volt

After the dissolution of Uncle Tupelo in 1994, Farrar formed the rock group Son Volt, whose original lineup released three albums in the late 1990s, before undergoing a hiatus in 1999. In 1999, Farrar was invited to participate in the

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

for Moby Grape co-founder Skip Spence, who was terminally ill with cancer. The album, '' More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album '' ( Birdman, 1999), was an album of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of the songs on Spence's only solo album, '' Oar'' (

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

, 1999). In 2005, the band re-formed with a different lineup and has since released seven additional albums.

Other

In 1995, Farrar collaborated with Kelly Willis on the song "Rex's Blues", which appeared on the

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

benefit album

Red Hot + Bothered ''Red Hot + Bothered'' (also known as '' Red Hot + Bothered: The Indie Rock Guide Book to Dating'') is an anthology of the indie rock scene from the 1990s produced by Paul Heck. It was released as part of the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series. The re ...

produced by the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

. As a solo artist, Farrar has released two full-length albums, two EPs, one film score, and various live recordings. His full-length albums are '' Sebastopol'' (2001) and '' Terroir Blues'' (2003), the first released on the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Artemis Records and the second released on his own label, Transmit Sound. An EP of songs from the ''Sebastopol'' sessions, entitled ''ThirdShiftGrottoSlack'' was released in 2002. His score for the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

''The Slaughter Rule'' (2002, directors Alex and Andrew Smith) was released in 2003 on the independent record label Bloodshot Records. Farrar formed his own independent record label in 2003, Transmit Sound (formerly called "Act/Resist Records"). In 2004, Farrar released a six-song live acoustic EP entitled ''Live EP''. Also 2004 marked the release of the live CD/DVD ''Stone, Steel & Bright Lights''. Farrar worked closely with keyboardist Steven Drozd of

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...

during the recording of ''Sebastopol''. Eric Heywood, Mark Spencer from the

Blood Oranges The Blood Oranges were an American alternative country band that formed in the late 1980s. The founding members were Jim Ryan (acoustic and electric mandolin, guitar, and vocals), Bob Kendall (bass guitar) then replaced by Liz Wood (later Liz ...

, and the rock group

Canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

have often accompanied Farrar in his solo recordings and performances. Spencer is now a full-time member of Son Volt. In 2006, Farrar announced the formation of a new band, Gob Iron, with Varnaline's Anders Parker. The songs which would make up their debut album were recorded in autumn 2004, while Farrar was in the process of recording a new Son Volt album. In April, 2019, Parker and Farrar released a

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

using the Gob Iron moniker. Farrar collaborated with Ben Gibbard (of the indie rock band

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (ke ...

) to create all of the music for the soundtrack for the 2009 documentary film ''One Fast Move or I'm Gone'', about

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian an ...

's time spent at

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ...

. The

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

was released on October 20, 2009. In 2012, Farrar, along with Will Johnson, Yim Yames, and Anders Parker collaborated on the

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspire ...

archive project, '' New Multitudes''.

Style

His musical style ranges from sparse, unaccompanied

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

to full

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

band arrangements comparable to

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

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 Barlow ( ...

His solo recordings also often include sound experiments, reminiscent of psychedelia, with a distinct Eastern bent. One of the hallmarks of his sound is the use of alternate tunings on the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

. His love for Woody Guthrie inspired a custom guitar made by Creston Lea of Vermont. The guitar was made from artifacts Jay gathered from the site of Guthrie's childhood home.

References

External links

Jay Farrar reviews at the Country Standard Time website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrar, Jay 1966 births Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Illinois American rock singers American country singer-songwriters People from Belleville, Illinois Son Volt members Uncle Tupelo members Guitarists from Illinois 20th-century American guitarists Dutch East India Trading artists Sire Records artists Warner Records artists Country musicians from Illinois Belleville High School-West alumni 20th-century American male musicians Gob Iron members