Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, the band was forced to change their name because of legal issues.
The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums). After three albums on independent labels, the band earned a reputation as one of the formative influences on American alternative rock.
In their first five years as a band, Dinosaur Jr. made three records that revolutionized underground guitar music and then promptly imploded. The original lineup of three scrappy Amherst punks had a nearly magical chemistry that always teetered on being derailed by simmering tension between the controlling J Mascis and his bassist Lou Barlow.
In 1989, Mascis acrimoniously fired Barlow and pushed forward with his own vision for the band.
Mascis’ s drawling vocals and distinct guitar sound, harking back to 1960s and 1970s classic rock and characterized by extensive use of feedback and distortion, were highly influential in the alternative rock movement of the 1990s.
Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. (born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, has also released several albums as a solo artist and played drums and guitar on other projects. He was ranked number 74 in a Rolling Stone list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists,” and number 5 in a similar list for Spin magazine in 2012.
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