Jay Farrar

Information about Jay Farrar

Jay Farrar in Los Angeles, April 2007.

Jay Farrar, (born December 26, 1966 in Belleville, Illinois) is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. A veteran 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 well-regarded guitarist, harmonicist, and a distinctive vocalist. His music is an informed interpretation of traditional American music.

Recording career

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 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 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. Following "Stone, Steel & Bright Lights," Farrar reformed Son Volt with an entirely different lineup than had comprised the band on their first three recordings.

In July 2005, Farrar and Son Volt released "Okemah and the Melody of Riot," Son Volt's first full-length recording since 1998.

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. Gob Iron's debut album, Death Songs For The Living, was released on October 31st, 2006 by Transmit Sound/Legacy Recordings.

Son Volt released a new, 14-song album, 'The Search', in March 2007 on Transmit Sound/Legacy. The album marked a stretching out musically for Son Volt because horns were used.

Style

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 distinctly Eastern bent. One of the hallmarks of his sound is the use of alternate tunings on the guitar.

Related artists

After disbanding Uncle Tupelo in 1994, Farrar formed the rock group Son Volt. Farrar worked closely with keyboardist Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips during the recording of Sebastopol. Eric Heywood, Mark Spencer from the Blood Oranges, and the rock group Canyon have often accompanied Farrar in his solo recordings and performances.

External links

Official Jay Farrar website
Official Son Volt website
Gumbo Pages - Son Volt/Jay Farrar page
Features and CD reviews of Jay Farrar at the Country Standard Time web site

Discography
Uncle Tupelo
Jay Farrar Jeff Tweedy Mike Heidorn Bill Belzer Ken Coomer Max Johnston John Stirratt
Albums: No Depression Still Feel Gone March 16-20, 1992 Anodyne
Related articles
Son Volt Wilco Brian Henneman Sean Slade Paul Q. Kolderie Peter Buck Brian Paulson Alternative country Jeff Tweedy discography

December 26 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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St. Louis, Missouri

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Son Volt is an alternative country group formed by Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of the band Uncle Tupelo. Son Volt is often considered the closest continuance of Uncle Tupelo's alt-country/Americana sound and musical legacy.
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An independent record label (or indie record label) is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels.
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An independent film, or indie film, is usually a low-budget film that is produced by a small movie studio. Additionally, the term is used to describe less commercially-driven art films which differ markedly from the norms of plot-driven, mainstream classical Hollywood cinema.
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Gob Iron is an American musical group officially formed in 2006. It consists of Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt's Jay Farrar and Varnaline's Anders Parker. Their debut album, Death Songs For The Living was released on October 31st, 2006 by Transmit Sound/Legacy Recordings.
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Legacy Recordings is Sony BMG Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records (renamed Sony Music in 1991) to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated labels.
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IMDb profile

The Search is a 1948 film directed by Fred Zinnemann which tells the story of a young Auschwitz survivor and his mother who search for each other across postwar Europe. It stars Montgomery Clift, Ivan Jandl, Jarmila Novotna and Aline MacMahon.
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Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including:

Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous with the term "Traditional music", also often including World Music and Roots music; the term "Traditional music" was given

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Rock 'n' Roll (short for Rock and Roll), is a genre of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and quickly spread to the rest of the world. It later spawned the various sub-genres of what is now called simply 'rock music'.
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Neil Percival Young^[1] OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director.

Young's work is characterized by deeply personal lyrics, distinctive guitar work, and signature nasal tenor (and frequently alto)
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Eastern world refers very broadly to the various cultures, social structures and philosophical systems of "the East", namely Asia (including China, India, Japan, the Middle East, and surrounding regions).
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The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four, seven, eight, ten, and twelve string guitars also exist.
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Steven Gregory Drozd (born June 11, 1969, Houston, Texas) is a multi-instrumentalist and drummer for The Flaming Lips. The son of musician Vernon Drozd, he grew up in Houston with three brothers and a sister.
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The Flaming Lips (formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983) is an American alternative rock band.

The band is known for their lush, multi-layered, psychedelic arrangements, spacey lyrics and bizarre song and album titles (for example, "Pilot Can at the Queer of God", "Free
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The Blood Oranges were an alternative country band that formed in the late 1980s.

The fouding members were Jim Ryan (multi-instrumentalist and vocals), Cheri Knight ( bass guitar, vocals), Mark Spencer (guitar), and Ron Ward (drums).
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Jeffrey Scott Tweedy (born August 25, 1967 in Belleville, Illinois, United States) is an American songwriter, musician, poet, and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebs with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests
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Mike Heidorn, born 1967 in Belleville, Illinois, is the former drummer and founding member of Belleville bands Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. Heidorn also played with the Uncle Tupelo precursors the Primitives (or Primatives) and the one-off band Coffee Creek with Jay Farrar and Jeff
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William Francis Belzer (b. November 05, 1968) is an American musician. He played bass guitar and drums while in High School, first attending Catholic Savior of the World High School Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas under the patronage of the diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph in
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Ken Coomer was the drummer for the band Uncle Tupelo as well as the drummer for Wilco until Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. He was the drummer and co-founder of the Nashville band Clockhammer in the late 80's and early 90's and he continues to play on various projects.
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Max Johnston is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work on fiddle, Dobro, banjo, and mandolin with the bands Uncle Tupelo, Wilco and more recently, The Gourds.
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John Stirratt is the bassist for Wilco and the former guitarist/bassist of Uncle Tupelo. He and Jeff Tweedy are the only original members of Wilco still with the band. Stirratt is also the twin brother of Laurie Stirratt, formerly of Blue Mountain.
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No Depression 1991
Still Feel Gone

No Depression is the title of an album released 1990 by the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo.
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Still Feel Gone is the second album by American alternative country pioneers Uncle Tupelo. It was released in 1991 on Rockville Records and re-released in 2003 by Sony Legacy.
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March 16-20, 1992 is the third album by alt-country band Uncle Tupelo. The title refers to the week in which the album was recorded. An almost entirely acoustic recording, the album features original songs and covers of traditional folk songs in near equal number, and was
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Wilco is an American rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure from that group.
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