Photo Credit: Joseph Quever.

Jesse Malin has been building and nurturing the music scene in the five boroughs for over forty years. He is essentially the New York Mayor of Rock and he makes friends wherever he goes. Through the decades he’s played countless benefit shows and spearheaded more than a few efforts to try and get help where it’s needed. He embodies the idea of community through music so naturally we’ve had a long and rewarding relationship with him at WFUV. Eighteen months ago, Malin suffered a rare spinal stroke that left him without the use of his legs. All the compassion and empathy that he has shown throughout his career is now coming back around in the form of a tremendous new tribute album and a pair of benefit shows coming up in December that will be his first time on stage since then.

It was an honor to visit Jesse in his East Village apartment and create a one-hour radio show to celebrate the new collection, preview the concerts – featuring full sets from him and his band – and get an update on his situation. It was a rare opportunity to have a freewheeling conversation that touched upon everything from spitting ketchup Gene Simmons style at a talent show in Whitestone to being at the Saturday Night Live performance of Fear to having Bruce Springsteen congratulate him on a good review in Rolling Stone to combing through lyrics at a kitchen table with Lucinda Williams. At the same time we got to play some of his great tunes and hear some of the marvelous new interpretations of his songs. Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin does what great tribute albums do: It’s a reminder of a lot of great songs and an introduction to a bunch of new versions of them. See you at the Beacon Theatre on December 1st and 2nd.

Jesse Malin radio show on 90.7 FM WFUV – Broadcast 9-10p on 10/14/24
Links below give you the whole show with music and conversation in 2 parts

OR cherry pick below…
Click link to hear song, Click play to hear each interview segment

“Room 13”    Jesse Malin    3:57    Sunset Kids     2019

“New York Comeback”    Lucinda Williams    4:14    Stories from a R&R Heart    2023

“She Don’t Love Me Now”     Bruce Springsteen    3:28   Silver Patron Saints    2024

“Queen of the Underworld”     Jesse Malin    3:53    Fine Art of Self Destruction    2003

“Before You Go”    Jesse Malin    3:46    Sad & Beautiful World   2021

“Brooklyn”   Dinosaur Jr.    4:01    Silver Patron Saints    2024

“Sally Can’t Dance”     Lou Reed    4:13    Sally Can’t Dance    1974

“Turn up the Mains”    Mosshart Morello Gang    3:41     Silver Patron Saints    2024

“Cycles”     Rickie Lee Jones    3:19    It’s Like This    2000

Dinosaur Jr. have had a brilliant run.  It’s mind boggling to consider they are now marking 30 years since the release of their debut album, but that’s exactly what they’re doing with seven (count ’em, 7!) consecutive nights at Bowery Ballroom beginning tomorrow night – Thursday, December 3rd, 2015.

As legend has it,  J Mascis and Lou Barlow met as high school students after Barlow – as a guitar player – placed an ad for a drummer at Main Street Records in Northampton, Massachusetts.  The two made loud aggressive noises together as half of Deep Wound for a couple of years before that band dissolved and Dinosaur (not Jr. initially) emerged with drummer Murph completing the trio in 1984.  The transition was a significant one as J Mascis was the guitarist in the new outfit while Lou Barlow became the bass player.   The debut album Dinosaur that will be played in its entirety during these shows was released the following year.  In those days, the band found audiences in New York City to be more receptive to what they were doing on stage than any other town.  They played on bills with bands like Swans and Sonic Youth.

Two more albums: You’re Living All Over Me and Bug followed before Lou Barlow stepped off for about 15 years.  Amazingly, the trio reformed in 2005.  Well, not so amazing that there was a reunion but very much so that it had legs to the extent of a decade of shows and 3 albums of the caliber of Beyond, Farm, and I Bet On Sky.

It promises to be a week to remember.  Special guests are expected to turn up each night.

An embarrassment of concert riches this 2014 summer in NYC from the NY Philharmonic to John Hiatt to Dinosaur Jr. to Jack White to Spoon…

The original power trio of Dinosaur Jr. – J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph – has been together almost twice as long post-reunion as the first time around. The veteran Amherst, MA based rock band spoke about both eras and looked to the future before turning in a wicked set at South Street Seaport…

…you know, the ones I saw!

1 Dinosaur Jr; Irving Plaza
2 Metallica; Apollo
3 Robert Plant; Prospect Park
4 Erykah Badu; BAM
5 Elvis Costello & The Roots; Brooklyn Bowl
6 The Hives; Irving Plaza
7 Tom Morello; Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Allen Room
8 Television; Rough Trade NYC
9 Charles Bradley; Apollo
10 Gary Clark Jr; Apollo

Here’s guitarist Tom Watson and I after the show: