THE JAYHAWKS with KIRSTEN JONES at the Phoenix (410 Sherbourne), Tuesday (January 18), 8 pm. $29.50. HS, RT, SS, TM. See listing.
As the newly reformed Jayhawks prep revamped editions of their two high-water-mark albums, Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow The Green Grass, co-frontman Mark Olson has a special suggestion for Canadian fans revisiting these records.
“Put them on in the car while you’re driving outside Toronto looking for a place to fish,” he says.
It might sound like a tongue-in-cheek swipe at Jayhawks fans north of the border, but in fact Olson has a deep affection for this country, a feeling that Canuck fans have always returned in kind.
The Jayhawks’ 1995 Americana magnum opus Tomorrow The Green Grass contained the infectious tune Blue, which the band, on a major at the time, felt confident would break them to the next level. In the midst of grunge’s peak and Britpop’s ascent, it didn’t quite work out that way. However, the tune reached its highest chart position in Canada and gave them their only top-40 hit.
Unfortunately this wasn’t enough to keep Olson engaged. He exited the Jayhawks that same year.
“There were other things I wanted to do in life and I went ahead and did them,” Olson explains from his home in Joshua Tree, California. “I think it would have been a more difficult situation if the band had been huge at the time.”
The Jayhawks soldiered on without him, releasing three more records before quietly disbanding in 2004. Meanwhile, Olson married his then-sweetheart, singer Victoria Williams, and eventually came back to music through folk-country outfit the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers.
After splitting with Williams and releasing 2007’s wrenching The Salvation Blues under his own name, Olson began collaborating again with former Jayhawks writing partner and co-frontman Gary Louris. The duo combined on 2008’s mellow Ready For The Flood before deciding it was time for the ‘Hawks to fly again.
There’s a new Jayhawks record in the can and ready to be mixed, but the first order of business is the reissue of Hollywood and Tomorrow The Green Grass through Sony’s Legacy Editions. While both contain unreleased tracks, the latter is juicer, with a full extra disc of what’s being dubbed The Mystery Demos, an unearthed acoustic-based recording of Louris and Olson in their prime.
“That’s how we wrote the songs – two acoustic guitars and singing,” says Olson. “Those songs were never meant to come out, but we’re putting it all out, basically. If you’re a fan of the Jayhawks, you should be interested.
“Our music has some history to it, and it was built, hopefully, to last. If people want us to come out and play, it means the songs have lasted. We’ve achieved something there.”
Olson says he’s looking forward to getting reacquainted with Canadian Jayhawks fans as well as his fave after-the-show haunt.
“That post-gig sandwich at Tim Hortons,” Olson says. “I’m thinking about it when I get out of the club, once Elvis has left the building. I don’t like to go to parties. I like to go to Tim Hortons and get some food.”
music@nowtoronto.com
