JMJM

JMJM and Blacktop JM in the SATV studio.

The J Mascis signature jazzmaster guitar.  It has been a long time coming.  Before I show off more pictures, I want to give some back story behind this guitar.

In the late 1980's, I started playing guitar when I was 13 years old.  I lived on the east side of Green Bay (Wisconsin), a few blocks away from the Fox River.  At first I wanted to play the bass, but my parents said first I had to learn to play guitar.  So I took my mother's folk guitar and taught myself how to play.  It was an old Barclay acoustic guitar.  The neck was really wide, it was hard to get my hands around, and it was very difficult to play.  Keeping it in tune was nearly impossible.  I persevered and learned to play a few chords and melodies.  Eventually I got a Fender acoustic and hashed it out (unplugged) for a couple years.

When I was 15, I went at a party and I tried playing an electric guitar for the first time.  It was so easy to play !  This guitar had a thin neck and you barely had to push down on the frets.  Plus it had... Chorus !  Reverb !!  Distortion !!!  I was now wielding an immense power and I could feel the electric currrent go up and down my spine.

I needed to get an electric guitar. I had learned to play the hard way and it was now time to go electric.  My father and I went across the river to Heid Music and tried out a bunch of guitars.  I decided to go with a Squier II stratocaster.  It was black with a white pickguard, and it came with a free Squier amp.  I still have this guitar but it is not in playable condition.

When I was a freshman at East High, a few friends and I formed a band called the "Lacerated Bagels".  We had band practice on a regular basis in the drummer's basement in Allouez (Wisconsin).  The singer played a Squier stratocaster, which I always thought sounded better than mine.  Obviously the Squier was a step above the Squier II.

Fast forward to a few years later.  I'm living in Beverly (Massachusetts) and I have a sweet lifeguard gig at Folly Hill.  I spend my days working on my tan, strumming the guitar, and listening to Dinosaur Jr albums next to the pool.  You're Living All Over Me.  Green Mind.  Where You Been.  Without a Sound.  J Mascis had become my new favorite guitar player.

One day in the mid 1990's, I went to a guitar store in Northampton (Massachusetts).  I tried playing one of the Fender jazzmasters they had hanging on the wall, since that was the type of guitar that J Mascis played.  It had a dark green metallic finish and was priced at $400.  It was old and beat up, so I didn't buy it.  Looking back, this was around the same time that Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon lived in Western Massachusetts, so it could have been one of theirs.  Regardless, I passed up the opportunity to own a somewhat vintage jazzmaster.

Fast forward to many years later and I have a collection of twenty odd guitars.  Fenders, Gibsons, BC Rich, Martin, etc.  In 2008, Fender decided to make a sparkly purple J Mascis signature jazzmaster, so of course I had to try it out.  After playing it for a bit, I would have considered paying $400 and making some upgrades.  However, the list price was $800, so I decided to pass again.

A few years later I bought a house in Beverly and rented out my condo in Salem.  A word of advice --- NEVER buy a condo.  I decided that when I sold the pain-in-the-ass condo unit, I was going to buy the new Squier J Mascis signature jazzmaster as a reward.  It took awhile but I finally sold the condo.  Then I went to the local guitar center and, lo and behold, I saw this:

Actual picture taken before purchase.

Sold.  It might be a Squier jazzmaster, but it was a better guitar than either of the Fender jazzmasters that I had tried previously.

I have only made one modification to this guitar.  I removed the AOM bridge and put on a GFS gold chrome bridge, which was a straight fit, no adjustments needed.  To be honest, I think the AOM sounds better, but the gold one looks cool so I'm sticking with it for now.

Here are some closeups of the bridge:

Also, I put some D'addario XL flatwound  (11) strings on it.  The only complaint I have about this guitar are the stupid vintage style tuning pegs, which I am too lazy to replace.  It is a solid guitar and I have often thought about buying another one, which will never be played or touched by human hands.

