Happy Birthday Jad Fair!

Celebrating the birthday of singer/songwriter and visual artist Jad Fair with a couple of delightful performances. 

Jad Fair releasing two new albums 100 Songs & Film Music on March 8th

Jad Fair offers a master class in songwriting with 100 Songs and Film Music – watch the animated clip for "So Far So Good" below. 

Here's the scoop...

Can an indie/punk legend create his most epic work a half century into his career? As productive as Guided By Voices and Buckethead are, neither could match Half Japanese leader Jad Fair’s quest to release100 albums in 2021 during his COVID downtime- he actually topped that goal with a whopping 160 albums then. Now he’s whittled them down to a 100-song, double album set that’s a cornucopia of words/songs/sounds. The brief, juicy nuggets of songs were crafted by Jad alone, composing the sounds via the GarageBand computer program, supplemented by his recitals and booming vocal percussion. 

Jad is a stunning study in contrast, with enough eerie ghouls to fill up the Shudder Channel and enough plaintive love songs to fill up the Hallmark Channel. There’s truly something for all tastes here and now you can soak it all up in one place.

Along with his sprawling collection "100 Songs", indie/punk legend Jad Fair unleashes yet another 150 songs, "Film Music" this time all brief instruments (recorded in 2021, 2023), with the express purpose of each becoming potential celluloid scores, like Brian Eno’s Music For Films.

 The DIY and lo-fi aesthetic of punk rock can be traced to Jad Fair, who, along with his brother David, created the wonderfully crazed ensemble Half Japanese in the mid 70’s.  More than 20 albums later, with Jad as the long-term leader and mainstay, its membership has included the Velvet Underground’s Moe Tucker, iconoclast musician Kramer and producer Don Fleming. Fair has also built up an enviable solo career, recording albums with Yo La Tengo, Teenage Fanclub, Daniel Johnston, the Pastels and others.  In addition, he is also known as a renowned visual artist whose drawings and papercut works have appeared in galleries across the U.S., Europe and Asia. Even now, he’s embarked on the most productive period of his career and shows no signs of slowing down.

Kill Rock Stars is making available Jad Fair's two new releases as a special pre-order bundle right here. Check out the video for "So Far So Good" below.  

 

Jad Fair shares new Half Japanese video for "We Are Giants"

The new Half Japanese album Jump Into Love is out July 21st. Check out "We Are Giants"

Here's the scoop from Fire Records...

It’s a meeting of minds, a coming together and a coming-of-an-age from the world’s favourite indie-alt-rock outsiders. Jump Into Love is “possibly” the 20th studio album from lo-fi royalty Half Japanese. Atypically out there and off-kilter, it wears its heart on its sleeve through a cascade of new, dark and brooding songs from the band who would be king.

Loved by Kurt Cobain, Daniel Johnston, Penn Jillette and outsiders everywhere, Half Japanese continue their quest for answers; creating a soundscape for a post-zombie land where bells chime and it’s OK to say “Yes”. It’s another adventure; series 20 from an introspective parallel world where the super prolific Jad Fair cogitates on life, love, giants, the possessed and even bigger issues that simply swell the brain.

Half Japanese currently includes Jad with John Sluggett, Gilles-Vincent Rieder, Mick Hobbs and Jason Willett, a veritable who’s who of DIY indie culture. Recorded at Tempo House, Baltimore, Russian Recording, Bloomington Indiana, Studio de la Trappe, Donneville France and la Casamurada, Tarragona Spain. The album was mixed by long time Half Japanese sparring partner Jason Willett at his home in Baltimore, Maryland.

Pre-order 'Jump Into Love' – featuring sleeve art by Toronto's own Gary Taxali – right here: https://halfjapanese.lnk.to/JumpIntoLove

“The band members live such a far distance from each other. John is up in Asheville area. Gilles is living in Switzerland. Mick lives in London. It's such a distance that we're not able to rehearse so of course it's going to keep a kind of rawness to it,” says Jad.

Jump Into Love follows a string of excellent expanded re-issues of classic Half Japanese albums on Fire Records and Jad’s release of some 15 solo albums between 2020 and 2022.

“I feel a need to do music and do songwriting. It's something I really miss when I'm not doing it. There's a certain amount of tranquility that's obtained from the fact that you can be working on songs each day. I think you use that certain portion of your brain that is otherwise not used. I kind of kind of prefer using it than not using it.”

Check out "We Are Giants" following the track listing for Jump Into Love below.

Half Japanese – Jump Into Love 

1. It’s Ok

2. We Are Giants

3. True Love Will Save The Day

4. Listen To The Bells Chime

5. Jump Into Love

6. The Answer Is Yes

7. Shining Sun

8. This Isn’t Funny

9. Step Inside

10. Here She Comes

11. Shining Stars

12. Zombie World

Toronto's Gary Taxali creates sleeve art for new Half Japanese album

Here's Gary Taxali's brilliant artwork appears on the cover of the new Half Japanese album "Jump Into Love" and gig posters.

Here's the scoop...

"I've always loved the art punk band Half Japanese, led by brothers Jad and David Fair.  I saw them perform several times over the years and have always enjoyed their shows.  The Fair brothers have collaborated with musicians including Daniel Johnston, Moe Tucker, and Kurt Cobain, who was such a big fan, asked them to open for Nirvana's In Utero tour. (When Kurt was found dead, he was wearing a Half Japanese t-shirt.) Jad Fair has been leading the band for decades and is releasing their new album "Jump Into Love" this July. I was pretty elated when Jad asked me to do the album artwork. He wanted the whole cover to be my art (the band's name/album title will be affixed to a sticker on the shrink wrap)." – Gary Taxali

Get tickets for the Half Japanese show at the Moth Club in Hackey on March 25 right here.

