Jason Pierce

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Jason Pierce
Spir2.jpg
Jason Pierce, 1998
Background information
Birth nameJason Andrew Pierce
Also known asJ. Spaceman
Born (1965-11-19) 19 November 1965 (age 57)
Origin Rugby, England
Genres Alternative rock, space rock, neo-psychedelia, art rock, experimental rock
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, percussion, banjo, dulcimer, autoharp, harmonica
Years active1982–present

Jason Andrew Pierce [1] (born 19 November 1965 in Rugby) is an English musician. Currently the frontman and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized, he previously co-fronted the alternative rock band Spacemen 3 with Peter Kember from 1982 until 1991. He has worked under the name J. Spaceman.

Contents

Music

In between his work with Spiritualized and Spacemen 3, Pierce has been active with a network of free jazz players and improvisers, collaborating with acclaimed artists, including Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dr. John, Primal Scream, Daniel Johnston and Yoko Ono.[ citation needed ]

In 2006, Pierce released his first solo album, Guitar Loops , a limited release on Coxon and Wales's Treader record label. Also in 2006, he composed the original score for an art installation called "Silent Sound" [2] by British artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. The live performance at St. George's Hall in Liverpool was recorded and released as a limited edition signed and numbered CD. A second performance of Silent Sound took place in 2010 as part of the AV Festival, at Middlesbrough Town Hall. A second limited edition, a signed and numbered CD, was released.

Between 6 and 8 February 2007, Pierce performed in a series of benefit concerts for the HOPING Foundation for Palestinian children.

He provided some of the soundtrack for Harmony Korine's 2007 film Mister Lonely .

In July 2008, Pierce sat down for an interview with NPR before a concert at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Both the interview and the concert can be heard on the NPR website. [3]

He released a collaboration with Matthew Shipp entitled Spaceshipp on the Treader label in 2008.

Pierce has worked on various solo projects, including the remixing of singles by LFO, Global Communication, and the 22-20's.

His song "Lay It Down Slow" was used for the finale of the hit US drama series Prison Break .

In 2015, he played guitar on the Ariel Pink song "Dayzed Inn Daydreams". [4]

Personal life

Jason lives with his partner and two children in the East End of London. [5]

In the 1990s, Pierce was in a relationship with Kate Radley, who was also a member of Spiritualized. In 1995, Radley married Richard Ashcroft, lead singer of the Verve. [6]

Pierce was seriously ill with pneumonia in 2005. [7] Both his lungs had filled with liquid; the 5′ 11″ (180 cm) musician's weight plunged to seven stone (44.5 kg; 98 lbs), and his heart stopped beating twice. [8]

In an early 2012 interview, [9] Pierce mentioned he had been under chemotherapy during the recordings of the 2012 Spiritualized album, Sweet Heart Sweet Light . He does not specify the diagnosis for this treatment, but he jokes about it, saying that these are drugs he does not recommend to anybody.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spacemen 3</span> English alternative rock band

Spacemen 3 were an English rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "trance-like neo-psychedelia" consisting of heavily distorted guitar, synthesizers, and minimal chord or tempo changes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiritualized</span> English space rock band

Spiritualized are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce, formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pierce, Doggen Foster (guitar) and Kevin Bales with revolving bassists and keyboard players. The band’s current bassist, James Stelfox, has been playing with the band since 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Ashcroft</span> English singer-songwriter

Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. Songs he wrote for the band include "Bitter Sweet Symphony", "Lucky Man", and the UK number one "The Drugs Don't Work". He became a successful solo artist, releasing three UK top three solo albums. The Verve reformed in 2007 but again broke up by summer 2009. Ashcroft then founded a new band, RPA & The United Nations of Sound, and released a new album on 19 July 2010. Ashcroft released his fourth solo album, These People, on 20 May 2016. Ashcroft went on to release the album Natural Rebel in 2018, and the compilation of acoustic versions of his best hits: Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1 in 2021.

<i>Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space</i> 1997 studio album by Spiritualized

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by English space rock band Spiritualized, released on 16 June 1997. The album features guest appearances from the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr. John.

