Maureen Morrison

Somewhere in Houston, Texas, lives Jandek, an elusive musician who's released a staggering forty albums since 1978 on Corwood Industries, a label he presumably operates.

Yet the only solid piece of information anyone knows is that no one knows anything about Jandek. But maybe no one really needs to know: Jandek's music alone commands so much respect and admiration that several well-known artists, including Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, Okkervil River, Six Organs of Admittance and Brother JT, recorded a tribute album dedicated to him.

Summersteps Records just released the album, "Down in a Mirror--A Second Tribute to Jandek," marking the second installment of Jandek tributes put out by the Moscow, Pennsylvania, record company. The first tribute album, "Naked in the Afternoon: a Tribute to Jandek," was released in 2000 and also featured some well-known contributors, including Bright Eyes and Dapper featuring Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.

The albums feature artist interpretations of Jandek's music, which has been called everything from unlistenable and grating to groundbreaking and brilliant. Jandek's bizarre music, with its folk- and blues-tinged droning, always evokes some sort of reaction, whether it enthralls or repulses. Jeff Tweedy's take on "Crack a Smile" as well as Six Organs of Admittance's beautiful rendition of "I'll Sit Alone and Think About You" help carry the record, seasoning Jandek's music with their own personal musical style.

Summersteps president Eric Schlittler says he was ecstatic with the tribute, particularly how the artists infused their own sense of melody. Apparently Jandek was pleased, too: Corwood sent Schlittler a letter saying it was "moved" with the tribute.

Jandek's small but dedicated fan base is drawn to his eerie musical arrangements that use little more than an out-of-tune guitar. Though he's highly prolific--he released four albums in 2004 alone--and by most accounts a significant force in independent music, even his most ardent and dedicated fans know little about him.

Lately, though, Jandek has come out of his shell a bit. Until last fall at the Instal.04 Festival in Glasgow, Scotland, he'd never publicly performed. He played two more shows in the U.K. last May, yet he continues to elude the press. He's done only one interview (for a 1985 Spin article), though another writer claims to have had a beer with Jandek in 1999 for a Texas Monthly article. During the interview he politely told the writer he never wanted to be contacted by any media again. His albums are all produced/released by Corwood, a label that produces only Jandek records.

But Jandek isn't the only one declining interviews. Chicagoan Seth Tisue maintains one of the most extensive Jandek web sites--complete with news updates, lyrics, a discography and what some would consider over-the-top analyses of all Jandek's albums and cover art--but won't grant interviews to the press if the story's subject is Jandek. Tisue even declined to be interviewed for 2003's documentary "Jandek on Corwood," while the few other people with any Jandek knowledge willingly spoke to the filmmakers.

Schlittler was so enthralled with the mystery and music of Jandek that he was inspired to release a tribute album. "I was fascinated with the body of work Jandek produced and how the albums formed a bigger picture," Schlittler says. "I thought it would be interesting to see how others might interpret this extremely personal and unique music from a new angle. `Volume II' came about because I felt there were many musicians who have come into their own who I thought would sound great doing Jandek's music."

Tweedy got word of the project through Mark Greenberg, who runs Mayfair Recordings in Chicago. Greenberg contacted Schlittler about a year and a half ago inquiring whether he was going to do another volume of Jandek covers. Schlittler had already been considering it and Greenberg volunteered to ask musicians in the Chicago area if they would be interested. Tweedy wanted to participate and Greenberg recorded "Crack a Smile" with Tweedy and his 9-year-old son Spencer Miller-Tweedy playing drums.

For the 2000 tribute, Schlittler had an idea to supply Jandek with disposable cameras to get original art, as his photographic style is unique and difficult to replicate. Jandek's photography has an amateur yet charming quality to it; subjects are usually Jandek himself, furniture, instruments and, in some cases, an anonymous white house. Jandek returned the cameras with photographs of a cemetery--believed to be Glenwood Cemetery in Houston, Texas--for the first tribute album. For the second tribute, Schlittler sent Jandek another disposable camera for new cover art, and got the camera back with pictures of dilapidated buildings, construction sites and the cover picture, which appears to be a residential or condominium building.

Ben Chasny, guitarist for Six Organs of Admittance, has been listening to Jandek for about ten years. He's not interested in the myths about Jandek, but finds him to be one of the more influential artists in music. "I love the way Jandek's always ahead of the myth followers. First he puts out CDs and stops making vinyl. Then he goes and plays live," says Chasny. "But for me, it's about the man's music. He's completely stretched what is possible with music. I don't even have to tune my guitar anymore; I don't have to `sing' correctly. Nobody does. Jandek definitely helped shift the paradigm for songwriting. He has done for the popular song what Duchamp's Readymades did for the art gallery."

(2005-06-24)

Also by Maureen Morrison

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