Sunrise in the Shire.

BAZALIA

Bazalia is an ancient dish which was passed down to us by the dinosaurs.
Instead of using pterodactyl meat, I am using ground turkey.

The ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 can of chickpeas (drained)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 5 or 6 carrots (chopped)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can beef broth

Directions:

1.  Brown ground meat in pan, drain, and put aside
2.  In stock pot, heat olive oil at medium high
3.  Add the onions and carrots and cook for 5 minutes
4.  Add the ground meat, garlic, spices and cook for 5 minutes
5.  Add the beef stock, tomato paste, chickpeas, and peas
6.  Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes
7.  Serve with rice
8.  Leftovers are good to go (click below to see enlarged texture).

Crock Pot Kale Soup

This is a healthy soup that can be made vegetarian style or barbarian style.

I prefer to add the beans, quinoa, and kale halfway through the process.

• If you add the beans at the beginning, they will get mushy and fall apart.
• If you add the quinoa at the beginning, it will get overcooked.
• If you add the kale at the end, it will be too crunchy and chewy.

When the kale cooks for a few hours, it becomes more tender.

The ingredients:

• 1 medium vidalia onion (chopped)
• 4 or 5 medium carrots (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 8 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 can white cannelli beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 6 to 8 cups kale (chopped)
• salt and pepper to taste
• (optional) pre-cooked chicken or turkey (chopped)

Directions:

1. Put the onion, carrots, garlic, seasonings, and broth into the crockpot.
2. If you want to add meat, add it now.
3. Set the crockpot for an 8 hour cycle.
4. Halfway through, add the beans, quinoa, and kale.
5. If you see any gnomes in your fridge, throw them in the crockpot too.

Easy Crock Pot Roast Beast

This is a simple recipe that you can throw together in the morning and enjoy in the evening.

The ingredients:

• 2 or 3 pound chunk of chuck roast
• 4 or 5 yukon gold potatos
• 4 or 5 large carrots
• 4 or 5 celery stalks
• medium onion
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• 1 quart of beef broth
• spices (salt, pepper, oregano)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions:

1. Heat the canola oil in a skillet on oven range
2. Sear the beef on all sides while adding salt and pepper
3. Place beef in crockpot and add onion soup mix
4. Cut up all veggies and place inside crockpot
5. Pour in a quart of beef broth
6. Cook for at least 8 hours and you're golden

Best enjoyed with a new england style IPA or an old fashioned.

Dinosaur Jr - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

For the uninitiated, here is a brief history of the band.

Mark I (1984 - 1989)
The members of the band grew up in western Massachusetts.  When they were in high school, J Mascis and Lou Barlow played in a hardcore band called Deep Wound (Lou on guitar, J on drums).  They recorded some songs and then they decided to form a new band.

They found a dude named The Murph and asked him to play drums.  Lou switched to bass.  J decided to learn how to play guitar. They originally called themselves Dinosaur.  Then some old hippie threatened to sue them because he had copyrighted that name, so they appended "Jr" to the alias.

Dinosaur Jr played wicked loud so they had trouble finding a following in the Pioneer Valley and Boston.  After venturing west to New York, they found modest success playing in New York City.  Soon they were playing shows in the UK and were signed to SST records.  SST was the record label run by Greg Ginn, the guitar player from Black Flag. Other bands on SST included Black Flag, Husker Du, the Minutemen, Soundgarden, the Butthole Surfers, Kyle Wombat, the Meat Puppets, and Sonic Youth.

Dinosaur Jr toured with some of these bands and recorded a few albums.  The last album by this lineup was called "Bug".  Sometime in 1989 Lou Barlow was ousted from the band.  According to local legend, Mascis clubbed Barlow over the head with a guitar onstage during a set (or maybe it was just a fistfight).  Shortly after this alleged incident, Barlow was no longer invited to band practice and was replaced by a tall Nordic fellow named Mike Johnson.

