Above: Jandek in the one-act play kooken, streaming November 15th at Hardly Sound.
Ten years ago today, Jandek came out. The mysterious musician who had made almost 40 records in seclusion, with no public appearances and only three interviews granted, suddenly emerged unannounced at the 2004 Instal Festival in Glasgow, Scotland. Though he looked and sounded like the person on all those Corwood Industries albums, no one was sure it was him. It wasn’t confirmed until later that week, when Instal organizer Barry Esson released a statement that it indeed was Jandek (or, as he preferred to be called, “a representative from Corwood”) singing and playing guitar, backed by Richard Youngs on bass and Alex Nielson on drums.
Many myths surrounding Jandek–detailed in the documentary Jandek on Corwood–immediately disappeared. The reactions of his followers were mixed, and understandably so. Though any Jandek diehard valued the music over the legend, his status as the ultimate artistic recluse had become so closely tied to his work that it was hard to comprehend him as a living, breathing, publicly-known entity. Those mixed feelings have persisted as he’s continued to play around the world, and become increasingly less private (see a recent cover interview in the Wire, a new documentary, even a forthcoming role in a one-act play). It’s rare to see discussion of Jandek on the internet without at least one commenter asking why he couldn’t have just stayed hidden.
Given that it’s too late to put the Jandek toothpaste back in its tube, though, it’s more interesting to ask how has the public version matched up to the private one. For me, it’s hard to imagine how Jandek could’ve stayed more true to his odd, inimitable musical legacy. In fact, I’d submit that his performance history has been even more unpredictable than his discography. During one of the best songs in that first Instal show, the music halts halfway through to let Jandek moan, “I made the decision to get real wild.” It turns out he was being literal.
Over the past decade Jandek has put himself in a dizzying array of situations, often with collaborators he’d never performed with before or even met before the show. Along the way many underground veterans have accompanied him–Loren Connors, Chris Corsano, John McEntire, Mike Watt–and some gigs have sounded like the freely improvised music fans might expect. But an impressive amount of shows have been complete wild cards, veering into styles, genres, and instrumental formats no one would normally associate with the Corwood representative.
Jandek’s dedication to finding new ways to perform makes most other musicians seem lazy in comparison. It’s truly impossible to know what to expect from a Jandek show, and I can’t think of any other artist for whom that holds so strongly. This risk-taking means he’s not always good: when I saw him once in Washington, DC, he let his Russian and Finnish collaborators do all the singing, and I didn’t love what I heard. But I also wasn’t disappointed, because he took a chance (and I got to see a one of a kind show). Salvador Dalí once said, “So little of what could happen, does happen.” Jandek’s performances seem like an ongoing effort to disprove him.
So to celebrate 10 years of getting real wild, here are five of the most surprising, baffling, and revelatory moments from the public career of Jandek.
5.) The Echo, Los Angeles, CA (May 24, 2014)
This swaying set caught Jandek in lead singer mode, stalking around the stage while rapping out a duet with a woman who I’ve been unable to identify. Their call-and-response has shades of '60s garage pop, albeit a shadowy, woozy variant, but the best part might be Jandek’s sultry, kneeling dance.
4.) Cabaret Sauvage, Festival Villette Sonique, Paris, France (May 23, 2013)
Listen to this one with a blindfold and you actually might believe it’s a post-punk band, as Emmanuelle Parrenin sings hauntingly over a steady, dark groove. The way Jandek’s wiry lines slip through the bass-drum loops, you can imagine an alternate reality where the Corwood rep was a guitar hero.
3.) Flywheel, Easthampton, MA (October 1, 2011)
An almost straight-up country set, replete with banjo, fiddle, and pedal steel guitar, courtesy of members of Sunburned Hand of the Man and Supreme Dicks. The sweetest parts come when Jandek sings along with Betsy Nichols, his dying moan serving as the echo trail to her burning star.
2.) Big Star Bar, Houston, TX (April 1, 2012)
The Youtube clip above labels this a “rave party,” and it’s not a joke. Grinding over the beats and loops of “Spike the Percussionist”, Jandek reminds me a little of Derek Bailey during his collaborations with DJ Ninj, but really in format only. His playing is more brittle and searing, and pumps a ton of blood into the monotonous techno throb.
1.) Rudyard's, Houston, TX (April 5, 2009)
By far the most notorious Jandek performance; it’s still hard to believe this actually happened. It’s a funk jam with a group of Houston session musicians, and it might be the most fun you’ll ever see Jandek have. When he starts bouncing around with obvious joy, I have to wonder: how could anyone wish that he had stayed at home?