Rarely Heard: Jandek - Kick

Jandek is an outsider musician who has self-produced more than 50 albums since 1978 which you could (and still can) purchase by mail order from his 'company' Corwood Industries for a very reasonable price. Until recently he has been quite secretive about his work and himself: "...he releases his own albums, he only sells them by mail order, he doesn't talk to the press, he doesn't sit for photographs, and the rare few who've communicated with him can't even get him to admit he is Jandek (he prefers to identity himself as "a representative of Corwood Industries," the name of his self-run record label)." Meanwhile he does give public performances and a few months ago revealed a bit more about his personality and his musical philosophy in a two-part interview in The Wire. His approach is - although obviously deeply rooted in country blues and folk traditions - radically D.I.Y.: he abhors any professionalism even to the extent that he demands his supporting musicians to be non-professional - and unprepared - for concerts. Quote from The Wire interview: "I don't want knowledge. I want passion. How can you know passion? You can experience it. But success hurts."