The Jayhawks (alternative country/country rock)

The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, their country rock sound was influential on many bands who played the Twin Cities circuit during the 1980s and 1990s, such as Uncle Tupelo, the Gear Daddies and the Honeydogs. They have released eleven studio albums, with and without Olson (who left the band for the first time in 1995), including five on the American Recordings label. After going on hiatus from 2005 to 2009, the 1995 lineup of the band reunited and released the album Mockingbird Time in September 2011; Olson left the band for the second time after the tour to promote the album. After another hiatus in 2013, the 1997 lineup led by Louris reunited to play shows in 2014 to support the reissue of three albums originally released between 1997 and 2003. Since then, the band has continued to tour and record, releasing the albums Live at The Belly Up in 2015; Paging Mr. Proust, co-produced by Peter Buck and Tucker Martine, in 2016; Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018; and XOXO in 2020. The Jayhawks was formed in 1984 by Minneapolis musicians Mark Olson (guitar and vocals) and Caleb Palmiter (bass), with the duo adding Tommy Rey (drums) for its first shows. In 1985 the short-lived trio was relaunched as a four-piece band after Olson recruited Steve Retzler (guitar), Marc Perlman (bass), and Norm Rogers (drums). Later that year Gary Louris (guitar and vocals) replaced Retzler. Their first album, The Jayhawks, was released by Bunkhouse Records, a small independent label, in 1986. Their music at the time, mostly written by Olson, showed a strong roots/country rock influence. Rogers left and was replaced by Thad Spencer, and the band worked for the next years on demo tapes in search of a major label recording contract. During this period, Louris left the band briefly (following a car accident) and Dan Gaarder replaced him. Louris returned, and the collected demos from 1986 to 1989 were brought together to create Blue Earth, released on the Minneapolis label Twin Tone in 1989. On this album Louris shared more of the songwriting with Olson. After touring the U.S. in support of Blue Earth, Spencer left the band and was replaced in 1988 by Ken Callahan, who stayed with the band until 1993. In 1991, Dave Ayers, the head of A&R for Twin Tone, was on a phone call with A&R representative George Drakoulias of Def American while Blue Earth played in the background. Drakoulias asked about the music and eventually met with and signed the band to the label later that year. In 1992 the Jayhawks had their major label release, Hollywood Town Hall, on Def American. The album was produced by Drakoulias and recorded primarily in Los Angeles and at Pachyderm Recording Studio in Minnesota. Though Louris's fuzzy guitar was at the forefront, a clear folksy influence was also emerging in Olson and Louris's songwriting. The album was successful, powered by the single "Waiting for the Sun", and it brought the Jayhawks a wider fan base. Adding Karen Grotberg on keyboards and vocals, the band toured extensively. That year Olson, Louris and Perlman, along with Olson's longtime friend and future collaborator in the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, Mike Russell, were recruited by Joe Henry as the backing band for his album "Short Man's Room" and its 1993 followup, "Kindness of the World." In 1995 they went into the studio to produce Tomorrow the Green Grass on the renamed American Recordings label. The lead track, "Blue", was a Top 40 hit in Canada (peaking at No. 33), but the record's production had been very expensive and the album failed to sell as expected in the U.S. Among the album's songs is "Miss Williams' Guitar", a love song for Olson's then-girlfriend, singer-songwriter Victoria Williams (the pair later married, but divorced in February 2006). Drummer, singer and songwriter Tim O'Reagan joined the band for the 1995 tour; session drummer Don Heffington had played on the album. By the end of 1995, Olson unexpectedly left the band to spend more time with Williams (with whom he would later form the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers). The band continued to record as the Jayhawks, adding Kraig Johnson on guitar. Johnson, another Minneapolis musical fixture, had played in the seminal SST band Run Westy Run, Iffy and Golden Smog. The Jayhawks released Sound of Lies in 1997, with Louris composing most of the songs and allowing all of his influences a share in the proceedings. The result mixed straight rock (the ironic "Big Star"), psychedelic, acoustic (the title track) and even some dub elements, taking the band far from its country-influenced origins. Smile (2000), produced by Bob Ezrin, had more of a pop music feel (which utilized new sounds for the band, like drum loops and synthesizers), jarring some of the band's long-time fans. The New York Times positively reviewed the album, but in a nod to the band's lack of widespread recognition, titled the review "What If You Made a Classic and No One Cared?" Though still a member through the recording of the album, a pregnant Grotberg left the band before the Smile tour and was replaced by Jen Gunderman. The song "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" appeared in a Ralph Lauren commercial, the second soundtrack released from Dawson's Creek Songs from Dawson's Creek Volume 2, and the 2001 film All Over the Guy. Rainy Day Music (2003), was stripped down, more acoustic, and generally seen as a return to their alt-country roots ("Tailspin," "Stumbling Through the Dark," "You Look So Young"). The band now consisted of founding members Louris and Perlman, along with drummer O'Reagan and touring band member ex-Long Ryder Stephen McCarthy, from Richmond, Virginia, who also played with Johnny Hott and the Piedmont Surprise. McCarthy added pedal steel, lap steel, banjo, guitar and backing vocals to the album and subsequent live shows. This lineup toured in 2003 and early 2004, including their first appearance on PBS's long-running series Austin City Limits. The band's final show was in Valencia, Spain. In addition to their studio albums, the Jayhawks released Live from the Women's Club, an all-acoustic live recording of Louris, Perlman and O'Reagan from 2002. It was sold only at concerts as an "Official Jayhawks Bootleg." It includes the demo of the original version of "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", called "Someone Will", and a cover of David Wiffen's "(Lost My) Driving Wheel", originally popularized by Tom Rush. A follow-up, Live from the Women's Club 2, contains the rest of the concert, including a cover of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" and a rendition of "Jennifer Save Me" from Golden Smog, the alt/country supergroup of which Louris was a founding member (and which Perlman later joined). Both old and new Jayhawks members progressed to solo efforts and side projects, and the band as a whole was generally considered to be broken up and not expected to produce new material soon. However, the band members appeared to have kept in touch, tour together in their other projects, and reunited on occasion. Olson and Louris toured together in the winter of 2005 and spring of 2006, billed as "From the Jayhawks: An Evening with Mark Olson & Gary Louris, Together Again." In September 2008, the 1995 lineup of Louris, Olson, O'Reagan, Grotberg and Perlman reunited briefly for the Azkena Rock Festival in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. In January 2009, Olson and Louris released an acoustic album, Ready for the Flood. In April 2009, Billboard reported that the Jayhawks had reunited. The band's mid-1990s lineup played two shows that summer, one at Barcelona's Primavera Sound Festival on May 30 and one at Minneapolis's Basilica Block Party on July 10. Band co-leader Louris told Billboard that the reunion would be a part-time thing: "I think the plan is that we're going to play festivals. Next year, we're