Jason Logan (2)

Logan spent his early years writing, playing, recording and touring with rock bands in Minneapolis, which gave him room to explore and grow as a young artist. A cassette EP led to a 7-inch single on Ed Ackerson’s & John Kass’s Susstones label, which led to a deal with Twin/Tone Records, which led to a couple albums and some liver damage. Twin/Tone was one of the most infamous indie labels in the US, home to early work from Soul Asylum, The Replacements, The Mekons, Ween, The Jayhawks, and other rock icons. Logan’s band Beyond Zebra released two full length CDs on the label during the grungy early nineties. The Austin Chronicle, The MN Daily, and CMJ said good things about the band and the songs. They toured relentlessly, playing festivals such as SxSW in Austin and CMJ in New York. They could be seen at First Avenue/7th Street Entry, Emo’s, The Metro, the 930 Club and The Bottleneck. At Mabel’s in Champaign Illinois, Logan nearly ended his career prematurely by falling from the 4-foot stage after tripping over a power cord. At CBGB the band took the stage at 1 a.m., playing their guts out to a bartender and a gaggle of roaches, while outside the club some professionals removed the entire contents of their van. Adventures were had, souls were bared, the fuel gauge kept above empty, until about 1993 or somewhere thereabouts. Ran out of gas eventually. There were years between. Jason released a solo CD in 2000. The album gravitated toward a more melodic tone, departing from his previous overdriven rock sound. Brien Lilja (Slim Dunlap, Rank Strangers, Draghounds) supplied the rich, driving drums and Eric Heywood (Son Volt, Freakwater, Joe Henry, The Pretenders) added a beautiful weeping pedal steel. Jason sang and played the remainder of the instruments. The album was not promoted and was received with little acclaim, but fans drew some flattering comparisons — The Faces, Big Star, and Tom Petty. After that Logan took another lengthy hiatus. Today he writes and produces music in a small studio in Portland OR.