Jason Falkner
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| Jason Falkner | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Genres | Pop, Rock, Indie |
| Website(s) | www.jasonfalkner.net |
Jason Falkner (born June 2, 1968) is an American pop and rock musician. He has performed with several bands, as well as a solo artist.
Contents |
[edit] Three O'Clock
Falkner joined as a guitarist for The Three O'Clock for their final album Vermillion, released in 1988 on Prince's Paisley Park Records label. However the band broke up shortly afterwards.
[edit] Jellyfish
Falkner spent the next several months living in Europe, and returned to the United States. He spent another year in college, working odd jobs, before meeting up with an old friend, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., who convinced him to move to San Francisco, California to join his new band, Jellyfish. The band proved to be popular, and its 1990 debut album, Bellybutton was fairly successful. Falkner, however, had a number of disputes with other band members, primarily concerning his lack of songwriting opportunities, and what he considered the band's over-reliance on its influences instead of cultivating its own image. He left the band shortly after Bellybutton's release, vowing never to join another band.
[edit] Other Groups
In 1993, Falkner worked with Fabulon as a guest musician. This led to jobs as a session player for several other bands, and he worked in this capacity when he met Jon Brion. Reluctantly breaking his vow against joining another band, he found himself in The Grays with Jon Brion, Buddy Judge, and Dan McCarroll. Composed of three separate songwriters/lead singers/multi-instrumentalists and a drummer, the band fervently disliked the pitfalls and self-imposed politics of most rock bands and did all in their power to avoid them. In spite of this, musical differences led to a rift between members. They released only one album, 1994's Ro Sham Bo, before disbanding.
Afterwards, he continued recording in his home studio, with the intention of releasing an all-covers album; however this album, and most of its songs, was left unreleased until 2001, when, titled Everyone Says It's On and augmented with demos of songs released and left over from his two solo albums, it was issued by Air Mail Recordings.
In 1995 he worked with Eric Matthews on his album It's Heavy in Here, which led to a recording contract as a solo artist with Elektra.
[edit] Solo Artist
In 1996, he released the album Jason Falkner Presents Author Unknown, which was produced, written, and performed almost entirely by Falkner (the only exception being some guitar overdubs done by Alain Johannes). Although it received strong critical reviews, it was not a commercial success. During that same year, he wrote several songs on Brendan Benson's album One Mississippi, and played various instruments on a 1996 Susanna Hoffs release. In 1997, he worked with Eric Matthews' on a second album, The Lateness of the Hour, co-producing and assisting on five tracks.
In 1999, Falkner released Can You Still Feel?, another album written and performed as an entire solo effort, it was produced with Nigel Godrich. In 2000 Jason kept very busy, touring and contributing to various projects. He recorded a song for a tribute album, and played backup on Roger Manning and Brian Reitzell's album Logan's Sanctuary.
In 2001, he worked with Air's 10,000 Hz Legend, and toured alongside that band during the summer and fall as its bassist. During that time, spinART Records released Necessity: The 4-Track Years, a disc comprised of old 4-track demos. Falkner's projects that year included an instrumental album of Beatles songs, and he contributed a track to a Jeff Lynne tribute album. While in France with Air, he worked with Roger Manning and Brian Reitzell again, this time performing under the band name, TV Eyes.
Falkner spent the summer of 2002 touring with Air, and contributed on albums for other artists, including Beck, Aimee Mann, and Travis. He began working on his third studio album in June 2003, and worked on albums for Beck and Air. In early 2004, he joined Travis on tour, as their opening act, to debut his Bliss Descending EP. He has also contributed guitar parts to two songs on Paul McCartney's acclaimed 2005 solo album, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. In addition, he is cited as playing assorted instruments on several tracks of Beck's 2006 album, The Information. His third solo album I'm OK... You're OK is due out in Japan, on Noise McCartney Records on April 18, 2007. Jason says this album will see a proper U.S. release summer of 2007.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Solo
- I'm Ok... You're OK (2007), Noise McCartney Records
- Bliss Descending (EP) (2004), Wreckord Records
- Bedtime With The Beatles (2001), Sony Wonder
- Everyone Says It's On (2001), Air Mail Recordings
- Necessity: The 4-Track Years (2001), spinART Records
- Can You Still Feel? (1999), Elektra Entertainment
- Presents Author Unknown (1996), Elektra Entertainment
[edit] Other
- TV Eyes - TV Eyes (2006), JVC/Bad News Records
- The Grays - Ro Sham Bo (1994), Epic Records
- Jellyfish - Bellybutton (1990), Charisma Records
- The Three O'Clock - Vermillion (1988), Paisley Park
[edit] Trivia
Falkner's high school girlfriend was actress Heather Graham.
Falkner's younger brother, Ryan is a well-known storyboard artist, having illustrated such films as Scooby Doo and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
Jason Falkner is the son of a Pepperdine University professor.
Jason Falkner claims to be a distant cousin of Nobel Prize winning novelist William Faulkner.
