The Jayhawks

The Jayhawks were definitely swimming against the tide when they emerged from a crowded Minneapolis music scene halfway through the 1980s — a memorable decade that saw the likes of the Replacements, Soul Asylum, Husker Du and Prince put Minnesota on the musical map in a big way. Forging a rootsy sound that wasn’t quite rock or country — “Hank Williams on speed” somebody once memorably called it — The Jayhawks quickly turned into one of the most important bands of the post-punk era. Over the course of almost 4 decades, 11 studio albums, countless memorable live shows and enough personal drama to fill a couple of Behind the Music episodes, this beloved band soared to heights few ever achieve while wining the hearts and minds of numerous critics, fans and peers in the process. Named after “The Hawks” — as in “Levon and the Hawks,” the name of Dylan’s backing band in the 60s before they became known as “The Band” — The Jayhawks and their fellow travelers even helped make the world safe again for artists who weren’t afraid to fuse traditional rock, country and folk influences into something that was both timeless and modern, just like the best American bands always have.
After an early version of the band was formed by Mark Olson in 1984, a lineup featuring Olson, Gary Louris, Marc Perlman and Norm Rogers solidified in early 1985. The Jayhawks' original members all came from a variety of Minneapolis bands toiling away in the hyperactive local club scene at the time. Prolific and highly motivated, the band amassed a staggering number of original songs in a very short time, culminating with a self-released eponymous debut album in 1986. After a tumultuous period that found the band actively seeking a recording contract, The Jayhawks finally landed with Twin/Tone Records, the seminal Minneapolis indie label that released early records by the Replacements and Soul Asylum. Blue Earth, released in 1989, was a quantum leap forward from the first album and garnered widespread positive reviews. It also caught the ear of Def American producer/A&R rep George Drakoulias, who famously heard Blue Earth playing in the background during a call to the Twin/Tone offices.
Drakoulias’ interest eventually led to a contract with Def American and the release of the band’s two best known albums, Hollywood Town Hall (1992) and Tomorrow the Green Grass (1995), which featured some of their best known songs (“Blue,” “Waiting For the Sun”). Karen Grotberg joined on keyboards and vocals in 1992 and, after a few drummer changes, drummer/vocalist Tim O'Reagan (The Leatherwoods) took over for good in 1994. The Jayhawks toured steadily during this time and developed a solid reputation as an ace live band and a force to be reckoned with in the burgeoning “Americana” scene, an association the band has always viewed with mixed feelings. During this “golden age,” it seemed that The Jayhawks were always a break or two away from major stardom; their potential was as limitless as the pile of classic songs they were cranking out apparently at will.
Frustrated by the major label rat race, founding member Mark Olson suddenly quit the band in late 1995, shocking fans and fellow band members alike. Olson packed up and headed to the Mojave Desert with his new wife, singer Victoria Williams, to embark on a solo career unencumbered by the restrictions inherent to the corporate music business. Louris and the rest of the band laid low for a while and then surprised nearly everyone by continuing on without Olson while keeping the band name. Augmented by Kraig Johnson (Run Westy Run) and Jessy Greene (Geraldine Fibbers), and paying little heed to their previous playbook, The Jayhawks released Sound of Lies in 1997, a dark, moody modern pop masterpiece that evoked fond memories of everything from Big Star to The Beatles.
To prove that they really had wiped the old slate clean, the band enlisted flamboyant uber-producer Bob Ezrin for their next album, Smile (2000). Teeming with an adventurous spirit and some of the best songs Louris had written to date, Smile boldly charted new territory for the band (even incorporating drum machines into a Technicolor soundscape that hinted at everything from hard rock to psychedelia), effectively providing a clean break with their supposed traditional roots. Many long time fans were befuddled but the New York Times called Smile “a classic.” The band’s live shows during this period (with Jen Gunderman replacing Grotberg, who left to raise a family) found the band at the top of their game, with shows routinely running over 2 hours and featuring a healthy dose of Olson-era material, pleasing new and old fans alike.
After a revelatory acoustic tour in 2003 with the core trio of Louris, Perlman and O’Reagan, the next chapter in The Jayhawks Saga found them retrenching somewhat to the “classic” sound of their earlier albums. Sparingly produced by Ethan Johns, Rainy Day Music was chock full of catchy songs (“Save It For a Rainy Day,” “Tailspin”) that tied together sounds and influences from every chapter of the band’s career. The band — now reduced to a trio, supplemented by touring member Stephen McCarthy, a veteran roots rocker (Long Ryders) and talented multi-instrumentalist — mounted the heaviest touring schedule and promotional blitz of their career, resulting in their highest charting album ever.
Sadly, the momentum couldn’t be sustained and one of the most exciting American bands in recent history quietly went on hiatus in 2004. The ensuing years found Louris, Perlman and O’Reagan embarking on a variety of endeavors; all three released solo projects during that time. Louris also kept busy with a multitude of songwriting collaborations, production work, soundtracks and even the revival of longtime side-project, Golden Smog, a proverbial “supergroup” featuring members of Soul Asylum, Wilco and Big Star, as well as Jayhawkers Perlman and Johnson. Significantly, after years of estrangement, Olson and Louris finally reunited for a couple of well-received tours, followed by Ready For the Flood in 2009, their first full length studio venture together in 15 years.
Even though the door to the future was never officially closed, long time fans were still surprised — and overjoyed — with the news in 2008 that the Tomorrow the Green Grass-era lineup of the band with Mark Olson would be reuniting for some summer festival shows in Europe. The good news kept on coming in 2009 with more reunion shows and the release of the band’s first retrospective, Music From the North Country, a multi-disc collection personally supervised by Louris that featured key tracks from all phases of the bands career, a disc of rarities and a DVD. 2010 saw the long awaited re-release of the bands long out-of-print, highly collectable first album, as well as the launch of a massive reissue project of all the band’s major label albums. During June 2010, the “classic” lineup of the band performed a three night stand at Minneapolis’ legendary First Ave. club, the scene of so many great Jayhawks memories over the last quarter century. In 2011, deluxe editions of the esteemed Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass albums were reissued, followed by Mockingbird Time, the first release of new material by The Jayhawks with Mark Olson in 16 years. From 2009-2012 this version of the band played over 100 shows to large crowds and received numerous rave reviews.
The second phase of The Jayhawks reissue project commenced in June 2014 with the reissue of the 3 albums recorded between 1997 and 2003 after Mark Olson left the band in 1995: Sound of Lies, Smile and Rainy Day Music. These diverse, challenging albums once again received the expanded reissue treatment with fresh remastering, bonus tracks and deluxe packaging. Olson departed again in 2012 and the summer of 2014 found most of the 1997 touring lineup (Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Tim O'Reagan, Karen Grotberg and Kraig Johnson) playing some North American festival dates and playing shows in Europe to get the ball rolling in a concerted effort to reacquaint audiences with these crucial albums. In late 2014/early 2015 The Jayhawks embarked on their first US tours in over two years with setlists emphasizing material from the 1997-2003 era mixed in with selected highlights from other periods in the band's long history.
 
