Dino tracks

Dinosaur Jr. get ready to Hand It Over

by Don Fluckinger

Bombastic power-trio guitar distortion eclipsing self-conscious, half-out-of-tune vocals that range from an under-sung whisper to an overwrought falsetto. It's a formula that works for many bands (can you say Pavement, Superchunk, Sebadoh?) who came to national prominence in the past decade via the underground ranks.

The kids love it because the sound's more brutally honest than the latest velveteen patter from other so-called "alternative" groups -- especially those making bags of money from the sales of their pop-chart-topping ditties -- and the power chords can lull any true rock fan into swinging his or her head to the big downbeat.

Dinosaur Jr., a power trio led by locally born and bred J Mascis, were one of the first to play this kind of music in the early to mid 1980s. The group's raw, compelling pop sounded tres refreshing in the face of the polished, cookie-cutter glam-metal crap dominating MTV at the time.

Fifteen years later, they're still cranking out album after album. Although no one would say that Dinosaur Jr. underwent a huge musical evolution in a decade and a half, they've been on the scene; the most recent album, Hand It Over, shows a certain innovation in the arrangements.

Mascis wrote, composed, performed, and produced much of the recording, working in a studio at his home near Amherst. The CD features some cool trappings that add contrast to the moody, expansive sound and accentuate the big, catchy hooks fans have come to know and love.

Specifically Mascis uses his recently purchased vintage Mellotron as well as flutes on "Never Bought It" and banjos on "Getting Rough." The trumpet line on "I'm Insane," a Bach-like classical figure, gives the song a certain sophistication not often heard from Dinosaur Jr. Of course, if you ask the rather moody and detached Mascis whether or not his music has progressed, he demurs.

"I don't know. Depends on who you ask. [When I write music] I'm not really thinking about progression, I just think about the songs, reflecting on the period of time I wrote them . . . my musical tastes don't change that much, and I can't imagine my music would change that much."

This comes from a man who's ridden the music-biz roller coaster through the proving ground of the small but trendy SST Records and major-label contracts, MTV videos, and the Lollapalooza tour. Things have slowed a bit since the early 1990s when Warner Bros. released four albums in barely three and a half years on its Sire imprint (Hand It Over is on Reprise/Blanco Y Negro), and Mascis says he is contemplating moving the band to another label.

"It seemed better at first because we were at least getting paid," he says. "All the indie labels we were on never paid us and seemed to be even bigger criminals than corporations. But it's all different. [At Warner Bros.] you're a small fish in a big pond . . . our relationship's sort of degenerated. The company's sort of degenerated on its own. They seem really jaded and at the same time kinda clueless as to how to sell records."

Mascis does concede, however, that his arrangement with Warner Bros. allows a certain amount of freedom, including a recent solo album titled Martin and Me that documents acoustic material he played on a solo tour. He also appears on the soundtrack of the Alison Anders-directed film Grace of My Heart, which features Matt Dillon lip-synching his tunes.

For now, Dinosaur Jr. are on a brief (19 date) tour in support of Hand It Over, stopping in Worcester Friday for a show at WPI Riley Commons. The venue accommodates about 400 people, and WPI student Social Committee chair Kris Hallee says that though only WPI students are allowed to buy tickets in advance, anyone can purchase tickets at the door. He feels certain that it will not sell out and that there will be tickets left over for the general public.

The WPI show features two opening bands, Piebald and the Wharton Tiers Ensemble. Those who can't make it to WPI can attend the 18+ show the night before (Thursday) at Lupo's, in Providence. The Wharton Tiers Ensemble will also open the Lupo's Show.

Speaking from a hotel room in Lawrence, Kansas (a "big college town in the middle of nowhere"), Mascis indicated that coming back to Central Massachusetts will be a welcome change.

"I'm one of the only people I know who likes Worcester," he says. "I can't really give any tangible reason, but not many people really seem to be into Worcester. I think it has a certain John Waters quality to it . . . a demented yet charming quality."

Dinosaur Jr. perform around 8:40 p.m. at Lupo's, in Providence, on November 6. Tickets are $12. Call (401) 272-5876. They also perform at WPI's Riley Commons at 10 p.m. on November 7. Tickets are $6. Call 831-5509.