Jad Fair is Baking Cookies for Santa

 Jad Fair's delightful Christmas tune was recorded for the Joyful Noise label's annual holiday special.    

Here's the scoop...

We’re suckers for a good tradition over at Joyful Noise Reccords, one of them being our annual “holiday special” with holiday-themed covers by members of the JNR roster – including Oneida, Paul Leary, Kramer, The Ophelias, WHY?, jess joy, CJ Boyd and of course, Jad Fair – available as a digital download right here. 

Check out Jad Fair's performance of "Baking Cookies For Santa" followed by the entire Joyful Noise 2021 Holiday Special. 

Joyful Noise 2021 Holiday Special

1. WHY? - Auld Lang Syne 

2. jess joy - OkCupid Xmas 

3. Paul Leary - We Wish You a Merry Christmas 

4. Kidbug - Just Like Xmas 

5. Sound of Ceres - Walking in the Air 

6. Jad Fair - Baking Cookies for Santa 

7. C.J. Boyd - Winter Wanderer 

8. Tall Tall Trees - Free Jazz Drummer Boy 

9. The Ophelias - Silver & Gold 

10. No Joy - Theme from Gremlins 

11. Kramer - Winterlong 

12. Oneida - In The Court of the Christmas King

100% of net proceeds will benefit Coalition for the Homeless. 

 

Watch Jad Fair sing Daniel Johnston's "I Live My Broken Dreams"

Here's Jad Fair performing "I LIve My Broken Dreams" followed by Daniel Johnston's own version shot at Jad's house in 1988. 

Jad Fair & Kramer reunite for The History of Crying (Revisited)

Jad Fair & Kramer's new album The History of Crying, Revisited is out now. Check out the video for "I Wanna Make A Movie" 

Here' s the scoop...

Indie rock duo Jad Fair & Kramer just shared a video for "I Wanna Make A Movie" to coincide with the release of their new collaborative album The History of Crying (Revisited) on Shimmy-Disc/Joyful Noise. Watch the entertaining black & white video co-directed by Kramer and acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Grant McPhee below. 

On "I Wanna Make A Movie," Kramer says: So one of the 12 song titles i sent to Jad for this LP (hoping he'd write some great lyrics for it) was "I Wanna Make A Movie."

And a few hours later he sent me some lyrics in his truest style...with "happy endings", and "starring you and me", and "action packed and thrilling". all things that reflected his lifelong, unbreakable optimism and love for everything and everyone around him and all around the world. Jad is Joy. Jad is Hope. Jad is Love.

But i knew from personal experience that the world of movies was filled with jealousy and rejection and a sea full of vindictive people who will stop at nothing in their unholy crusade to destroy the lives of others, their livelihoods, even destroying their own love for the cinema itself in the process of destroying others. I have seen it. some people will stop at nothing when their goal is to stop you. it's the air that they breathe. they'll wither and die and blow away if they don't have someone to destroy.

So i added some lyrics that reflected MY feelings about the world of movie making. Lyrics like, "I am a power couple, like Angelina Jolie, and Mr. Pitt will call me, he says he'll work for free", and, "my head is big as Texas, my ego bigger still". stuff like that. I felt this brought some realism to the proceedings that the music was screaming out for, and Jad was fine with us co-writing lyrics whenever i felt compelled to put my two cents in. and i thought to myself...no one's ever going to think that Jad wrote a line like, "I will die in a car crash, and have my dreams fulfilled."

i mean, that's not Jad. not in a million years. That's me.

"And he can go climb a tree."

So it is with the deepest reverence that Jad Fair and I (and guitarist Paul Leary) give you this song, in dedication to all the great songwriters who'll never make a record, and all the great actors who'll never get the shot they deserve, all the great directors who never got to make their movie, and all the great singers who never saw a microphone. Their stories are fully half of the stories in THE HISTORY OF CRYING.    – Kramer, June 2021

This is Jad Fair & Kramer's third collaboration (and first in almost 20 years): The History of Crying, a 12-track record produced and recorded by Kramer at his studio in Florida, Noise Miami. Long-time fans of Jad Fair will be blown away by his vocals on the album, and fans of Butthole Surfers will go "hog wild" for Paul Leary's fiery guitar solos across the record. Kramer's music & arrangements glue it all together in a startling mix that pulls his entire history as a producer into a single glorious celebration.

Jad Fair & Kramer – The History of Crying (Revisited) 

1    Red Red Sun    

2    I Wanna Make a Movie    

3    The History of Crying    

4    I Won't Eat 'Til You Come Back To Me    

5    I'll Give You The Moon    

6    Pickpockets Of Love    

7    Show Me The Way To Nowhere    

8    Do You Really Need a Map To My Heart?

9    All I Need Is a Kiss    

10    I Miss My Analog Warmth    

11    You Cripple Me    

12    Tearjerker

That time Half Japanese played Miami's Open Books & Records in 1986

Watch Jad Fair and crew get down in style in 1986 followed by a Jad Fair & Claus Frøhlich video for "Why Not?" from 2017.

Watch Jad Fair & Kramer's new video for I'll Give You The Moon

Jad Fair & Kramer's new album The History Of Crying is out now on Shimmy 500.

Happy Birthday Jad Fair!

Cheers to singer/songwriter, guitarist and graphic artist deluxe Jad Fair who turns 63 today!

Jad's new album with Kramer The History Of Crying (out now on Shimmy 500) is limited to 500 copies on red vinyl. 

Happy 60th birthday Jad Fair!