Did You Know? Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie and Jay Farrar of Son Volt Released an Album Together in 2009

We’ve seen many artist collaborations throughout the years. It can be interesting to watch how certain artists interact with each other and what they can produce together. A grand example of this is the pairing of Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar. Farrar’s career launched as an alternative country pioneer in Uncle Tupelo in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Uncle Tupelo came out of St. Louis, featuring Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, who would go on to form Wilco, and drummer Mike Heidorn. Following Uncle Tupelo’s breakup, Farrar and Heidorn started Son Volt in 1995. To this day, Son Volt is Jay Farrar’s primary project, though he’s released solo albums as well. Among those is the 2009 album One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur.

The album is based on Jack Kerouac’s 1962 novel Big Sur. Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar wrote the album out of their mutual appreciation for the novel. Many of the tracks were included in a documentary of the same name. What’s interesting about this collaboration is that Gibbard and Farrar come from different generations of music. Gibbard is best known as the singer/songwriter for Death Cab For Cutie, an indie rock band that came out in the early 2000s. Additionally, Gibbard is also known for his side project, The Postal Service. Where Farrar is an indie legend of the 1990s, Gibbard is that of the 2000s.

Notable Tracks From The Collaborative Album

The album opens with the sentimental song “California Zephyr,” on which Gibbard was lead vocalist. The track is an interesting one for him, as it contains a country flair. It’s about the experience of riding the California Zephyr train, and how it historically runs from Chicago to San Francisco. Other Gibbard-penned tracks include “These Roads Don’t Move,” “Williamine,” and “One Fast Move Or I’m Gone.” Together, Farrar and Gibbard sing “Low Life Kingdom,” the album’s second track. Jay Farrar takes lead vocals on “Big Sur,” “Sea Engines,” and the album’s final track, “San Francisco.”

One Fast Move Or I’m Gone peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200. Additionally, it peaked at No. 2 on both the Top Independent Albums chart and Top Soundtracks chart.

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc