J. Mascis Instrumental Disc Due in May
Dinosaur Jr.‘s J Mascis has teamed up with a pair of old friends for the May 8th release of an all-instrumental disc. Recorded under the name Heavy Blanket, the new project features childhood chums “Pete Cougar” and “Johnny Pancake,” according to the Dinosaur Jr. fan site Freakscene.
The band’s imaginative backstory – if it is to be believed – is that the trio came together after they were “kicked out of marching band for smoking weed out of a tuba,” according to information on the website of record label Outer Battery. Nearly thirty years after recording a demo together, they got back together to finish this session. The self-titled offering will be extremely limited, with a purple vinyl pressing of just 200 copies available for pre-order.
In other news, Mascis and Built to Spill bassist Brett Nelson have finalized an album of synth-pop renderings of Dinosaur Jr. tunes. Titled The Electronic Anthology Project, it drops in limited quantities on purple vinyl for Record Store Day (April 21st) followed by a proper vinyl and CD release.
It’s been a busy winter for Mascis. In addition to crafting an upcoming Dinosaur Jr. set, he was one of the highlights of the Weezer Cruise this past January. And he’ll perform an intimate charity show at Brooklyn’s Prema Yoga on May 19th to benefit Embracing the World.