Gary Louris

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Gary Louris
The Jayhawks 2009.05.30 003.jpg
Gary Louris May 30, 2009
Background information
Born (1955-03-10) March 10, 1955 (age 68)
Origin Toledo, Ohio, United States
Genres Folk, Americana, alt-country
Years active1985–present
Labels Rykodisc, Thirty Tigers
Website Official website

Gary Michael Louris [1] (born March 10, 1955) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter of alternative country and pop music. He was a founding member of the Minneapolis-based band the Jayhawks and their principal songwriter and vocalist after the departure of Mark Olson. Louris is often credited with the band's subsequent move from folk-country toward a more progressive, pop sound.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Gary Louris grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where he took piano lessons before becoming a guitarist as a teenager. He graduated from St. John's Jesuit High School in 1973. Louris received a BA in Architecture from the University of Minnesota School of Architecture in 1977. [2]

1985–present: The Jayhawks

The Jayhawks were formed in 1985 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Louris had formerly played guitar in a rockabilly band, Safety Last. On May 13, 2003, the Jayhawks appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and performed "Save It for a Rainy Day", from their "Rainy Day Music" CD. The Jayhawks recorded seven albums before going on indefinite hiatus in 2005.

In 2011 the Jayhawks reunited and recorded a new album, Mockingbird Time. The lineup consisted of Mark Olson, Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Karen Grotberg, and Tim O'Reagan. At that time Louris said, "Our goal is to make the best Jayhawks album that's ever been done". Eighteen songs were recorded, 16 of them new, but only 12 are included on the record. The band toured in support of the album.

Olson left The Jayhawks again in late 2012 and the band went on another short hiatus. They reformed in early 2014 to support the reissues of 3 Jayhawks albums released between 1997 and 2003. After a year of touring with most of the 1997 lineup the band announced that they would be working on a new studio album, Paging Mr. Proust, which was released on April 29, 2016 on Thirty Tigers. [3]

2005–present: Solo career

Louris is also a member of the intermittent Midwest musical collective Golden Smog; other members have included fellow Jayhawk Marc Perlman, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy from Soul Asylum, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run and Chris Mars of the Replacements.

In spring 2005, Louris and Olson toured together, billed as "From the Jayhawks: An Evening with Mark Olson & Gary Louris, Together Again."

He co-wrote the song "Jealous of the Moon" with Chris Thile in 2005, and it appeared on the Nickel Creek album Why Should the Fire Die? . [4] Louris is also a songwriter on the 2006 Dixie Chicks album Taking the Long Way .

Louris wrote and performed "Every Word," the theme song for the 2006 documentary Wordplay . [5] [6]

In 2008, Louris released his first solo album, Vagabonds . The album was produced by Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson. [7] [8] Of Vagabonds, Louris said in an interview, "It wasn’t my intention to recapture the ’70s or anything, that’s just what comes out when I sing....Once we got the band together for the sessions, it actually reminded me of how the Jayhawks were when we started out. The music is new and exciting for them, and it was good for me to feed off of that." [9] Vagabonds was recorded in Laurel Canyon, which is famous for being the center of the 1970s' singer-songwriter scene. [10]

Robinson also produced a collaboration between Louris and his former Jayhawks bandmate Mark Olson. The album, Ready for the Flood , was released in November 2008 (January 2009 in the U.S.).

Louris continued to play occasional solo shows even during periods of Jayhawks activity. In 2015, Louris formed a side project called Au Pair with Durham musician Django Haskins from the band The Old Ceremony. They released an album, One Armed Candy Bear, in November 2015 on Thirty Tigers followed by a handful of live shows. [11]

Personal life

Louris married Stephanie Stevenson in October 2020. [12]

Equipment

A 1967 Gibson SG guitar – shown in the picture – reputed to have been formerly owned by lead guitarist John King of the Litter is now owned and frequently used by Louris in the Jayhawks and Golden Smog. The guitar was owned from 1977 to 1986 by Kevin Waddick. Chris Osgood, at the time the guitarist of the punk trio the Suicide Commandos, suggested that Waddick buy the guitar and later informed Louris that it was for sale.

Louris also uses a Martin 00-18V acoustic guitar.

Discography

With the Jayhawks

With Safety Last

With Golden Smog

Solo

With Mark Olson

With Au Pair

Guest appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jayhawks</span> American country and rock band

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, 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, in 2016; Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018; and XOXO in 2020.

Golden Smog is an alternative country-rock supergroup of loosely connected musicians mostly from the Minneapolis area. At various times, members of Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs and Big Star have worked with Golden Smog. Given the fluid collaborative nature of Golden Smog the lineup has often changed, but relative constants who appear on all the recordings are guitarists Kraig Johnson, Dan Murphy and Gary Louris, along with bassist Marc Perlman.

<i>On Golden Smog</i> 1992 EP by Golden Smog

On Golden Smog is the debut EP from American band Golden Smog, released in 1992.

<i>Down by the Old Mainstream</i> 1995 studio album by Golden Smog

Down by the Old Mainstream is the debut album by American alternative country band Golden Smog, released in 1995. Its title is from a line in both the Wilco song "Someday Soon" from the album, Being There, and from "Radio King", the last track on this album.

<i>Hollywood Town Hall</i> 1992 studio album by The Jayhawks

Hollywood Town Hall is the third studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks. It peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and number 192 on the Billboard 200. The cover art for the album was shot in Hollywood Township, Carver County, Minnesota by British photographer Andrew Catlin.

<i>Another Fine Day</i> 2006 studio album by Golden Smog

Another Fine Day is Golden Smog's third full-length album. It was released on July 18, 2006. It reached number 95 on the Billboard 200 chart.

<i>Sound of Lies</i> 1997 studio album by Jayhawks

Sound of Lies is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks. It peaked at number 112 on the Billboard 200.

<i>Smile</i> (The Jayhawks album) 2000 studio album by The Jayhawks

Smile is the sixth studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks. Released on May 9, 2000, it reached number 129 on the Billboard 200 and number 14 on Billboard's Top Internet Albums chart.

<i>Rainy Day Music</i> 2003 studio album by The Jayhawks

Rainy Day Music is the seventh studio album by American rock band The Jayhawks, released on April 8, 2003. It debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 51, selling 19,000 copies that week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Olson (musician)</span> American musician and singer-songwriter (born 1961)

Mark John Olson is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of alternative country bands The Jayhawks and the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers.

<i>Blue Earth</i> (album) 1989 studio album by The Jayhawks

Blue Earth is a studio album by American alt country and alt rock band the Jayhawks, released in 1989.

<i>The Jayhawks</i> (album) 1986 studio album by the Jayhawks

The Jayhawks is the debut album by the Jayhawks, released in 1986. It is also known as the Bunkhouse Tapes. The 1986 pressing was limited to 2,000 copies.

<i>Vagabonds</i> (Gary Louris album) 2008 studio album by Gary Louris

Vagabonds is the debut solo album by American singer-songwriter and Jayhawks member Gary Louris, released in 2008.

<i>Ready for the Flood</i> 2008 studio album by Mark Olson and Gary Louris

Ready for the Flood is an album by former Jayhawks bandmates Mark Olson and Gary Louris, released in Europe on December 1, 2008, and in the US on January 29, 2009. It was their first collaboration since Olson had left the band in 1995.

<i>Acoustic Vagabonds</i> 2008 EP by Gary Louris

Acoustic Vagabonds is an EP by American singer/songwriter and Jayhawks member Gary Louris featuring six acoustic versions of tracks from his debut solo album Vagabonds. It was initially given away in independent record shops with copies of the album but was later released to buy separately on November 3, 2008.

<i>Music from the North Country – The Jayhawks Anthology</i> 2009 compilation album by The Jayhawks

Music From The North Country – The Jayhawks Anthology is a compilation album by The Jayhawks, released in 2009.

<i>Mockingbird Time</i> 2011 studio album by The Jayhawks

Mockingbird Time is the eighth studio album by the alt country band The Jayhawks, released on September 20, 2011. The album marked the returns of the original front man Mark Olson, who had left the group in 1995 after the release of Tomorrow the Green Grass, and long-time keyboard player Karen Grotberg. Mockingbird Time was the first new studio album by The Jayhawks since 2003's Rainy Day Music. The album entered the Billboard 200 album chart at #38, becoming the highest-charting release of their career to date. It also charted at #2 on Billboard's Folk Albums chart, #6 on the Tastemaker Albums chart, and #11 on the Rock Albums chart.

<i>Live at the Belly Up</i> (The Jayhawks album) 2015 live album by The Jayhawks

Live at the Belly Up is a digital-only live album recorded in January 2015 by The Jayhawks live in Solana Beach, released on February 10, 2015 as an exclusive download from the Belly Up Live website. The album went into wider digital release in April 2015 including a high-resolution audio version.

<i>Paging Mr. Proust</i> 2016 studio album by The Jayhawks

Paging Mr. Proust is the ninth studio album by the alt country band The Jayhawks, released in 2016.

<i>Back Roads and Abandoned Motels</i> 2018 studio album by The Jayhawks

Back Roads and Abandoned Motels is the tenth studio album by the alt country band the Jayhawks, released on July 13, 2018.

References

  1. ↑ "ALMOST HOME". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Class list by year". University of Minnesota School of Architecture. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  3. ↑ "The Jayhawks - Band". Jayhawksofficial.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  4. ↑ Hasty, Katie. "Nickel Creek 'Fires' Up For New Album". Billboard . June 9, 2005. Retrieved March 31, 2005.
  5. ↑ Mary Lucia (June 2, 2006). "Gary Louris and "Wordplay" | The Current from". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Geduldsspiele und Buchstabenspiele: – Scrabble – Trivial Pursuit – Knobelspiele online". Wordplaythemovie.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Music". Boston Herald . Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Music News & Concert Reviews". JamBase.com. April 28, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ Schneider, Jason (March 13, 2008). "Gary Louris Leaves The Nest". Exclaim.ca. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  10. ↑ Bahn, Christopher (March 3, 2008). "Gary Louris · Interview · The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  11. ↑ Ayodele, Christina. "Gary Louris and Django Haskins team up for new band Au Pair". Local Current Blog | The Current from Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Jayhawks wedding news". Facebook. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
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