J MASCIS’S CONTINUAL LIFE CRISIS

We shouldn't have to give you a background on J Mascis, but for the sake of formality, here goes: He's best known for being one of the founders of a little band called Dinosaur Jr. For some reason every skateboarder since about 1990 has liked to shit themselves over Dino Jr., and consequently I would argue that they have been featured in more skate videos than any other band ever. J has also played with a slew of other bands like Witch, Upsidedown Cross, and most recently, Sweet Apple. He's something of a god in the guitar world, and if it's possible to finger fuck a guitar to orgasm, J is the guy who could do it. But if you've had a pulse anytime over the last few decades you already know all that.

J's new album, Several Shades of Why came out today on Sub Pop Records, and it's one of the mellowest, catchiest, and most relaxing things I've heard in a long time. I'm a goddamn sucker for minimal, acoustic tunes, and while this one has a bit of electricity peppered throughout, it's mostly just J wailing on the ol' wooden axe.

If you haven't heard, J Mascis is notorious for being a pain in the ass to interview. Despite the energy and charisma he has while playing music, having a conversation with him is a lot like talking to an English-speaking sloth with glasses and flowing gray hair. I spoke to him (or tried to) about the new album and some other stuff.

Vice: How's it going J?
J Mascis: It's going pretty good.

Whenever I interview people who get interviewed a lot I always think that they must be really sick of people asking them questions. Is there something you hate most about this whole process?
There are so many things, I don't know. It's usually on a case-by-case basis.

When I typed your name and "interview" into Google, most of the top results were people talking about how hard you are to interview. Why do you think you are so hard to interview?
Probably bad questions. I don't think I am hard to interview, but I can't pretend if I don't know something. I don't know. Maybe my answers aren't long enough for some people.

Who's Maureen? She did a great interview with you but no one seemed to know who she was.
She is Megan from Sub Pop's mother.

I grew up listening to Dinosaur Jr. songs in skate videos as a kid. Why do you think so many skateboarders want to have your songs in their parts?
It all seemed to come from Neil Blender. I became friends with him and I think it stemmed from him putting it in some stuff, and then other people started copying that. I don't know though.

Do you have a favorite skate video that your music has been in?
I don't know, I have a hard time remembering the names of them. You know, I just remember scenes from different videos.

Do you still skate at all?
Yeah, a little bit. I skated mostly in the late 1970s, when I was a little kid.

Howcome you always sound so tired?
I don't know. A lot of times people think I just woke up.

Our Senior Editor wanted me to ask when the last time you took a gravity bong rip was.
A what?

A hit off of a gravity bong.
I don't know if I have ever taken a hit off of a gravity bong. What's a gravity bong?

Basically, you take a two-liter soda bottle, cut off the bottom of it and…
Oh, right.

Put it into a bucket of water.
Yeah. I don't think I've ever done that.

He'll be very disappointed. Moving on, are the guys who you collaborated with on Several Shades of Why coming on tour with you?
No, probably not. Kurt Vile is opening a lot of shows and then Black Heart Procession is opening some too. Hopefully I can get them to play some songs.

Do you think it will be lonely touring for a solo album as opposed to being on the road with all your band mates and their crazy shenanigans?
[Laughs] Depends which band. Dinosaur tours can be pretty lonely, we don't really hangout that much, but I know some other bands that are more into shenanigans, so there are good times to be had I guess.

Do you have any fun tour games or hobbies you like to do to pass the time on the road? [Fifteen seconds of awkward silence.]
No.

This new album is relatively slow and quiet compared to some of your past work. Do you think Several Shades of Why fits your personality? After talking with you you seem like a pretty laid back, quiet guy.
No, probably not. It's always more fun to play loud, I guess. This album was an exercise in restraint.

It also makes for good thinking music. Do you have a lot of questions, or were you going through a life-crisis of some sort when you were writing this?
Always man. A continual life crisis.

I know you like drums a lot. Was it tempting to throw some percussion into this album?
Yeah, I always want to put drums on everything. It was hard not to.

You have your own guitar--the J Mascis Jazzmaster.
Right.

That's pretty awesome. It's got a purple sparkle finish… how come you like purple so much?
I don't know, it seems far better than all the other colors by a large margin to me. I'm not sure why.

You have another signature guitar coming out, what's that going to be like?
I think there's going to be a white and a purple one.

How is it going to be different from the other one besides the color?
Well, I'm not sure where it's made and stuff, but it will be kind of similar.

I've read that you like to write songs while watching television. Do you have a favorite show to write to?
Well, you know they all come and go so fast, it's hard to say. Drama might be good, but I'm not sure. I liked Breaking Bad, that was a bit too depressing to write songs to though. I have a high tolerance for bad TV shows.

Have you ever considered writing a song about a television show?
No.

You look like the kind of guy who collects stuff. Do you collect anything?
I have a lot of equipment--guitars, amps, studio stuff. I collect sneakers and records too.

Did you ever have any really shitty jobs before becoming a musician?
Yeah, I worked at Public Works for a week. Paving the sidewalk and cleaning sewers and stuff.

Just for a week?
Yeah, luckily I got this job at the gas station after a week so I quit that job, and the gas station wasn't so bad. Had some bad moments though.

So, you had to clean sewers? That sounds terrible.
Yeah, it was terrible. I was a kid, only making three dollars an hour, and all the guys would make me do everything. I remember getting up and working and going home and just going to bed so exhausted and thinking, "This is no way to live."

JONATHAN SMITH

Several Shades of Why comes out today on Sub Pop records. J is also touring and definitely not playing any fun games on the road right now. For a list of shows click here.