J Mascis

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About J Mascis

One of the alternative-rock era’s most enduring guitar heroes, J Mascis developed a loose, soaring sound that has made his work, whether as a solo artist or with Dinosaur Jr. and his other bands, instantly recognizable. Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. was born in 1965 in Amherst, MA, and he began playing drums at age nine before picking up the guitar as a teen. In high school he met Lou Barlow, with whom he’d go on to form Dinosaur (later Dinosaur Jr.) in 1984. Mascis’ pealing licks and lackadaisical vocals made Dinosaur Jr. one of the alt-rock gold rush’s most beloved bands; Mascis retired the Dinosaur Jr. name in 1997, then reunited with Barlow and drummer Emmett Jefferson “Murph” Murphy III for a fruitful second act that began in 2005. Mascis has also lent his musical and vocal talents to a slew of other bands: the peppy J Mascis + The Fog, who released a pair of albums in the early 2000s; the stoner-metal outfit Witch, featuring him on drums; the power-pop supergroup Sweet Apple, who were active in the early 2010s; and the improv outfit Unknown Instructors, showcasing other alums of Dinosaur Jr.’s former label SST like Minutemen’s Mike Watt and George Hurley.

HOMETOWN
Amherst, MA, United States
BORN
December 10, 1965
GENRE
Alternative

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