Jay Farrar

Jay Stuart Farrar (born December 26, 1966) is an American songwriter and musician 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 being a songwriter, Farrar plays guitar, piano, harmonica, and sings.

Farrar formed Uncle Tupelo with Jeff Tweedy and Mike Heidorn in 1987 after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville Records, before signing with Sire Records and expanding to being 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. Uncle Tupelo is often mentioned as one of the originators of the alt-country genre of music or subgenre of country music which combines country, folk, and/or bluegrass with punk rock, alt-rock, indie rock, or other genres.

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 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 versions of the songs on Spence's only solo album, Oar (Columbia, 1999). In 2005, the band re-formed with a different lineup and has released seven additional albums.

In 1995, Farrar collaborated with Kelly Willis on the song "Rex's Blues", which appeared on Red Hot + Bothered, an AIDS benefit album produced by the Red Hot Organization. As a solo artist, he 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 Artemis Records and the second released on his own label, Transmit Sound.

Un EP de canciones de las sesiones de Sebastopol , titulado ThirdShiftGrottoSlack , fue lanzado en 2002. Su banda sonora para la película independiente The Slaughter Rule (2002, dirigida por Alex y Andrew Smith) fue lanzada en 2003 por el sello discográfico independiente Bloodshot Records. Farrar formó su propio sello discográfico independiente en 2003, Transmit Sound (anteriormente llamado "Act/Resist Records"). En 2004, Farrar lanzó un EP acústico en vivo de seis canciones titulado Live EP . También en 2004 se lanzó el CD/DVD en vivo Stone, Steel & Bright Lights .

Farrar trabajó estrechamente con el teclista Steven Drozd de The Flaming Lips durante la grabación de Sebastopol . Eric Heywood, Mark Spencer de The Blood Oranges y el grupo de rock Canyon han acompañado a menudo a Farrar en sus grabaciones y actuaciones en solitario. Spencer es ahora miembro de Son Volt a tiempo completo. En 2006, Farrar anunció la formación de una nueva banda, Gob Iron , con Anders Parker de Varnaline. Las canciones que conformarían su álbum debut se grabaron en otoño de 2004, mientras Farrar estaba grabando un nuevo álbum de Son Volt. En abril de 2019, Parker y Farrar lanzaron un sencillo de 7 pulgadas bajo el nombre de Gob Iron.

Farrar colaboró ​​con Ben Gibbard (de la banda de rock indie Death Cab for Cutie ) para crear toda la música de la banda sonora del documental de 2009 One Fast Move or I'm Gone , sobre el tiempo que Jack Kerouac pasó en Big Sur . La banda sonora se lanzó el 20 de octubre de 2009. ^{[ 2 ]} En 2012, Farrar junto con Will  Johnson , Yim  Yames y Anders Parker colaboraron en el proyecto de archivo de Woody Guthrie , New Multitudes .

His musical style ranges from sparse, unaccompanied folk music to full rock and roll band arrangements comparable to Neil Young or Dinosaur Jr. 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. His love for Woody Guthrie inspired a custom guitar made by Creston Lea of Burlington, Vermont. The guitar was made from artifacts Farrar gathered from the site of Guthrie's childhood home.

• Jay Farrar reviews at the Country Standard Time website