<i>Lazer Guided Melodies</i> 1992 studio album by Spiritualized

Lazer Guided Melodies is the debut studio album by English space rock band Spiritualized. The album was recorded by the inaugural line up of the band, consisting of Jason Pierce, Mark Refoy (guitars), Will Carruthers (bass), Jonny Mattock (drums) and Kate Radley (keyboards) from 1990 to 1991, and mixed by Pierce in London in January 1992. The album was first released on Dedicated Records in March 1992, on cassette, Compact Disc and Vinyl.

<i>Playing with Fire</i> (Spacemen 3 album) 1989 studio album by Spacemen 3

Playing with Fire is the third studio album by Spacemen 3, released in February 1989. The original CD version included two live bonus tracks recorded in the Netherlands, and an ensuing release on Taang! Records included two more b-sides from the "Revolution" single. A reissued version from 2001 has an entire extra disc of demos and rarities. The album was featured in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

<i>Pure Phase</i> 1995 studio album by Spiritualized

Pure Phase is the second studio album by Spiritualized, released on 28 March 1995. The album was recorded in the Moles Studio in Bath, and features contributions from The Balanescu Quartet. Initial CD copies were sold in a glow-in-the-dark, encapsulated CD case.

<i>Royal Albert Hall October 10 1997</i> 1998 live album by Spiritualized

Royal Albert Hall October 10, 1997 is a live album by space rock group Spiritualized from their 1997 tour of the United Kingdom, recorded during an October show at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The album was released in late 1998.

Kate Radley is an English keyboard player, best known for her work with the British rock band Spiritualized. She was a member during the time period which saw the release of the Lazer Guided Melodies, Pure Phase and Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space albums, before leaving the band in 1997.

Will Carruthers is a musician, best known for playing bass in the influential alternative rock bands Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flowers of Hell</span> Musical artist

The Flowers of Hell are a transatlantic experimental orchestra made up of a revolving line-up of 16 or so independent musicians based in Toronto and London. Their mostly instrumental sound builds bridges between classical music and post-rock, shoegaze, space rock and drone music, often resulting in their being described as an orchestral extension of the work of The Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3. They are led by synesthete composer Greg Jarvis. Much of their repertoire is an exploration of the timbre-to-shape synesthesia that causes Jarvis to involuntarily perceive all sounds as floating abstract visual forms.

<i>Songs in A&E</i> 2008 studio album by Spiritualized

Songs in A&E is the sixth studio album by English rock band Spiritualized and is their first since 2003's Amazing Grace. It was released on 26 May 2008 in the UK on Sanctuary Records and on 27 May in the USA on Fontana Records. It was released on standard CD worldwide, as well as a limited edition book and double 12" vinyl in the UK. The album's first single was "Soul on Fire," released on 19 May 2008 in the UK. Frontman Jason Pierce has said that the album is "the work of The Devil...with a little guidance from me."

Guitar Loops is the first solo album by Spiritualized frontman Jason Pierce. It was recorded in one continuous take at Amazing Grace Studio in London, a few days before he was taken ill with pneumonia. Spaceman plays a Fender Jaguar through a Fender Superchamp and percussion. It was originally released in a limited edition signed printing on John Coxon's Treader record label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls (band)</span> American indie rock band

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<i>Before Today</i> 2010 studio album by Ariel Pinks Haunted Graffiti

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<i>Sweet Heart Sweet Light</i> 2012 studio album by Spiritualized

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References

  1. http://repertoire.bmi.com/writer.asp?page=1&blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&fromrow=1&torow=25&affiliation=PRS&cae=177155259&keyID=593326&keyname=PIERCE+JASON+ANDREW&querytype=WriterID [ permanent dead link ]
  2. "Silent Sound". 20 July 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011.
  3. "Spiritualized In Concert". Npr.org. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. "Ariel Pink - 'Pom Pom' - NME". www.nme.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  5. "Jason Pierce on drugs and mortality". Thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  6. "Spiritualized, The Verve, and 1997's Biggest Secret Love Triangle". Vice.com. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  7. Montgomery, James. "Spiritualized's Pierce Recovering After Brushes With Death". MTV News. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  8. Simpson, Dave (17 November 2006). "Dave Simpson interviews Jason Pierce". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  9. ""Spiritualized on Embracing Pop, Undergoing Chemo"". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2020.