Jayhawks Break Up

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Alternative country pioneers the Jayhawks no longer together as a band
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Jayhawks have apparently called it a day.
Singer Gary Louris has confirmed that the alternative-country pioneers — formed in Minneapolis two decades ago — are no longer an active band.
“I don’t think we’re going to do anything else,” Louris told the Star Tribune. “We felt like we’ve done that enough. Everybody just wants to do something else. We haven’t completely closed the door, but ... I’d say it’s dead.”
A sold-out concert in Madison, Wis., on Saturday reunited Louris with singer Mark Olson, who quit the Jayhawks in 1995. The concert was part of a three-week tour.
Since their formation, the Jayhawks have issued five major-label albums that have sold about one million copies combined. Rolling Stone and Spin magazines listed the group’s Hollywood Town Hall (1992) as one of the most essential albums of the 1990s.
Louris recently co-wrote new tunes with the Dixie Chicks and appears eager to try other career directions, such as record production.
“When you’re on the treadmill (with a full-time band), you never have time to learn anything else,” he said. “I’m enjoying all these new experiences.”

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Should I make the 'they were still together?' comment or not or...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 19:27 (twenty-one years ago)

saw them saturday in madison and i'm really not surprised to read this news now. funny though--the hype leading up to the reunion said they were looking to make another record together. but on stage there was no chemistry between louris and olson--very little interaction of any kind, really. sure, when they sang together on the old stuff, it sounded good. but they played a lot of newer songs--that is stuff each has written in the last decade--and didn't sing together on these. also, up against recent louris songs like "angelyne," "tailspin" and "save it for a rainy day," olson's creekdippers songs sounded atrocious.

― asl, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 20:19 (twenty-one years ago)

That's too bad. I enjoyed the last album quite a little bit.

I bought tickets to see one of the farewell shows in NYNY. I'm looking forward to the show, but it will be sad if there's no chemistry -- if that's the case, I'd almost rather see a 2003-Era Jayhawks lineup.

― subgenius (subgenius), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 20:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Ned, make it. I saw them the other night. I haven't seen a show that good since they were together, when I saw them in Minneapolis on the Tomorrow the Green Grass tour. The third song was "Blue," and everyone in the audience sang along. I've never seen at an amazing show so many people call boyfriends and girlfriends to play them the song. Times have changed, but fuck.

― uncle two toes, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 20:38 (twenty-one years ago)

I didn't read asl's thing. Yeah the anti-Bush songs just didn't do it for me like Sound of Lies stuff forward.

― uncle two toes, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 20:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Contemplating seeing them in NYC in a few weeks. Not so happy to hear that they're doing a bunch of solo stuff though.

― 57 7th (calstars), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 20:42 (twenty-one years ago)

It's too bad. There was tentativeness evident up there, but Louris looked cool, and Olson sang his heart out. My thoughts leaving Luther's were that if this was only their first show after their first show in Ames, since not playing together since 90-whatever, it could get pretty great as the tour went on.

― uncle two toes, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 20:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Should I make the 'they were still together?' comment or not or...

NED, YOU'LL NEVER SET FOOT IN THE 400 BAR AGAIN!

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 20:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Was the show just the two of them or was there a backing band? Did they do 'Miss Williams Guitar?' Was there any rock at all?

― 57 7th (calstars), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Blue Earth is an amazing album, great folk/country...they never topped that for me....but Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass were great as well.

I really missed Olson when he left, they never seemed the same to me...they had such great harmonies together....I liked them more as a gentle folk-rock band than the more Beatles rock band thing Louris tried later....I mean, god there are a million power pop bands, but the Jayhawks had a unique sound within the alt-country thing...very Everly Brothers.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 21:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Also, Blue Earth is named after my hometown of Blue Earth, Minnesota, so we thought that was pretty fucking cool.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 21:01 (twenty-one years ago)

They had a guy playing fiddle and piano and another guy playing drums. The guy playing drums looked bored, which fucked me up, because it was pretty good when Olson didn't do his Creek Drippers obvious anti-Bush thing like the other guy said.

― uncle two toe, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 21:06 (twenty-one years ago)

the lineup was louris on guitars and harmonica, olson on bass and some keys, razz russell on fiddle (mostly) and a drummer who didn't seem to know his parts (who also sang some harmonies).

don't get me wrong, there was no evident antipathy between them, just no spark.

and the midset block of five straight olson songs, most of them from the new "political manifest," was like horse tranquilizers f'reals.

― asl, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 21:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I like all their stuff, Matt. It's pretty weird confessing their show wasn't like THE BEST NEW THING. But for real it was pretty great. A lot of people into them were there and knew all the words to the songs. Not a bad time at all. Not punk so much (or postpostpostpunk or whatever) as guys from Minnesota playing together for a lot of people pleased by that. When they did "Pray for Me" toward the end silent cheers seemed to go up as everyone geared up to sing along. Can't do that with lots of bands anymore, for better or worse.

― uncle two toe, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 21:19 (twenty-one years ago)

aslindall and uncle two toe, are you guys in madison too? that makes four of us now!

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 21:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I am in Madison, tos. It's so warm out up here. No clouds or nothing. "Out of days, out of days."

― uncle two toe, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 21:34 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm in chicago

― asl, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 21:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I was on the fence about going to one of the upcoming NYC shows. With this news in mind, I'm def. going. Wish they'd bring along the woman who sang and played keys on the Tomorrow the Green Grass album, though.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Tuesday, 22 February 2005 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Karen G. She's not there. I was disappointed too. Maybe Gary and Mark can get along well enough to prove to her it would be fun. She did a beautiful job on Sound of Lies.

― uncle two toe, Tuesday, 22 February 2005 23:08 (twenty-one years ago)

I went to the 3-2 show at Bowery Ballroom. It was okay. The main problem with the show was that Mark's solo material was embarrassing. They would rotate between old Jayhawks songs, Gary songs, and Mark songs, and the crowd would thin noticably every time Mark played one of his heavy-handed political songs. I am a very, very liberal person, but his songs seemed out of place and awkward.

Catch the show, if you can, and look at the bright side: You know you can make a beer run every three songs.

― subgenius (subgenius), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:43 (twenty-one years ago)

http://images.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/photos/2003-04-06-inside-hinrich.jpg
Kirk Hinrich now free to form band that is way more emo.

― Aaron A., Friday, 4 March 2005 05:54 (twenty-one years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.