Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis: The Band Carries On Because It Has "Nothing Better to Do"

J Mascis, guitarist and frontman of the US alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., was asked in an interview with the technology and culture outlet The Verge why the group has kept going for more than 40 years. His answer was terse: "I guess we have nothing better to do." The band is now touring the United States in support of its new album, There Near, which is out now.

A relaxed way of working

Dinosaur Jr. still performs with its original lineup: Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Patrick Murphy. According to Mascis, the band simply did not push things while making the new record. There were no eight-hour studio marathons, no meticulous fine-tuning of basslines and no swapping of sessions remotely. Mascis arrived with fully prepared demos and recording started immediately, even while Barlow and Murphy were still learning their parts, "on the off chance that it comes together quickly."

His approach to equipment is equally practical. Mascis calls himself a tube-amp purist but admits that it can be inconvenient, so he uses whatever works: he mixes and masters to tape, yet tracks in Pro Tools. When designing signature guitars with Fender, he tries to keep them uncomplicated and fairly cheap. The neck matters most to him, along with jumbo frets, and most other parts can be swapped out.

Artificial intelligence

Two years ago Mascis released a video for his solo track "Old Friends" that was made with generative AI, and it drew criticism. In the interview he addressed the matter publicly for the first time: a young person made the video, he thought it looked cool, and he eventually conceded that it is "a slippery slope." He does not believe AI has a place in making music, but says it is here regardless and people are learning how to deal with it.

Loud live shows

The subject on which Mascis spoke most forcefully was the band's notoriously loud concerts. He said audiences seem hungry for something grounded in reality: the band uses no in-ear monitors or click tracks, only amplifiers. He also criticised the modern trend of sound engineers who "create the sound instead of capture the sound."