Biography
Jason Lytle crafts Cinemascope indie rock defined by gauzy vocals and a rich, stratified atmosphere. After Grandaddy entered a temporary disbandment in 2006, he pursued an independent path. His initial solo album, Yours Truly, The Commuter, appeared in 2009. Although Grandaddy regrouped in 2012—the same year his follow-up Dept. of Disappearance emerged—and he contributed to the indie supergroup BNQT’s Volume 1 in 2017, Lytle maintained a steady flow of solo work, including the instrumental Arthur King Presents Jason Lytle: Nylon and Juno issued in 2019.
Born in Modesto, California, in 1969, Lytle established Grandaddy in 1992. The original lineup featured bassist Kevin Garcia and drummer Aaron Burtch alongside Lytle, who supplied vocals, guitar, and keyboards; the group added guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden in 1995. After several self-released projects, Grandaddy delivered their independent-label debut, the mini-LP A Pretty Mess by This One Band, on Will Records in 1996. The full-length Under the Western Freeway arrived in 1997, drawing notable critical attention—particularly for the track “Summer Here Kids”—and securing a contract with V2 Records. The four-song EP Signal to Snow Ratio from 1999 and the second album The Sophtware Slump in 2000 both earned further acclaim.
Beyond various compilations and EPs, Grandaddy produced two additional full-lengths before their temporary split: Sumday in 2003, which peaked at a career-best number 84 on the Billboard 200, and Just Like the Fambly Cat in 2006, which reached number 171. The band dissolved during the recording of the latter, effectively turning it into a Lytle solo endeavor. In its wake he relocated from California to Montana, where the local geography began shaping his songwriting. He resurfaced in 2009 with the proper solo debut Yours Truly, The Commuter on Anti- Records.
After releasing the mini-album of improvised piano pieces Merry X-Mas 2009 at year’s end, Lytle formed Admiral Radley with former Grandaddy colleague Burtch plus Earlimart’s Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray. Their debut I Heart California came out on Espinoza’s The Ship label in July 2010. Lytle then focused on his own material for a second album while Fairchild recruited him to reassemble Grandaddy for 2012 festival dates. The band performed at the U.K.’s End of the Road Festival, San Francisco’s Outside Lands, Paris’ Rock en Seine Festival, and several warm-up shows. Although album plans surfaced, Lytle issued Dept. of Disappearance in October 2012 on the Anti- label beforehand.
Lytle relocated from Montana to Portland, Oregon, in 2013. The next year he released House Show, documenting his inaugural local performance on May 17, 2014. An old acquaintance, Mike Cloward, who served as executive producer for a documentary on distance running, enlisted him to score the 2015 film This Is Your Day alongside Espinoza.
During a 2016 reunion tour featuring the classic lineup of Burtch, Dryden, Fairchild, and Garcia with Lytle, Grandaddy verified that a fifth studio album was underway. The band signed with Danger Mouse’s 30th Century Records and delivered Last Place in March 2017. Although the reunion brought the group onstage, Lytle wrote and performed the album alone, save for limited drumming from Burtch. It marked their third Billboard 200 entry, peaking at number 150. Concurrently Lytle joined Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses, Eric Pulido of Midlake, and Fran Healy of Travis—all lead singers—in BNQT to record Volume 1, released on Dualtone and Bella Union that April. Grandaddy bassist Kevin Garcia died at age 41 after a stroke in May 2017. In the aftermath the band canceled remaining tour dates and stayed inactive until issuing the single “Bison on the Plains” in late 2018.
Lytle reemerged with solo material in mid-2019 via the instrumental album Arthur King Presents Jason Lytle: Nylon and Juno on Dangerbird Records. As the title suggests, the recording employed only a Juno synthesizer and a nylon-string acoustic guitar.
Born in Modesto, California, in 1969, Lytle established Grandaddy in 1992. The original lineup featured bassist Kevin Garcia and drummer Aaron Burtch alongside Lytle, who supplied vocals, guitar, and keyboards; the group added guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden in 1995. After several self-released projects, Grandaddy delivered their independent-label debut, the mini-LP A Pretty Mess by This One Band, on Will Records in 1996. The full-length Under the Western Freeway arrived in 1997, drawing notable critical attention—particularly for the track “Summer Here Kids”—and securing a contract with V2 Records. The four-song EP Signal to Snow Ratio from 1999 and the second album The Sophtware Slump in 2000 both earned further acclaim.
Beyond various compilations and EPs, Grandaddy produced two additional full-lengths before their temporary split: Sumday in 2003, which peaked at a career-best number 84 on the Billboard 200, and Just Like the Fambly Cat in 2006, which reached number 171. The band dissolved during the recording of the latter, effectively turning it into a Lytle solo endeavor. In its wake he relocated from California to Montana, where the local geography began shaping his songwriting. He resurfaced in 2009 with the proper solo debut Yours Truly, The Commuter on Anti- Records.
After releasing the mini-album of improvised piano pieces Merry X-Mas 2009 at year’s end, Lytle formed Admiral Radley with former Grandaddy colleague Burtch plus Earlimart’s Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray. Their debut I Heart California came out on Espinoza’s The Ship label in July 2010. Lytle then focused on his own material for a second album while Fairchild recruited him to reassemble Grandaddy for 2012 festival dates. The band performed at the U.K.’s End of the Road Festival, San Francisco’s Outside Lands, Paris’ Rock en Seine Festival, and several warm-up shows. Although album plans surfaced, Lytle issued Dept. of Disappearance in October 2012 on the Anti- label beforehand.
Lytle relocated from Montana to Portland, Oregon, in 2013. The next year he released House Show, documenting his inaugural local performance on May 17, 2014. An old acquaintance, Mike Cloward, who served as executive producer for a documentary on distance running, enlisted him to score the 2015 film This Is Your Day alongside Espinoza.
During a 2016 reunion tour featuring the classic lineup of Burtch, Dryden, Fairchild, and Garcia with Lytle, Grandaddy verified that a fifth studio album was underway. The band signed with Danger Mouse’s 30th Century Records and delivered Last Place in March 2017. Although the reunion brought the group onstage, Lytle wrote and performed the album alone, save for limited drumming from Burtch. It marked their third Billboard 200 entry, peaking at number 150. Concurrently Lytle joined Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses, Eric Pulido of Midlake, and Fran Healy of Travis—all lead singers—in BNQT to record Volume 1, released on Dualtone and Bella Union that April. Grandaddy bassist Kevin Garcia died at age 41 after a stroke in May 2017. In the aftermath the band canceled remaining tour dates and stayed inactive until issuing the single “Bison on the Plains” in late 2018.
Lytle reemerged with solo material in mid-2019 via the instrumental album Arthur King Presents Jason Lytle: Nylon and Juno on Dangerbird Records. As the title suggests, the recording employed only a Juno synthesizer and a nylon-string acoustic guitar.
Albums
Arthur King Presents Jason Lytle: NYLONANDJUNO
2019
Dept. Of Disappearance
2012
Yours Truly, The Commuter
2009
Singles
