Jayhawks duo's friendship outlasts band, marriage Options

[Montana]

These guys are on a west coast tour right now. Pretty cool article:

Jayhawks duo's friendship outlasts band, marriage
By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Where have all my friends gone? They've all disappeared," Jayhawks principals Gary Louris and Mark Olson crooned in one of their band's biggest hits.

Fortunately, they'll always have each other, even after Olson's departure from the now-defunct country-rock band in 1995 cast a decade-long chill on their friendship.

When Olson was recently thrown out by his wife, singer/songwriter Victoria Williams, after he admitted to a brief affair, he says Louris provided a shoulder to cry on.


"I've called him up a number of times, like in the pits, and he's been a very good friend," Olson told Reuters.

Olson, 44, and Louris, 51, have joined forces to play a dozen West Coast club dates. They did an East Coast swing last year. But they are not billing themselves as the Jayhawks.

"I'm not doing anything with the Jayhawks anymore," Louris said in a separate interview. He kept the band going for two albums after Olson left, but "I'm tired of any dealing with it. Anybody can have that name as far as I'm concerned."

For their current tour, they are sharing a car -- but not hotel rooms -- armed with little more than their acoustic guitars. Louris joked that they could be sporting black eyes and be driving in separate vehicles by the time the tour ends May 12 in Seattle. But for now, everything is fine.

They also hope to write together for a non-Jayhawks album, if they can find a few spare weeks. Both also want to work on solo albums. Additionally, Olson will tour Europe in July, before returning to America to try and start a new life.

Louris' summer plans include some promotion for a new album by his side-project The Golden Smog, and a few weeks of tanning with his family at his summer house in southern Spain. He also wants to write songs for movies. He placed a few tunes on the upcoming crossword documentary "Wordplay."

Their last Jayhawks album together was 1995's acclaimed "Tomorrow the Green Grass," which contained the aforementioned radio hit "Blue" and the ode to Olson's ex, "Miss Williams' Guitar." The album, combining Louris's high lonesome vocals and Olson's lower register, solidified the Minneapolis-based band's status at the vanguard of the resurgent "alt-country" movement.

But Olson quit that December, a move he now regrets.


"I was burned and I needed a break," he said. "I probably should have just taken a break and not left the band."

When did he come to that realization?

"About five minutes ago! I'm a little slow."

Louris said Olson's departure was "a little premature ... I think we both feel like we were weren't tapped out as far as a songwriting duo."

The tour, which played to a half-empty house of mostly thirtysomething men at the Troubadour on Monday, provides a comfortable folk surrounding for Olson.

"I never was comfortable trying to sing over a loud band. I never quite got that. I didn't think I was singing as well as I could naturally sitting down with an acoustic guitar."

He hoped his eventual album with Louris would be betray a strong folk influence, "because I think he likes that too."

Or perhaps not. "Without trying to be Mr. Hipster," Louris said he would rather listen to early Pink Floyd than country-rock eminence Parsons. Others on his playlist include "Krautrock" bands such as Can and Neu, and Australian doom merchant Nick Cave.


"He's into Nick Cave?!?!? You're kidding me," Olson said, when apprised of the news. "When we do a record, there won't be too much Nick Cave. I don't know what to say, really."

[Hips]

"I'm not doing anything with the Jayhawks anymore," Louris said in a separate interview. He kept the band going for two albums after Olson left, but "I'm tired of any dealing with it. Anybody can have that name as far as I'm concerned."

nice find monty....although i dont like the sound of that quote right there.

[LOL Alzado]

For their current tour, they are sharing a car -- but not hotel rooms

The Gayhawks?

[tweed]

How did it never occur to me that Ms. Williams guitar was about Victoria?

[Janine]

How did it never occur to me that Ms. Williams guitar was about Victoria?

Because you never listened to the lyrics.


I am also assuming that this is the end of Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers.
Cheers,
Janine

[dice]

He kept the band going for two albums after Olson left

three, actually

[The Sheck]

"I'm not doing anything with the Jayhawks anymore," Louris said in a separate interview. He kept the band going for two albums after Olson left, but "I'm tired of any dealing with it. Anybody can have that name as far as I'm concerned."

nice find monty....although i dont like the sound of that quote right there.

Ehh...when you're 51, have tried to branch out artistically, but failed to reach a wider audience, plus you owe your former label over $1 million dollars, it's probably not so appealing to fire up the machine another time.

[EastBayJ]

CONCERT REVIEW
Jayhawks duo less than stellar in acoustic show

By Jim Harrington, STAFF WRITER


IT WAS a lot like all-you-can-eat night at the Cheesecake Factory. The only catch was you could only pick from the dessert menu.

