Jason Lytle
Encyclopedia
Jason Lytle is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock
group Grandaddy
. He released a solo album in 2009 and is currently in the band Admiral Radley
.
with an older sister, three younger brothers, and a stepsister. His father was in the grocery business, and his mother a housewife; They divorced when Lytle was aged five. A fan of music at an early age, he played drums as a child. Skateboarding
, however, captured his interest. By his late teens, Lytle was a sponsored amateur. While laid up with a career-ending ACL injury
, he started to play music again, writing songs and eventually setting up a home studio. Grandaddy came together gradually, signed to V2 Records
, put out albums, and toured the world.
After spending years on the road, Lytle grew tired of the rock and roll lifestyle and recorded much of the band's final album, Just Like the Fambly Cat, on his own. In December 2005, six months prior to the release of Just Like the Fambly Cat, the band decided to break up: the reasons included elusive mainstream success, despite widespread critical acclaim, and lack of money. Early in 2006, Lytle moved to Montana
from Modesto
, California
, where he had lived his whole life.
Mid-2006 saw Lytle briefly touring the U.S. in support of The Fambly Cat, playing new arrangements of Grandaddy songs as a duo with Rusty Miller of Jackpot. The tour was brokered as part of a deal to get V2 to agree to releasing a Grandaddy DVD that Lytle has in the works.
Lytle's debut solo album, Yours Truly, the Commuter
, was released on May 19, 2009 on the ANTI-
label.
He appears in the music video for I Am Lost (And The Moment Cannot Last) from the album. The video was shot in Sylmar, CA on December 9, 2008 and directed by The General Assembly (directors)
.
On December 7, 2009, Lytle independently released an EP
of seven improvised piano recordings as a "Merry X-mas
" gift to fans through his website on bandcamp.com. He also announced that he was currently working on a new album.
Lytle later joined with Aaron Burtch, a former Grandaddy bandmate, and Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray, of the band Earlimart
, to form a new band called Admiral Radley
. Their debut CD, entitled I Heart California, was released in the USA on July 13, 2010, on Espinoza's The Ship label.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
group Grandaddy
Grandaddy
Grandaddy was an American indie rock band, formed in 1992 in Modesto, California by singer, guitarist, and keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. Guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden later joined the band in 1995...
. He released a solo album in 2009 and is currently in the band Admiral Radley
Admiral Radley
Admiral Radley is a California-based indie rock band formed in late 2009.The band is formed from members of the indie rock bands Grandaddy and Earlimart . Originally the band name was going to be Grandimart or Earlidaddy, a combination of both band's names...
.
Biography
Lytle was born in Modesto, CaliforniaModesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
with an older sister, three younger brothers, and a stepsister. His father was in the grocery business, and his mother a housewife; They divorced when Lytle was aged five. A fan of music at an early age, he played drums as a child. Skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
, however, captured his interest. By his late teens, Lytle was a sponsored amateur. While laid up with a career-ending ACL injury
Anterior cruciate ligament injury
An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament can be a debilitating musculoskeletal injury to the knee, seen most often in athletes. Non-contact tears and ruptures are the most common causes of ACL injury....
, he started to play music again, writing songs and eventually setting up a home studio. Grandaddy came together gradually, signed to V2 Records
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
, put out albums, and toured the world.
After spending years on the road, Lytle grew tired of the rock and roll lifestyle and recorded much of the band's final album, Just Like the Fambly Cat, on his own. In December 2005, six months prior to the release of Just Like the Fambly Cat, the band decided to break up: the reasons included elusive mainstream success, despite widespread critical acclaim, and lack of money. Early in 2006, Lytle moved to Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
from Modesto
Modesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he had lived his whole life.
Mid-2006 saw Lytle briefly touring the U.S. in support of The Fambly Cat, playing new arrangements of Grandaddy songs as a duo with Rusty Miller of Jackpot. The tour was brokered as part of a deal to get V2 to agree to releasing a Grandaddy DVD that Lytle has in the works.
Lytle's debut solo album, Yours Truly, the Commuter
Yours Truly, the Commuter
Yours Truly, the Commuter is the debut solo album by American musician Jason Lytle. It was released on the ANTI- record label on May 19, 2009.-Track listing:- Credits :* Recorded, engineered, and produced by Jason Lytle...
, was released on May 19, 2009 on the ANTI-
ANTI-
ANTI- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label of Epitaph Records.While Epitaph's focus has shifted over the last decade from mostly punk rock, nowadays ANTI- has a more diverse roster, ranging from country , hip hop , reggae , Soul , folk , rap-rock , indie rock...
label.
