J Mascis (/ˈmæskɪs/ MASS-kiss; born Joseph Donald Mascis, Jr. on December 10, 1965) is an American musician. He is best known as the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. and described as a figurehead of grunge. He also developed a solo career releasing six albums while also playing drums on other projects. His latest album Tied to a Star was released in August 2014. As a notable guitarist he was ranked number 86 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", and in 2012 was also ranked 5th in Spin's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Biography

Mascis was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, the son of a dentist and grew up in the same area together with his sister Patty and an older brother. His family name is Italian, from the province of Foggia, in the region of Apulia in the south of Italy. His mother, Theresa (an avid golfer), died in 1985 while his father, Joseph Sr., died in 1993.

At the age of 17, Mascis joined the short-lived hardcore group Deep Wound with Lou Barlow, Scott Helland, and Charlie Nakajima in the early 1980s. He started out playing drums, but moved to guitar when he went on to found Dinosaur Jr. with bassist Barlow and drummer Emmett Jefferson "Patrick" Murphy (aka "Murph") in 1984 and achieved national success. His vocals have been described as "Neil Young-like" and his guitar riffs as "monolithic". Mascis dismissed Barlow from Dinosaur Jr. in 1989 and over the next eight years recorded several more Dinosaur Jr. albums, including the 1996 acoustic solo album Martin + Me. In 1989 Kurt Cobain suggested that Mascis join Nirvana.

The manager for Deep Wound was Gerard Cosloy, who then went on to found Homestead Records. Homestead released Dinosaur Jr.'s first record. Mascis says that the reason why Dinosaur Jr.'s sound is not fully formed on that record is that they were more or less automatically signed to Homestead. Megan Jasper, vice president at Sub Pop Records characterises this period as “J had some anger, like any punk rock kid. Usually, though, when a young person is angry, they tend to be really loud. And J wasn’t. He was only loud when he played music”.

As a side project, he was the drummer in Boston doom metal group Upsidedown Cross, who released a self-titled album on Taang! Records in 1991. He wrote songs for the film Gas, Food, Lodging, in which he made a cameo appearance. In 1996, he had a small part in the movie Grace of my Heart and provided a ballad and a Beach Boys-like song for the soundtrack. In 1998, he retired the Dinosaur Jr. name.

In April 2005 Mascis, Barlow, and Murph reformed the band for a tour celebrating the re-release of the group's first three albums. They have since released three new albums: Beyond (released in 2007), Farm (released in 2009), and I Bet on Sky (released on September 17, 2012).


Solo material
In 2000 he began producing albums with his new band, J Mascis + The Fog. In 2003, the house and studio he owned burned down.

In August 2005 Mascis released J and Friends Sing and Chant For Amma, a solo album under the J Mascis and Friends banner. The album consists of devotional songs dedicated to Hindu religious leader Mata Amritanandamayi, or Ammachi, about whom he had written "Ammaring" on the first J Mascis + The Fog album More Light. The proceeds from the album are being donated to tsunami relief efforts Ammachi's organization is spearheading. In 2008 the six-track album was made available digitally on his own Baked Goods label.

In 2006 Mascis returned to drumming with his newly formed heavy metal band Witch for their self-titled debut album.

Also that year, he collaborated with Evan Dando on a new Lemonheads album. The Lemonheads was released that September, featuring Mascis playing lead guitar.

In 2010 Mascis joined with John Petkovic and Tim Parnin of Cobra Verde and Dave Sweetapple of Witch to form Sweet Apple. The self-titled debut album was released on Tee Pee Records. Mascis plays drums, guitar, and sings on the album.

Mascis released a mostly acoustic album in March 2011 titled Several Shades of Why on Sub Pop Records. He was joined in the studio by several guest musicians, including Kurt Vile, Ben Bridwell and Sophie Trudeau. Mascis toured North AMerica with Vile as support act to promote the album. In 2013 Richard Ayoade cast J Mascis in a small role, a caretaker, in his film The Double. Mascis's electric guitar work is featured on the 2014 Strand of Oaks album Heal.

In April 2014 he played with reunited Nirvana on a secret gig after the Rock and roll hall of fame interventions. He sang the songs School, Pennyroyal Tea and Drain You. In August 2014 he released the solo album Tied to a Star on Subpop and toured in support of it.