http://www.spin.com/#articles/dinosaur-jr-oral-history-excerpt-sonic-youth-tour/

Dinosaur Jr. Oral History Excerpt: Band Talks 'Country Punk,' Sonic Youth Tour

J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph reflect on Dino's early days in recent coffee-table book

Dinosaur Jr.'s tumultuous, 30-plus-year saga recently produced yet another must-have for fans: Dinosaur Jr. by Dinosaur Jr., a comprehensive oral history published by Rocket 88 Books. SPIN recently discussed the project with Dino drummer Murph and the title's editor, Russell Beecher. Now, we present an exclusive excerpt of the limited-edition coffee-table book. Read about Dinosaur Jr.'s nascent days and time on the road with Sonic Youth — as remembered by Murph, frontman J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow, and several of their friends — below.


J Mascis (singer-guitarist, Dinosaur Jr.): When we got rid of Charlie we said we'd split up the singing, I'd sing half and Lou sing the other. They were all my songs and Lou didn't say if he was happy about it or not, we just split it up between us.


Lou Barlow (bassist-singer, Dinosaur Jr.): From the very beginning, when Murph and I were struggling to hear each other while J was playing obscenely loud and in our face, we struggled to find each other, to hear each other as a rhythm section. But through that process of trying to hear each other and trying to pay attention to what was going on, and by also listening to a lot of Black Sabbath and classic rock, where the rhythm sections were so crucial, when you realize how connected they are in that really powerful music that you really love, we managed to forge a way of playing together. We used the raw materials that J gave us, which were often complete bass lines and drum parts, and made them our own. I would sometimes write my own bass lines, and because I was a rhythm guitar player I was often playing rhythmically off of the way that J was playing.


J: We couldn't play well enough to play covers. I couldn't play barre chords so I'd make up my own chords while making up songs. I could play different songs on drums but I never had any guitar lessons.



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