He appears in the music video for I Am Lost (And The Moment Cannot Last) from the album. The video was shot in Sylmar, CA on December 9, 2008 and directed by The General Assembly (directors)
The General Assembly (directors)
The General Assembly is a music video and commercial directing duo based in Los Angeles, CA. They have directed music videos for such artists as Grum, The Wombats, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Jason Lytle, Fruit Bats , Radar Bros. and Everest...
.
On December 7, 2009, Lytle independently released an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
of seven improvised piano recordings as a "Merry X-mas
Xmas
"Xmas" is a common abbreviation of the word "Christmas". It is sometimes pronounced , but it, and variants such as "Xtemass", originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation...
" gift to fans through his website on bandcamp.com. He also announced that he was currently working on a new album.
Lytle later joined with Aaron Burtch, a former Grandaddy bandmate, and Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray, of the band Earlimart
Earlimart (band)
Earlimart is an Indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. They are named for the town of Earlimart, California. Their sound bears resemblance to Elliott Smith and Grandaddy, as well as to contemporaries like Pedro the Lion, with whom they performed in a 2004 tour. The band's sixth...
, to form a new band called Admiral Radley
Admiral Radley
Admiral Radley is a California-based indie rock band formed in late 2009.The band is formed from members of the indie rock bands Grandaddy and Earlimart . Originally the band name was going to be Grandimart or Earlidaddy, a combination of both band's names...
. Their debut CD, entitled I Heart California, was released in the USA on July 13, 2010, on Espinoza's The Ship label.
Solo albums
- Yours Truly, the CommuterYours Truly, the CommuterYours Truly, the Commuter is the debut solo album by American musician Jason Lytle. It was released on the ANTI- record label on May 19, 2009.-Track listing:- Credits :* Recorded, engineered, and produced by Jason Lytle...
(2009) - Merry X-Mas 2009 (2009)
- Music Meant to Accompany the Art of Ron Cameron (2010)
Compilation appearances
- All Together Now (2006, Little Monster/V2V2 RecordsV2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
) (song: "All You Need Is Love") - Real Fun: Polaroids from the Independent Music Landscape (2007, PictureBox) (song: "Thee Everything")
- I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey (2006, Vanguard) (song: "Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Phillip XIV of Spain")
Guest appearances
- The Band of Blacky Ranchette — Still Lookin' Good to MeStill Lookin' Good to MeStill Lookin' Good to Me is a 2003 album by The Band of Blacky Ranchette. The album features contributions from John Convertino, Joey Burns, Neko Case, Richard Buckner, Cat Power, M...
(2003, Thrill JockeyThrill JockeyThrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...
) (drums, keyboards, vocals) - Jackpot — Moonbreath (2007, Jackpine Social Club) (backing vocals)
- M. WardM. WardMatthew Stephen Ward, known by his stage name M. Ward, is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who rose to prominence in the Portland, Oregon music scene. In addition to his solo work he is known as a member of She & Him and Monsters of Folk.-Career:...
— Hold TimeHold TimeHold Time is the sixth proper studio album from M. Ward, released on February 17, 2009. Hold Time is the follow-up to his 2006 album Post-War and its companion EP To Go Home in 2007....
(2009, MergeMerge RecordsMerge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records...
) - The Crystal MethodThe Crystal MethodThe Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
— Divided by NightDivided by NightDivided by Night is electronic duo The Crystal Method's fourth studio album. The album was released on May 12, 2009. The first single, "Drown in the Now", which features vocals by Matisyahu, was released to the iTunes store on April 14, 2009, and the second single, "Black Rainbows" was released to...
(2009, Tiny E) (vocals on "Slipstream") - Danger MouseDanger MouseBrian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
and SparklehorseSparklehorseSparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
— Dark Night of the SoulDanger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the SoulDark Night of the Soul is an album written by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse. It features a wide range of singers, which include James Mercer of the Shins, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, Black Francis...
— (2009) (vocals on "Jaykub" and "Everytime I'm with You") - Sage FrancisSage FrancisPaul "Sage" Francis is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.-Biography:Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records...
— Li(f)eLi(f)e-Charts:-References:-External links:*...
(music, "Little Houdini") - Donovan's Brain — Fires Which Burnt Brightly (2009, Career Records) (keyboards and vocals, "I Saw Your Light")
External links
- Jason Lytle on BandcampBandcampBandcamp is an online music store, as well as a platform for artist promotion, that caters mainly for independent artists. Artists on Bandcamp have a customizable microsite with the albums they upload. All tracks can be played for free on the website and some artists offer free music downloads...