Jason Narducy never dreamed in a million years that he would be the one to get all four members of R.E.M. back on stage together. But somehow, it happened. For years Narducy and his friend and actor Michael Shannon have been playing R.E.M. tribute shows with a crew of Cracker Jack Chicago musicians. In late February of 2025, Narducy, Shannon and company were playing a sold out show in Athens, GA, as part of a tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of R.E.M. ‘s second album Reckoning. All four members of R.E.M. were in attendance for the gig and one by one they appeared on stage for an emotional and historic moment. It was pure magic.
Since forming a childhood punk outfit that he christened Verböten at the age of ten, Narducy has enjoyed a life that revolves around rock and roll. Aside from the R.E.M. band with Michael Shannon, Narducy is renowned for his work playing bass with the Bob Mould band and in Superchunk. He also has a terrific band of his own called Split Single driven by Jason’s great songs and voice. As if that were not enough, he also tours regularly playing guitar in Sunny Day Real Estate.
In addition to reuniting one of the greatest acts in rock history, and playing in rock clubs across the world, Narducy is now a published author. His new book, Mostly The Van, Volume 1 is a look at the beautiful absurdity of touring in a rock band. Narducy shares myriad stories of struggle, humor, and empathy in his terrific tome. In addition to being a tremendous series of tales, it is also an unvarnished look at the not so glamorous life of the touring musician.
In recent years, Jason has also become one of the artists most active on the house show circuit. Jason and I spend some time hitting upon the intimate beauty of these events, and talking about the reasons why they are such an economic boost for artists without enough of a following for a typical club show.
Thanks so much to one of the busiest dudes in show business for taking some time to sit down and talk about all of this and more.
Cheers,Matty C-----------
Credits
Thanks so much to Jason for joining me. Please grab a copy of his brand new book Mostly The Van from the link in our show notes.
The What Am I Making podcast is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.
Our theme music was written and recorded by David J. Baldwin
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