Jay Farrar - News

UPDATED: JANUARY 13, 2012

TERROIR BLUES: THE DOGTOWN SESSIONS

The latest digital release Terroir Blues: The Dogtown Sessions is now available through Jay’s web store as well as iTunes and all other digital outlets.

This latest release features an 11-track sequence, including 5 alternate mixes from the Terroir Blues session (“Cahokian”, “Fool King's Crown”, “Dent County”, “Out on the Road” and “Walk You Down”) as well as 6 re-mastered tracks from the original 2003 Terroir Blues release.

Jay’s web store exclusively features the album art for this release.

GUTHRIE PROJECT, NEW MULTITUDES, TO BE RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 28!!!

LISTEN TO "OLD LA"
from New Multitudes

Like a cadre of musical brothers finally coalescing after years on the road apart, Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Gob Iron, Uncle Tupelo), Will Johnson (Centro-matic, South San Gabriel), Anders Parker (Varnaline, Gob Iron) and Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket, Monsters of Folk) gratefully deliver New Multitudes, an intimate interpretation of American icon and musical legend Woody Guthrie’s previously unrecorded lyrics.

Set to coincide with the centennial celebration of Woody Guthrie’s birth year, New Multitudes will be released on February 28, 2012 by Rounder Records as a 12 track release and a 24 track limited edition. The limited edition features original Guthrie lyric sheets, the 12 track release, and 12 additional compositions recorded by Farrar and Parker. The album will also be available on vinyl.

We have created a new Facebook page for the group – www.facebook.com/newmultitudes Right now, we are streaming “Old L.A.” from the album, featuring Anders Parker on lead vocal. Please “like” this page so you can receive updates including interview footage, live performance video, etc.

Jay, Will and Anders will play Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland on January 25. The full band will hit the road for a select run of dates in March.

NEW MULTITUDES TOUR DATES

March 6 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA

March 7 Music Box (on sale 1/21) Los Angeles, CA

March 9 Crystal Ballroom (on sale 1/14) Portland, OR

March 10 The Showbox (on sale 1/14) Seattle, WA

March 12 The Birchmere (on sale 1/13) Alexandria, VA

March 13 Union Transfer (on sale 1/13) Philadelphia, PA

March 14 Webster Hall (on sale 1/20) New York, NY

March 16 Paradise (on sale 1/14) Boston, MA

Under the invitation of Nora Guthrie, Woody’s daughter, to tour the Guthrie archives, each of the four songwriters were offered the chance to plumb and mine the plethora of notebooks, scratch pads, napkins, etc. for anything that might inspire them to lend their voices and give the words new life. "These guys worked on an amazing group of lyrics”, says Nora. “Much of it culled from Woody’s times in LA. Lyric wise, it’s a part of the story that is still mostly unknown. From Woody’s experiences on LA’s skid row to his later years in Topanga Canyon, they are uniquely intimate, and relate two distinctly emotional periods in his life.”

The spirit of Guthrie may have been involved in more ways than one, as all four songwriters mentioned the immediate connection to the songs they chose, or as they would suggest, “chose them.” The writing came together quickly, as if the mischief muse who originally penned them latched himself to each writer's grey matter upon first contact.

Musically, it is this sense of collaboration that makes New Multitudes not just another trite and traditional acoustic regurgitation of back porch blues. From the ragged jangle of its opening track, “Hoping Machine”, the loping lilt of “Fly High”, the floorboard stomp of “No Fear”, to the lush warmth and sudden sonic gut punch of “My Revolutionary Mind” the cohorts deliver a lesson in discovering a song’s sweet spot. It’s the function and preparedness of each artist’s dogged work ethic gleaned the old-fashion way; veracious songs, road weary odometers, and sweat stained live shows, all attributes of the man they are honoring.

SON VOLT TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM AND PLAY IN 2012

We will be releasing a new Son Volt album in the Fall of 2012 (more info to come). In advance of that release, the band will be playing a few shows throughout the year. Along with Jay, the touring line-up will feature Dave Bryson on drums, Andrew Duplantis on bass, Gary Hunt on guitar and Mark Spencer on keyboard and steel. We have these shows confirmed so far:

SON VOLT TOUR DATES
May 24	The Waiting Room	Omaha, NE
May 26	Meadowgrass Festival	Black Forest, CO

JAY FARRAR POSTER

The limited edition letterpress poster from Jay's recent solo tour is now available here . The 'Roosters' poster is limited to 200 are are 18" X 24". Check it out here! Get yours now and we'll have Jay autograph it.

As you may know, we are also selling Farrar/Gibbard limited edition t-shirts and posters in the store. Check it all out here!

ONE FAST MOVE OR I’M GONE: KEROUAC’S BIG SUR
Order One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur. There are several formats available:

Digital album

Standard CD

CD/DVD combo – includes cd and documentary dvd

Vinyl – 180-gram vinyl that includes the DVD in the sleeve

Limited edition box set – includes cd, dvd, the complete paperback of Kerouac’s Big Sur, 24-page book which includes never-published photos of Jack Kerouac, etc.

PLACE YOUR ORDER HERE!

JAY FARRAR AND BENJAMIN GIBBARD JOIN FORCES FOR NEW ALBUM INSPIRED BY JACK KEROUAC’S BIG SUR
ONE FAST MOVE OR I’M GONE: KEROUAC’S BIG SUR OUT OCT 20 ON F-STOP/ATLANTIC

'One Fast Move Or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur'

One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur, a new album featuring 12 original songs composed and performed by Jay Farrar of Son Volt and Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie--with lyrics based on the prose of Jack Kerouac’s landmark 1962 novel Big Sur--is set for an October 20 release on F-Stop/Atlantic Records along with a feature-length documentary of the same title in which both Gibbard and Farrar appear.

Gibbard and Farrar, having never previously met, discovered a mutual kinship in their passion for Kerouac’s work while recording several songs for the documentary, produced by Kerouac Films.

After the initial San Francisco recording session in July 2007, they decided to develop the project further to create an album using Kerouac’s own words from the book as the lyrics.

Big Sur, is an evocative account of a time in Jack’s life when he’d “come undone,” both emotionally and spiritually. He escapes to a cabin in Big Sur to confront his inner demons and find a modicum of peace by the sea.

Gibbard stayed in the original cabin Kerouac wrote about, to compose songs for his band’s 2008 Grammy-nominated album, Narrow Stairs. For many years, Jay Farrar’s songwriting has been inspired and influenced by Kerouac’s compositional style.

Jim Sampas, (Badlands, Kerouac--kicks joy darkness) is executive producer of the album. The documentary, One Fast Move or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur, is directed by Curt Worden and produced by Gloria Bailen and Jim Sampas of Kerouac Films. The film features appearances by writers, poets, actors and musicians including, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Sam Shepard. The album and film will be released on October 20, the day before the 40th anniversary of Kerouac¹s death, as a stand alone CD, a CD/DVD package, a limited edition boxed set packaged with the novel, a 40-page book on the documentary and the CD/DVD. The album will additionally be released on vinyl.

Track Listing: 1. California Zephyr 2. Low Life Kingdom 3. Willamine 4. All In One 5. Breathe Our Iodine 6. These oads Don’t Move 7. Big Sur 8. One Fast Move Or I¹m Gone 9. Final Horrors 10. Sea Engines 11. The Void 12. San Francisco

SON VOLT RETURNS WITH 'AMERICAN CENTRAL DUST,' OUT NOW ON ROUNDER RECORDS
PURCHASE CD OR VINYL
Son Volt returns with ‘American Central Dust,’ on Rounder Records, a plaintive 12-song collection that recalls the melodic succinctness of the band’s debut album ‘Trace.’ After the musical experimentation of 2007’s ‘The Search, ’ ‘American Central Dust,’ the band’s first album on Rounder, refines the band’s robust sound. Fiddle, pedal steel, lap steel and sparkling piano add an atmospheric nuance to Son Volt’s Americana inspired rock, surrounding band leader Jay Farrar’s stream of consciousness lyrical imagery.

Album highlights include; the rootsy shuffle of album opener “Dynamite,” on which Farrar declares “this love is like celebrating the 4th of July with dynamite,” the tremolo soaked rocker “Down To The Wire,’ the gorgeous, piano led “Cocaine And Ashes,” an empathetic tribute to Keith Richards, references a man who’s “the same as everyone, just kind of lucky,” and ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’-esque rocker “No Turning Back.”

When asked about signing to the new label, Farrar said "Rounder has shown a long term commitment to music forms, like folk and blues, that I have a lot of respect for. Going with Rounder has been a kind of a full circle continuum -- the first Rounder person I met with was instrumental in booking Uncle Tupelo gigs years ago"

‘American Central Dust’ features Jay Farrar (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Dave Bryson (drums), Andrew Duplantis (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chris Masterson (lead guitar), Mark Spencer (keyboards, steel guitar). Son Volt’s national tour begins in July.

‘AMERICAN CENTRAL DUST’ tracklist:
1. Dynamite, 2. Down To The Wire, 3. Roll On, 4. Cocaine And Ashes, 5. Dust Of Daylight, 6. When The Wheels Don’t Move, 7. No Turning Back, 8. Pushed Too Far, 9. Exiles, 10. Sultana, 11. Strength And Doubt, 12. Jukebox of Steel

JAY SPEAKS ABOUT "COCAINE AND ASHES" ON SPINNER.COM
Spinner caught up with Son Volt songwriter and frontman Jay Farrar to ask him about the song "Cocaine and Ashes" from the upcoming new Son Volt album 'American Central Dust. When Jay heard that Rolling Stones' Keith Richards reportedly cut some cocaine with his father's ashes and then railed them, he became inspired enough to write a song about it. Read about it here!

SON VOLT BLOG, TWITTER & FACEBOOK
Check out the Son Volt blog. Drummer Dave Bryson will be posting comments and photos from the road! Also, Son Volt is now on Twitter and Facebook. Dave’s blog postings will be linked to both Facebook and Twitter.

