Falling Cars and Junkyard Dogs

Book excerpt: The former Uncle Tupelo and current Son Volt musician presents snapshots of the people and places he encountered during his decades-long touring career. In this collection of beautifully crafted autobiographical vignettes, Jay Farrar visits the places he’s journeyed to during his more than twenty years as a traveling musician. While recollections of Farrar’s parents and his formative childhood in the Missouri Ozarks are prominent throughout the stories, it is music and musicians that are given the most space and the final word, since music has been his creative impetus and driving force. In writing these stories, Farrar found a natural inclination to focus on very specific experiences; a method analogous to the songwriting process. The highlights and pivotal experiences from that musical journey are all represented as the binding thread in these stories, illustrated throughout with photography from his life. If life is a movie, then these stories are the still frames. “Falling Cars and Junkyard Dogs extends Farrar’s talents as he exhibits an eye for detail and a grasp of the human condition that proceeds directly from his own introspective nature.” —All About Jazz “Provides some illumination of the creative mind of a very private artist.” —Kirkus Reviews