Mark II (1990 - 1997)
In 1990 the band was signed to major label Sire Records and released "Green Mind" in 1991.  Their music videos became staples on MTV's late night video show called 120 minutes.  In 1993 they released "Where You Been" and were one of the featured bands on the third Lollapalooza tour.

In the studio, Dinosaur Jr had become a Mascis solo project, where he wrote all the songs and played most of the instruments.  The Murph left the band during this era and Mascis retired the name in 1997 to pursue a solo career.

Mark III (2005 - present)
In 2005 Mascis, Barlow, and The Murph buried the hatchet and to this day have enjoyed one of the most successful band reunions of all time.  "Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not" is the fourth album they have released since reforming.

The album starts off with a punchy tune called "Going Down".  I never saw this title coming.  Some of their older tunes have titles like Going Home, Nothings Going On, Where Did You Go, I Don't Wanna Go There, etc.  Going Down is a certified classic.

"Tiny" is a song about dogs riding skateboards.  "Love Is" is a fantastic song sung by Lou Barlow.

"I Can See For Miles" is my favorite track on the album.  Modern doom bands are reknowned for droning two note riffs, and they all can stand to learn something from listening to this song.  The riffs in this song are tasty slabs of sludgey goodness, brought to you by the band that wrote "Sludgefeast" thirty years ago.  The drum breaks in this song are totally radical and the vocal delivery is perfect.  Excelsoir !

Dinosaur Jr live at the House of Blues in Boston 11/25/2016

Worshipper - Shadow Hymns

Fans of riff-based rock need pay attention because Worshipper has arrived with a large dose of heavy psychedelic rock.  In 2015 they were awarded the "Metal Artist Of The Year" at the Boston Music Awards.  In 2016 they were recognized again when they won the Rock 'n' Roll Rumble competition.  Not too shabby for a relatively new band.  They have built upon classic rock mores, constructing a fresh dual guitar attack against a backset of melodic doom.

Before playing with Worshipper, John Brookhouse and Alejandro Necochea were already reknowned as local guitar heroes.  It is difficult to point out a track where their leads really shine, because they are shredding all over the album.  Both guitarists play precision riffs while displaying Tiger-Claw technique on their guitar necks, methodically allowing quick successions of notes to rip through the mix.

The album kicks off with a barn burner called “High Above The Clouds”.   The song begins with the prophetic line “We reached the pyramids at dawn…".  This signals the beginning of their ascent.  This is when the session starts, the barometer spikes, the light sails into the stratosphere, and they don’t come down until the record is over.

"High Above the Clouds" and "Place Beyond the Light" (both released as singles last year) are modern rock anthems that I play on repeat when I'm drinking celebratory ales in my backyard.

"Ghosts and Breath" is based around a simple middle eastern tinged progression.  As the song progresses there is a sense of foreboding, the kind that occurs when someone suspects that they are in close proximity with an ominous presence.  "Darkness" is another spooky tune that appears to be written about an encounter with a succubus.

The acoustic passages and distinct tempo changes on songs like "Wolf Song" and "Darkness" are reminiscient of the Sabotage era, when Black Sabbath started becoming more progressive.  While the guitarists use a lot of mid-range voicings, Worshipper also employs a tube-heavy bottom end as part of their sound.  Bob Maloney's basslines shine through especially on songs like the aforementioned "Wolf Song".

The album closer is "Black Corridor", which is definitely one of their strongest songs.  The punishing drum style of Dave Jarvis is clearly evident on this track, driving hard on the toms and rolling along at a thunderous pace.  Word on the street is that he has been known to kick his foot through bass drum heads during their live shows.

Lest I forget, I must give a shout out to studio wizard Benny Grotto, who engineered and produced the album.  Musicians travel from around the world to record in Boston with this fellow for a reason.  The sound is tight, expansive, and ethereal.

Worshipper live at the 2016 Rock and Roll Rumble