In 2015 this version of the band released a digital live album (Live at the Belly Up, recorded in January 2015) after a round of warmly received touring that found the band playing at the top of their game. Throughout most of 2015 the band intensely rehearsed and demo-ed new material (Gary Louris: “we've never worked harder preparing for an album”) and played the occasional live show. The band debuted several new songs at an unannounced outdoor concert in Minneapolis in August 2015, much to the delight and excitement of Jayhawks fans everywhere. Since then Jayhawks setlists have featured music spanning over a quarter century of the band's history – and future. In October 2015 the band kicked off a PledgeMusic campaign to announce a new album that was recorded in the fall of 2015 in Portland, Oregon with Peter Buck and Tucker Martine at Flora studios.
 
The Jayhawks' ninth studio album, Paging Mr. Proust was released on April 29, 2016 on the band's new Sham label, in affiliation with Thirty Tigers. The album received excellent reviews, some calling it equal to the band's finest work. The core lineup of Gary Louris, Marc Perlman, Tim O'Reagan and Karen Grotberg hit the road for a solid year following the album's release, assisted by guitarist Chet Lyster (Eeels, Lucinda Williams).
 
2016 also saw The Jayhawks collaborating and serving as the backing band on new albums from Wesley Stace (formerly known as John Wesley Harding) and Ray Davies from The Kinks. Wesley Stace's John Wesley Harding and Ray Davies' Americana albums both came out in 2017. Stace opened for The Jayhawks on selected 2017 tour dates and most of The Jayhawks backed up Davies at a very memorable BBC Proms in the Park concert in London's Hyde Park in September 2017.
 
The band started work on a new studio album in the summer of 2017 in Minneapolis at Flowers Studio (where they had previously worked on Smile and Rainy Day Music), aided by John Jackson, who previously had co-produced all of the band's archival releases and reissues, as well as co-producing the Ray Davies Americana project. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Jackson had also frequently performed with The Jayhawks in recent years. Consisting mostly of Jayhawks' versions of material that Louris had previously co-written with artists like The Dixie Chicks, Jakob Dylan, Carrie Rodriguez, etc over the years, the Jayhawks's 10^th studio album was released by Legacy Recordings on July 13, 2018. 2018 also marked the release of Ray Davies follow up to the Americana album, Our Country: Americana 2, also recorded in London with The Jayhawks.
 
Throughout 2019 The Jayhawks continued to play live shows and later in the year began work on a new studio album. Recorded started at the legendary Pachyderm Studios in Canon Falls, MN and finished up at Flowers Studio in Minneapolis. In April 2020, the band announced that their 11^th studio album, XOXO, was slated for release in July 2020 on Sham/Thirty Tigers. For the first time on a Jayhawks album, songwriting and lead vocal duties are spread across all 4 primary band members. “It was time to open things up,” says Gary Louris. “The Jayhawks are a true band, one where everyone’s an equal, and we wanted to make a record that really reflected that.” 
 
The Jayhawks have made music in 4 different decades and are as vital now as they were in 1985. They definitely have earned their reputation as a true American treasure.