James Lee Lindsey Jr. (May 1, 1980 – January 12, 2010), known professionally as Jay Reatard, was an American rock musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He was signed to Matador Records. He released recordings as a solo artist and as a member of the Reatards and Lost Sounds.
Lindsey was born in Lilbourn, Missouri, on May 1, 1980. He and his family moved to Memphis when he was 8 years old, since his father struggled to find employment in his hometown. His recording career began at age 15, when a homemade demo tape he sent to Goner Records caught the ear of Eric Friedl, Oblivian band member and Goner Records' owner. Lindsey heard Friedl and the Oblivians bandmates earlier that year when they returned home to Memphis as the opening act for Rocket from the Crypt. Lindsey became enamored of their sloppy, lo-fi music and created his brand of heavily distorted garage rock. Friedl was impressed by Lindsey's demos and signed him to his label, later commenting, "I loved the racket so we did the record, and I've been a fan of everything he's done since. He's a pretty amazing kid."
Lindsey named his first project the Reatards, which at the time included only himself as a member, and adopted an Oblivians-influenced surname, calling himself Jay Reatard. The Reatards' first release on Goner was the 7-inch EP Get Real Stupid, featuring Lindsey on guitar, vocals, and beating on a bucket to provide a percussive rhythm. Around this time Greg Cartwright, a member of The Oblivians, briefly played drums for Lindsey. He also played shows and recorded with Lindsey on Lindsey's first (self-released) cassette, Fuck Elvis, Here's The Reatards (No-Fi Records), with recording assistance from Jack Yarber, another Oblivian.
For Lindsey's second vinyl release, he recruited a backing band consisting of bassist Steve Albundy and drummer Elvis Wong. The Reatards' first LP as a trio was 1998's Teenage Hate on Goner Records. It was followed by a second LP, Grown Up Fucked Up on eMpTy Records (US), and a number of singles. The Reatards' first European tour came in 1998 when Lindsey was 18.
In 2001, Lindsey began recording music with Alicja Trout and Rich Crook as the Lost Sounds, a side project, which would ultimately usurp the Reatards as Lindsey's primary musical venture. With alternating male and female vocals, as well as prominently employed synthesizers, the Lost Sounds were a departure from the guitar-driven garage rock of the Reatards and had a sound more akin to the early punk rock of The Screamers, a synthesizer-heavy punk band that Lindsey had been exposed to by Elvis Wong shortly after the recording of the Reatards' first LP. Lindsey once claimed that his time in the Lost Sounds "was and is more fun than anything else I have ever done." Yet despite Lindsey's enthusiasm for the band, the Lost Sounds bitterly broke up in 2005.
Lindsey was a prolific songwriter, often acting as a member and contributing compositions to two or more bands concurrently. One of Lindsey's first side projects was the Bad Times, a one-off band that included Eric Friedl and King Louie Bankston. The band recorded an album's worth of material after only one practice session in 1998, releasing a self-titled LP in 2001. After one live performance, the band disbanded, the members returning to their respective solo commitments.
While Lindsey was still a member of the Reatards and the Lost Sounds, he joined a side project called the Final Solutions. Lindsey's association with the future members of the Final Solutions began while he was still a teenager. Fighting problems at home, Lindsey opted to take up residence with members of a local band called the Jackmonkeys. While he was rooming with the band, he was conscripted to play drums for them at a battle of the bands, held at the school's cafeteria. With Lindsey on drums, the band, under the moniker "the High and Mightys," performed a set of Oblivians covers, earning instant hate in the competition (FS bassist Tommy Trouble's band, the Squirrels earned third place). After separating for years, the group reformed under the Final Solutions and began touring and releasing albums.
In 2004, Lindsey, together with his ex-girlfriend, Alix Brown of Atlanta rock band the Lids, formed Shattered Records, an independent record label that released mainly limited edition vinyl. Shattered Records released records for various lo-fi punk and rock bands, including Kajun SS, Jack Oblivian, Tokyo Electron, The Reatards, Final Solutions, Terror Visions, Angry Angles, Carbonas, Rat Traps, Digital Leather, and the Knaughty Knights.
In 2007, Lindsey put Shattered Records on hold while he promoted his solo records. Then in 2009, Lindsey revived the label with the "Shattered Record Club" and the announcement of his final solo album, Watch Me Fall.
This partnership was another musical endeavor for Lindsey, the Angry Angles. Together with Brown, and alternating between drummers Paul Artigues from Die Rotzz and Ryan Rousseau ('Elvis Wong') from Tokyo Electron, the band began touring the U.S. in the Fall of 2006. Before the band had even released its second single, Lindsey and Brown began a short European tour. The Angry Angles disbanded after releasing several vinyl singles.
By 2005, both the Reatards and the Lost Sounds had broken up, and Lindsey focused his attention on a handful of side projects, working with and releasing material under Terror Visions and Destruction Unit. Though after he began focusing on his solo career in 2006, Lindsey said he has no desire to reform his previous bands. "I'd just feel like I was going backwards if I worked on anything else," Lindsey said.
2006 saw the release of Blood Visions (In the Red), Lindsey's first solo album under the moniker Jay Reatard. After a lengthy tour supporting his solo album, in 2008, he signed a multi-album, exclusive deal with the New York-based indie label Matador Records. Lindsey chose Matador because he felt they were "the only ones keeping any of the promises they'd made along the way." Various major labels like Universal Records, Columbia Records, and Vice Records along with independent Fat Possum wanted to meet with him in the hopes of signing him. He released six limited, 7-inch singles throughout 2008 with Matador. Soon after the release of the first single and write-ups in NME, Spin Magazine, and Rolling Stone, Lindsey began playing larger shows and various music festivals all over the world.
"My Shadow" was featured in MLB 2K8.
In October 2008, Lindsey's Matador Singles '08 LP compiled all six of the 2008 singles on one LP/CD. Lindsey again hit the road to support the album with a second, extensive 2008 tour.
Lindsey's later records sound drastically different from his early punk records. He said writers often misinterpret his newer sound. "I just think it's noisy pop music," Lindsey said.
Lindsey's final album, Watch Me Fall (his first proper studio album with Matador), was released in August 2009. He described this collection of songs as more melodic and twee-inspired. In a 2009 interview, Lindsey said "these new batch of songs feature organ, some mandolins, a cello, a lot more back-ups and harmonies." He noted that he'd "become a little bit more about the melodies... I think I stripped away a layer of the fuzz; I might have been challenging people before to find them and this time I might be making them a little bit more obvious."
While he claimed Watch Me Fall was more mellow than his previous works, Lindsey said his live show would remain energetic. "I just want it to be like an assault live, and softer on records," he said.
In an August 2009 interview with Turn it Down Interviews, Lindsey said the album's lyrics are centered around his growing fear of death and the betrayal of close friends.