SON VOLT ON AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
Check out AquariumDrunkard.com to read an interview with Jay and download a MP3 of “Down to the Wire”.

SON VOLT ON RUSTED ROBOT
Check out RustedRobot.com for an interview with Jay.

OTHER PRESS
Check out The Wall Street Journal for a Son Volt feature. Also, Spin, NY Times, and many other newspapers will be running reviews next week.

SON VOLT PHOTOS AVAILABLE FROM LOLLAPALOOZA
For a limited-time only, you can purchase professional Son Volt photos shot during their Lollapalooza
performance for a 15% discount -- only at FRC Photos. Photos are already discounted, so there's no discount code needed. A limited quantity of photo mats autographed by the entire band are also available.

POSTED: JULY 9, 2007

SON VOLT ON ESPN
Son Volt's version of The Beatles' "Hello Goodbye" will be featured in an ESPN commercial which begins airing tonight, July 9. The commercial promotes David Beckham's first game with the LA Galaxy. It will air for one week on ESPN and then cross over to other channels for a second week. You can watch the commercial by clicking on the image to the right.

THE SEARCH DELUXE EDITION ON VINYL
"On Chant and Strum", a deluxe edition of The Search which features all 22 tracks from the band's recording session, will be released July 24 on double vinyl. This will be a limited pressing of 1,000 copies. "On Chant and Strum" is available in the Jay Farrar store as well as other retail outlets around the country.

6 STRING BELIEF DVD
"6 String Belief", a dvd of Son Volt's performance at The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC, is available now. Although some of the night's footage was released to HDNet and Music Choice, the DVD features an expanded 31 songs from the evening which span Farrar's career with Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt and as a solo recording artist.

VIDEOS FOR "THE SEARCH" AND "THE PICTURE"
Check out videos of "The Search" and "The Picture" from Son Volt's performance at McNear's Mystic Theatre on March 31, 2007.

NEW SON VOLT MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE IN STORE
We have added 2 new men's designs, 1 new women's design and a children's design in 2 different shirt colors to the store.

SON VOLT'S 'THE SEARCH'
'The Search,' the intriguing new album from Son Volt, is set for release on March 6 on Transmit Sound/Legacy, and it's by far the band's most daring and diverse album yet. The follow-up to 2005's acclaimed 'Okemah and the Melody of Riot,' 'The Search' is a startlingly powerful and inspiring departure from the band's alt-country laden records, employing an exceptional variety of sounds, melodies, and arrangements.

"Instrumentally, the electric guitar was the focus of the last record 'Okemah', but for 'The Search' we wanted to try something new, " says songwriter Jay Farrar. "This time, we utilized different instrumentation to fit each song -- from guitar pedal loops to various keyboard sounds to horns."

The piano of 'Okemah's' gorgeous closing ballad "World Waits For You" returns here to open 'The Search' with the beautifully haunting processional "Slow Hearse." Laced with Eastern-style electric guitar and Farrar's signature vocals, the tune fades out to silence only to dive into 'The Picture,' a track that features an upbeat Memphis-style horn section combined with stirring lyrics that reflect on the current and future state of things, "when war is profit and profit is war."

There's the buzzing, Zeppelin-esque guitar of "Action"; the hypnotic, other-worldly riff of "Circadian Rhythm"; the vocal harmonizing of chanteuse Shannon McNally on "Highways and Cigarettes"; and the Big Brother commentary of title track "The Search," a solid rock song delivered as only Son Volt can.

'The Search' features Jay Farrar (vocal, guitar, piano), Dave Bryson (drums), Derry DeBorja (keyboards), Andrew Duplantis (bass, backing vocals) and Brad Rice (guitar).

The 14-track release (available on CD and through iTunes, etc.) features: Slow Hearse, The Picture, Action, Underground Dream, Circadian Rhythm, Beacon Soul, The Search, Adrenaline and Heresy, Satellite, Automatic Society, Methamphetamine, L Train, Highways and Cigarettes, and Phosphate Skin.

The Search Deluxe Edition is available exclusively through iTunes. This special release will feature 22 songs from the recording session (the same 14 songs from the CD version + 8 additional songs): Slow Hearse, The Picture, Action, Underground Dream, Circadian Rhythm, Beacon Soul, Coltrane Free, Waking World, Highways and Cigarettes, The Search, Adrenaline and Heresy, Satellite, Automatic Society, Methamphetamine, Phosphate Skin, Carnival Blues, L Train, Bleed the Line, Exurbia, Houdini Punches, Bicycle Hotel, and Acetone Angels. If you have already purchased the 14 track CD, and only want the 8 additional songs, you will be able to purchase these songs a la carte from iTunes.

GOB IRON 'DEATH SONGS FOR THE LIVING'
"Death Songs For The Living", the new album from Gob Iron, a collaboration between Jay and Anders Parker (Varnaline), will be released on October 31 through Transmit Sound/Legacy Recordings. The album features very different takes on American folk standards. Also known as the “folk process,” these include songs by the likes of Stephen Foster and The Reverend JM Gates which have been given new lyrics or new arrangements in an effort to re-interpret the songs.