PUBLISHED IN THE KITCHENER-WATERLOO RECORD ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 04, 1997
By Nick Krewen
If you look up the definition of "alternative musician" in the dictionary, you just might find JAD FAIR's face staring back at you.
The legendary underground music icon, who is bringing his support trio HALF JAPANESE to the Korova for a rare Waterloo concert appearance tomorrow (Thursday) night, has played with practically every musical underdog since the band's formation in Maryland in 1973.
GUMBALL's DON FLEMING, SONIC YOUTH's THURSTON MOORE and Hoboken noise specialists YO LA TENGO are the names you have probably heard of who are either breaking or have broken into the mainstream: California singer DANIEL JOHNSTON, NAO and former BONGWATER co-founder KRAMER are the more obscure of the bunch.
There's even some Canadian content, thanks to concerts Fair has performed with Toronto surf-rock instrumentalists SHADOWY MEN FROM A SHADOWY PLANET, and last year's collaborative album he recorded with the phoenix that rose from SMFASP's ashes -- PHONO-COMB's Monster, Lullabies...And The Occasional Flying Saucer.
But the Ann Arbor-born, Baltimore-based Fair himself says his most favorite creative exchanges have come with the participation of MAUREEN TUCKER, one-time drummer for THE VELVET UNDERGROUND.
"I was such a big fan of the Velvet Underground," says Fair during a surprise phone call from Montreal last night. "We had been corresponding for two or three years, and I sent her cassette tapes and different singles I had recorded."
Fair says he was visiting his grandmother in Phoenix in 1985, and decided to drop in on Tucker, living at the time in nearby Tucson.
"We hit it off," says the soft-spoken, polite Fair, who persuaded her to join him for some recording projects and eventual live dates that brought her out of semi-retirement. They have since collaborated on a number of EPs and albums, including the BETWEEN MEALS' collective's Oh No I Just Knocked Over A Cup Of Coffee album in '81 spearheaded by Fair.
But that's just one of Fair's many triumphs. With almost 40 albums to his credit, including 16 solo albums, the prolific songwriter has been able to induce his peers to indulge his every creative whim.
"I'm such a fan of music," Fair, 42, declares. "It's all very exciting to me. My tastes run in so many directions, that I need so many vehicles to express it."
Half Japanese is the most famous of those vehicles. Currently represented by the line-up of Fair on vocal, GILLES REIDER on drums, MICK HOBBS on bass , and JOHN SLUGGETT on guitar, Half Japanese made their auspicious debut by releasing a triple album, 1/2 Gentlemen/ Not Beasts. The current Canadian tour is to support their latest album, Bone Head, and the next Half Japanese album called Heaven Sent that will be released in August.
However strong his prolific nature, Fair doesn't make it easy for mainstream acceptance. For one thing, he sings off-key, often missing the desired pitch by a country mile.
He says it's unintentional.
"I guess I am a little bit tone deaf," he admits. "But that's like saying someone is color blind. It's not something I try to do. I'm always trying to hit that correct note. But anyone can hit a correct note. I think my strong points are timing and enthusiasm."
Spontaneity also plays a big factor in a live setting.
"We never practice," says Fair. "I don't believe in it. You should be what you are at any given time. To me, that element in danger is much more exciting. I never really know what I'm doing until I step on that stage."
Fair reports that some of his performance have provoked pretty unusual reactions.
"About ten years back in Kansas, we did a show where the entire audience turned their stools upside down and wriggled on the floor like worms," he recalls. "I couldn't tell you what prompted that.
"Even last night at our Montreal show, we decided to do a song in the middle of the room. The crowd was banging their ashtrays. It became really tribal."
-30-
DISCOGRAPHY
HALF JAPANESE
1977 -- 001. -- Calling All Girls EP7
1980 -- 002. -- 1/2 Gentlemen/Not Beasts
1981 -- 003. -- Loud
1982 -- 004. -- Horrible EP
1984 -- 005. -- Our Solar System
1984 -- 006. -- Sing No Evil
1986 -- 007. -- Big Big Sun (with Velvet Monkeys)
1987 -- 008. -- Music To Skip By
1987 -- 009. -- U.S. Teens Are Spoiled Bums EP
1988 -- 010. -- Charmed Life
1989 -- 011. -- The Band That Would Be King
1990 -- 012. -- We Are They Who Ache With Amorous Love
1992 -- 013. -- Fire In The Sky
1992 -- 014. -- Boo! Live In Europe
1995 -- 015. -- Greatest Hits
1995 -- 016. -- Hot
1997 -- 017. -- Bonehead
JAD FAIR
1980 -- 001. -- The Zombies Of Mora-Tu EP7
1982 -- 002. -- Everyone Knew...But Me
1983 -- 003. -- Oh No I Just Knocked Over A Cup Of Coffee (as Between Meals)
1984 -- 004. -- Monarchs
1987 -- 005. -- Best Wishes
1988 -- 006. -- Roll Out The Barrel (with Kramer)
1989 -- 007. -- Great Expectations
1989 -- 008. -- Jad Fair And Daniel Johnston (with Daniel Johnston)
1990 -- 009. -- The Sound Of Music
1991 -- 010. -- Greater Expectations
1991 -- 011. -- This Could Be The Night EP (with The Pastels)
1992 -- 012. -- I Like It When You Smile
1992 -- 013. -- No. 2: Jad Fair And The Pastels EP (with The Pastels)
1992 -- 014. -- Jad Fair/Jason Willett/Gilles Rieder (with Jason Willett and Gilles Rieder)
1993 -- 015. -- It's Spooky (with Daniel Johnston)
1993 -- 016. -- Half Robot (with Nao)
1996 -- 017. -- Monsters, Lullabies...and the Occasional Flying Saucer (with Phono Comb)
1996 -- 018. -- We Are The Rage (with The Shapir-O'-Rama)
1996 -- 019. -- Best Friends (with David Fair)
1997 -- 020. -- Honey Bee
1998 -- 021. -- Strange But True (with Yo La Tengo)
1998 -- 022. -- 26 Monster Songs For Children
1999 -- 023. -- Enjoyable Songs
AS MOSQUITO
1993 -- Time Was
1993 -- UFO Catcher
1993 -- Oh No Not Another Mosquito My House Is Full Of Them!
1994 -- Cupid's Fist
THANKS: PHILIP BAST
©1997, 1999 Nick Krewen, Octopus Media Ink