Jay Reatard is a punk rock musician from Memphis who began recording music at age 15 and died at age 29 on January 13, 2010. Born Jay Lindsey, Jay Reatard released a demo tape, on which he played all of the instruments, under the name The Reatards. This cassette was sent to Eric Friedl of the Oblivians, who had used the “Goner...More
Jay Reatard is a punk rock musician from Memphis who began recording music at age 15 and died at age 29 on January 13, 2010. Born Jay Lindsey, Jay Reatard released a demo tape, on which he played all of the instruments, under the name The Reatards. This cassette was sent to Eric Friedl of the Oblivians, who had used the “Goner Records” imprint on a couple of releases. His next release was a 7” by The Reatards, followed shortly by a full-length LP, Teenage Hate (Goner, 1998). After building a reputation for his live shows and releasing another full-length, Grown Up, Fucked Up (Empty, 1999), Jay Reatard focused on what had been a side project, The Lost Sounds, a band with his then girlfriend Alicja Trout and Rich Crook. The band lasted from 1999 until 2004, and left a sizable recorded legacy.
Jay’s first record under the name Jay Reatard, Blood Visions, was released in early 2006 on In The Red. Once again, his live shows became legendary. Shows frequently featured 18 songs (or more) in 25 minutes (or less), he often ran through his catalog at double or triple speed, and announced the next song title before the first song ended. In early 2008, Jay Reatard signed to Matador records and released six limited edition 7”s in six months. In April 2009, he released a Record Store Day exclusive split 7" with Sonic Youth. He released his last solo album in August 2009, Watch Me Fall (Matador), which was recorded almost entirely in his home studio with Jay playing every instrument. Jay toured indie record stores to promote Watch Me Fall, including performing at all three Amoeba stores (view Hollywood photos, San Francisco photos, Berkeley photos). Also in 2009, Jay revived his Shattered Records label, which released primarily limited-edition vinyl from 2004-2006. On January 13, 2010 Jay Reatard was found dead in his Memphis home at the age of 29.
“It takes ten times longer to get rid of your reputation than it does to make it.” - Jay Reatard
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