With his wildly influential band Half Japanese or as a solo performer, Jad Fair has constructed a prolific and extremely interesting career. He writes and records songs that display an uncomplicated emotional directness, unselfconscious charm and warmth, and a genial simplicity that is beyond words. Soon after Half Japanese released their legendary triple-LP debut, 1/2 Gentlemen/Not Beasts, in 1980, Fair began his concurrent solo career with Everyone Knew...But Me. He's released numerous fully solo efforts, including 1989's Greater Expectations and 2011's His Name Itself Is Music, as well as collaborations with the likes of Daniel Johnston, Yo La Tengo, R. Stevie Moore, and countless others. Fair is also a visual artist who works in paint, digital graphics, and most notably paper cuttings. He released over 150 albums during the early 2020s, including 2023's Happy Hearts with fellow D.I.Y. musician Samuel Locke Ward.