J Mascis Turned Shoe Designer, PLUS Dinosaur Jr. Remix Phoenix

J Mascis has joined forces with Keep, a vegan footwear company, to create a custom shoe. It is purple, of course, and features an embroidered stripe patterned after J’s guitar strap. COOL! You can check out the shoe above. Head to KEEP to pre-order your own pair, which come complete with a 7″ picture disc that features a previously unreleased J Mascis track. A part of the proceeds will go to support Amma, the non-profit organization of Mata Amritandamayi.

In other awesome news, Dinosaur Jr. have remixed Phoenix’s new single, “Entertainment.” You can stream the track below!

TOUR ALERT // Dinosaur Jr. Announce West Coast Dates, J Mascis Teams Up With Sharon Van Etten for John Denver Tribute

Hallelujah! Dinosaur Jr. are bringing their live show to the West Coast! They’ve announced a handful of dates in between their Australian and European tours; included in the tour is a performance at Coachella! Check out all stops below.

J Mascis recently teamed up with Sharon Van Etten for a song on the new John Denver tribute album. Listen to “Prisoners” at Pitchfork.

 
West Coast Tour:
04/11/13 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
04/12/13 Sonoma, CA – Gundlach Bundschu
04/13/13 Fresno, CA – Fulton 55
04/14/13 Indio, CA – Coachella
04/17/13 Pomona, CA- The Glass House w/ King Tuff
04/18/13 Santa Barbara, CA – Velvet Jones
04/19/13 Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
04/20/13 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
04/21/13 Indio, CA – Coachella

J Mascis Goes Unplugged for Portlandia, Watch The Teaser Now

Here’s a good reason to catch the new episode of Portlandia airing on IFC tomorrow (not that you need one). J Mascis makes a cameo, complete with braids and an electric guitar in hand. He teams up with members of Dirty Projectors and Carrie Brownstein to compete in the “Battle of the Gentle Bands.” See J Mascis like you’ve never seen him before – quiet and unplugged! You can preview the new episode above!

Dinosaur Jr. starts their tour next Wednesday, January 30 at Glasgow’s Arches. You can see the full list of tour dates HERE.

WATCH // Dinosaur Jr. Premieres “Pierce The Morning Rain” Video

What happens when you combine American suburbia, one heck of a stereo system and Henry Rollins? An awesome Dinosaur Jr. music video. Directed by Emmy-winny comedy writer and director Scott Jacobson (Bob’s Burgers, Saturday Night Live), “Pierce the Morning Rain” stars actor James Urbaniak (Homeland, The Venture Brothers) and comedian Maria Bamford as your average, middle-aged couple whose lives are transformed by playing Dinosaur Jr. as loudly as technology allows. You can watch the video at SPIN or above.

Here’s a welcomed sight! It’s a photo (courtesy of Ray Gordon) of J Mascis and Carrie Brownstein hanging out. Just a little preparation for the new Portlandia episode airing on Friday, January 25th.

REAL TALK // J Mascis on WTF with Marc Maron

Could this be the best interview we’ve ever gotten out of Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis? Probably! J sits down with WTF podcast host and longtime Dino fan, Marc Maron, for some chit chat and then ends the whole shebang with a few songs. In addition to telling Marc about growing up in Amherst, J reveals he’s a pretty good skier and goes skiing at least once a year. He also had a pretty positive experience with Aimee Mann at Newbury Comics. Anways, listen for yourself at the link below.

>>LISTEN TO J MASCIS ON WTF< <

In case you missed it the first time around, Dinosaur Jr.’s I Bet On Sky is available at SC Distribution, Amazon and iTunes. You can also pick a copy up at your local record store.