Jason Narducy: ‘Pageant’ Material
Talking R.E.M. with the guitarist of their greatest tribute act
In a career that has spanned four decades, Jason Narducy has served as the go-to guitarist and bassist for artists that run the gamut of the alternative/indie spectrum.
He has toured as the bassist for Bob Mould (click for my 2024 Rock and Roll Globe interview) since 2005 and recorded with him from 2012’s Silver Age onward. In 2013, the Evanston, Illinois, native joined Superchunk – arguably the epitomizer of indie rock – as their on-the-road bassist. Furthermore, but not finally, he provided the rhythm guitar parts for emo pioneers Sunny Day Real Estate on their recent reunion tours.
And it should certainly not go unmentioned that Narducy released two LPs with his own band, Verbow, in 1997 and 2000, an EP in 2004 with Rockets Over Sweden, and three albums as the leader of Split Single between 2014 and 2021.
Further cementing Narducy’s bona fides is his current partnership with actor/musician Michael Shannon, the two of whom front a band that covers R.E.M. albums in their entirety. Having conquered Murmur and Fables of the Reconstruction, the supergroup — which includes drummer Jon Wurster (Narducy’s Bob Mould and Superchunk bandmate), guitarist Dag Juhlin, keyboardist Vijay Tellis-Nayak and Wilco bassist John Stirratt — is presently tackling 1986’s Lifes Rich Pageant.
Narducy kindly spoke to me via Zoom on the day of the tour’s first show in Denver.
Where were you an R.E.M. fan when Lifes Rich Pageant came out?
I was 15 when it came out, and I had heard of R.E.M. A friend of mine went and saw them on the Fables [of the Reconstruction]” tour at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago and raved about it. He either played me “Driver 8” or “Can’t Get There from Here.” I’m not sure which one, but one of those was the first R.E.M. song that I heard. I really liked it, but I hadn’t bought anything yet. When Document came out, I bought it right away and fell in love with it. And then I was able to go backwards and I think at that point, Lifes Rich Pageant was the one I played the most.
What was it that made Lifes Rich Pageant the one that you returned to most often?
It’s like when you hear a band that you just know you’re going to be infatuated with. I remember hearing Vic Chestnutt for the first time and thinking, this is uncomfortable for me because it’s so different. And then I fell in love with it. But with R.E.M. it was immediately comfortable and mysterious. I wanted to learn more about the band and what it was doing. It’s a little cliché, but the lyrics spoke to me. “What if We Give It Away” was a song that I immediately learned on guitar…the wrong way, by the way! I hope I’m closer to the right way now. [laughs]
Are any of your favorite songs, or ones that you think are among their greatest, on this album?
One of my favorite things about this project is, when you get deep inside a record, the songs that jump out at me after I’ve learned them. “Good Advices” on Fables is one that really snuck up on me. When we would play that on the last tour, it just gave me goosebumps every night. And that wasn’t a song that I gravitated to before we played it. On this record right now, it’s “I Believe,” a song that I always liked, but it just gets me so excited right now. It’s not the easiest song from a guitar standpoint, but I get really excited about things like that, where a song that I didn’t think of as a standout track becomes one that I can’t wait to play.
What unique challenges does playing this album live pose?
It’s probably different for each member of the band. For me, it’s a lot more singing than Fables was. Which I love, I love singing with Michael. I’m sort of, for lack of a better term, the musical director of this band.
It’s a really interesting thing to listen to, learn, interpret music that is sacred to us, and that means so much to us and try to present it in a way that people will enjoy and celebrate with us. We’re having fun, and we hope the audience knows that. We take no ownership of these songs or of this band. We are massive fans, and I hope that people understand that we’re celebrating this band that we love, and if they want to come with us, then that’s great.
How great is your appreciation of R.E.M.’s musicianship as a result of learning their albums note-for-note?
Huge. Peter Buck is such a genius. We are incredibly fortunate to be in his presence every once in a while. He has a really positive and open spirit about this. He’ll also say it’s pretty weird, and we think so too, you know. [laughs] But at the same moment he’ll say that he was really moved by hearing us playing those songs.
Occasionally he will join us on stage, and there have been times where he’s standing next to me while we’re playing a song, and he’ll lock eyes with me, and then look down at his left hand like, “This is the voicing.” [laughs] A very gentle tutorial nudge. Dag, the other guitar player, and I are kind of on to him now a little bit. There’s so much more to learn about his approach and his style, but now we know that often we make it more complex than it really was. Peter is a master of making something sound so intricate but he’s just doing it on two strings. But it sounds like an orchestra of guitars.
When you started practicing the songs for the tour, did you remember how to play them from having learned them when you were younger?
I have a funny story about that. I went to college in Baltimore, which is known for its row houses. In the late ’80s, bars were that shape, too. So there was a huge culture of acoustic solo guys. And it was a huge blue-collar town, so there was a lot of classic rock. A lot of single acoustic guys playing classic rock. And I came in with my buddies with two acoustic guitars and bass and we played college rock, and if there was any band we played the most it was R.E.M. One of the biggest songs of the night that people really loved was “Driver 8.”
On the Murmur tour, we added that midway into the tour. So we’re in D.C., and one of my buddies who was in that band, Mike, was there. Just a couple days before, Peter Buck had showed me the real way to play it [laughs], and I just turned and faced my friend and was like, “This is it. This is what we were trying to do 30 years ago!” Of course 16, 17-year-old me didn’t have the ability to hear or play what’s really happening. You just do the best you can at that age.
Do you plan to continue touring beyond the I.R.S. albums and into the Warner Bros. years?
Our whole thing is, does Michael Shannon want to do it? He’s our front guy. And beyond that, it’s just so fun. I’m still surprised that we’re still doing it and that it’s doing so well. So I don’t know why we would stop.
But I mean, look at the band. Everybody’s working in other bands, and Michael has his other work. I think if we keep this fun and buoyant and joyous, then why would we stop? We’re so fortunate to have the thumbs up from R.E.M. themselves and their manager Bertis [Downs] is really sweet to us. He even gives great ideas, like playing Bloomington [Indiana], where the guys recorded the record. That’s why we’re playing Bloomington on the last show of the tour. So to answer your question, no plans have been made beyond this, but if everybody’s happy I would love it.
- Jason Narducy: ‘Pageant’ Material - March 2, 2026
- Bob Mould: Still Crazy After All These Years - April 17, 2025
- Jon Anderson Geeks Out - September 23, 2024
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