How much gooey sweetness, particularly of one distinct flavor, can one handle? In my case, not nearly as much Mark Olson and Gary Louris were willing to dish out Monday night at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

There were many problems with this show, which fell as the second half of a two-night stand at the opulent venue. The concert lacked personality and punch. The material, at least in terms of sheer sound dynamics, was incredibly one-dimensional. Both performers lack stage presence. I could go on and on.

Taken collectively, these problems translated to what was a pretty boring night of music. How disappointing.

I had high hopes for this show. Olson and Louris, two immensely talented players, spent 10 years making beautiful music together in the Minneapolis-based country-pop band the Jayhawks.

Olson left the band in 1995, to concentrate on working with wife Victoria Williams in the Creekdrippers, and the Jayhawks have continued to soar under Louris' wing. Fans were highly anticipating the chance to see the two old musical acquaintances reunited onstage. Count me as one of those fans.

At first, the concert looked like it might be great. The two men took their seats, picked up their acoustic guitars and softly harmonized their way through "Pray for Me" and "I'd Run Away," two key tracks from 1995's critically adored "Tomorrow the Green Grass" CD.

The impervious harmonies continued on "Sister Cry" (from 1992's "Hollywood Town Hall") and kept right on flowing for "Two Hearts" (another "Green Grass" track).

It didn't take long, however, before all these inflexible harmonies got pretty tiresome. Olson and Louris sing fairly well together — although it would be a mistake to put the duo in the company of Simon and Garfunkel or the Everly Brothers — but the result almost never varies.

Combine that with a musical approach that straddles the middle of the road somewhere between folk-pop and country-rock, and you might need a few Red Bulls to stay awake.

The duo countered that sleepy dynamic on record with plenty of studio trickery, the work of other players
and, most importantly, Louris' dynamic electric guitar work.

Louris is such a fantastic rock guitarist that he really shouldn't be allowed to take the stage unless he plugs in. His recent outings with the Jayhawks at the Fillmore have been nothing less than sensational.

Without Louris' electric guitar to spell the boredom, the performers really needed to provide something else to help captivate the crowd. Most acoustic musicians do that by telling stories, which translate far better in an intimate setting like the Great American than at a larger rock club.

This was a great opportunity for the musicians to connect with the fans, through fond tales of yesteryear or by sharing obscure trivia about the songs. Yet it turned out to be an opportunity wasted. The musicians said little between the tunes, except for one notable comment about Louris' interest in baseball.

"I've kind of become an A's fan," he said. "I read a book about them."

Well, if nothing else, we now know that Louris is an intelligent sports fan.

We also know that he's pretty darn good on the acoustic guitar. At his very best, Louris reminded one of the great Stephen Stills as the duo continued through otherwise sleepy versions of such old favorites as "Clouds," "Ann Jane" and "Miss Williams' Guitar."

Olson and Louris did manage to cross the finish the line with flair. They saved the best for last and delivered an absolutely gorgeous version of "Blue" to end the main set.

And then, for one too-brief moment, we simply couldn't get enough of those classic Jayhawks harmonies.

[Montana]

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117930417...4&cs=1&nid=2562

Though the Jayhawks never really escaped the alt-country tag they received early on, this reunion tour between their two primary songwriters emphasizes the sweet harmonies that were a mainstay of the band's best material.
Olson left the band in 1995. Though Louris has continued recording under the Jayhawks name, there's no new material to promote, and any commercial viability the Jayhawks have is negligible; a reunion can only mean the duo enjoy exploring their back catalog as much as their small-but-dedicated fanbase considers it a treat to see them perform together again.

Olson and Louris played 23 songs in an hour and a half, hitting the breadth of their material, including "Sister Cry," the key song from their ground-breaking 1992 album "Hollywood Town Hall." The duo's soaring harmonies sounded near-effortless throughout, as did Louris' chorus-drenched guitar solos, filled with careful plucking and tuneful bends.

The Jayhawks always made music that called out to the past -- hints of Neil YoungNeil Young and his cronies Crosby, Stills and Nash were apparent through the night -- but now their effect on the present makes its way in as well. The Shins and Coldplay have lifted melodies from some of these songs, and harmonies as perfect as Olsen and Louris' never sound old. Though this West Coast reunion tour won't change their status as a band, it absolutely keeps the Jayhawks' legacy intact.

[dice]

pretty cool that they played 'ms. williams' guitar'

i never would've guessed louris is 51 fucking years old

[Ted Falconi]

These two guys seem like they might be homos.