Jay Farrar wasn’t the first songwriter to merge country music with rock ’n’ roll, but he did play a pivotal role in fathering the alt-country movement.
As a founding member of Uncle Tupelo, the Illinois native championed a mix of Midwestern twang and rootsy, electric stomp. The music took its cues from traditional country, making room for punk and grass-roots folk along the way.
Uncle Tupelo’s influence proved to be pervasive. No Depression, a magazine named after the band’s debut album, devoted its entire coverage to alt-country music. A number of newer groups began exploring a similar sound. Nonetheless, the group disbanded in 1994, with co-founder Jeff Tweedy forming Wilco shortly thereafter.
While Wilco’s music moved far beyond Uncle Tupelo’s sound, Mr. Farrar charted a more country-centric course with his own project, Son Volt. The band has since vacillated between barroom rock and poignant ballads, all the while adhering to some sense of diverse, nuanced twang.
Son Volt’s current release, “American Central Dust,” was recorded in 18 inspired days, a pace Mr. Farrar says is par for the course.
“Our approach is to try and capture as much of a song’s original energy as possible,” he explains from his home in St. Louis. “When you record something 20 times, it starts to lose its spark. You learn that there’s a time to quit and move on, rather than get overly analytical about things.”
While recording “American Central Dust,” the songwriter also found time to work on a separate project with Ben Gibbard, the celebrated leader of Death Cab for Cutie. Sharing an affinity for Jack Kerouac’s writing, the two began writing music together, with the text of “Big Sur” providing all the lyrics they needed.
“I found it to be liberating,” Mr. Farrar says of the unique approach. “Working with Kerouac’s lines, I was able to write about two songs a day. It removed any degree of self-consciousness about writing lyrics.”
The two shared vocal and instrumental duties, a process, Mr. Farrar says, that “reminded me of some of the most positive aspects of working in Uncle Tupelo, without any issues of what constitutes a hyperactive ego and what doesn’t.”
The collaborative songs eventually were recorded at Mr. Farrar’s home studio, and the resulting “One Fast Move or I’m Gone” will be released this October.
• In the meantime, fans can catch Mr. Farrar on the Son Volt tour, which stops by the 9:30 Club on Tuesday. Tickets are $20, and doors open at 7 p.m.
Fruit Bats flock together
Although plural in name, Fruit Bats is largely the work of songwriter Eric Johnson, who launched the project from his bedroom more than 10 years ago. “I used to do each record as a solo affair,” he recalls from Seattle, where Fruit Bats recently began its American tour. “I come from a four-track background, where you create miniopuses by yourself in the studio and then throw a band together to tour.”
Initially, the arrangement worked well. Mr. Johnson’s folksy pop songs would take shape in his bedroom, and a series of one-man recording sessions would capture the music on tape. Once a full band tackled the material in concert, though, the songs inevitably changed shape.
“A lot of my older songs were hard to do live,” the singer admits. “The recording process relied so heavily on the studio, so the songs changed as other people learned them. I always liked that, and I’d end up wishing we could go back and redo things the way they had been in the live context.”
Fruit Bats’ most recent album, “The Ruminant Band,” was created with that lesson in mind. Mr. Johnson wrote the material, assembled a band and launched a brief tour in January. As predicted, the material evolved during the band’s time on the road. When Fruit Bats eventually entered a studio to begin recording “The Ruminant Band,” the songs already bore the influence of multiple live shows.
This time, Mr. Johnson took a back seat during the recording process. His compositions served as the album’s framework, but all other elements — from the arrangements to the guitar tones to the harmonies — were heavily influenced by his band.
“I needed to divest myself from my benevolent dictatorial path and form a democracy,” he says with a laugh. “I figured that if everyone could be together from the beginning, the result would be so much more than a bunch of musicians getting into a van and supporting someone else’s project. This was the most collaborative thing I’ve done, and we did it with the live show in mind.”
As for the music itself, “The Ruminant Band” mixes Fruit Bats’ rustic pop with a crunchy dose of classic rock, taking its cues from the likes of Fleetwood Mac and the Allman Brothers. Fruit Bats records have never relied so heavily on guitars before, nor have they seemed more appropriate for the waning days of summer.
• The Fruit Bats fly into the District on Friday for a headlining performance at the Black Cat. Pronto and Kevin Barker will open. The $12 show begins at 9 p.m.
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