The Jason Fables
Amazingly independent music.
The Jason Fables are a collection of musical recordings created by me, Jason Pristash. I began writing and recording songs when I was a kid in the eighties and have been doing so ever since. I performed a little in high school and college using the band name Sounds from the Stairs (see Sean Hayes), but after college I stopped, being much more interested in crafting musical recordings. So, along with Don Weigand, my life-long friend and writing collaborator, we focused on my home studio in Chicago and began building albums under the name The Mosaic Virus.
The large library of songs I’ve recorded over the last thirty years has become like a collection of fables to me; my own personal mythology. (Currently a total of 202 recordings). Each song representing some past point in time, full of context and memories. Dotting my own history like leaving behind footsteps in wet sand. “Jason’s Fables” would probably have been a more appropriate artist name, but I didn’t think that sounded quite right.
The name “The Jason Fables” originated in 2012-2013 when, needing practice material while learning a new recording software, I began re-producing the remains of an old, partially completed album called Phantom Morgana (songs: Misdirection, Dreaming of Green Scene, Chains and I Win). The process went so well that I became determined to build it out to a full album’s length. Gaining momentum, I searched through the prior ten years of archives for any other unfinished projects to work on. During this period of learning and training I also began to write songs again after a hiatus of several years. By the time the album, Be Your Own Myth, was assembled in late-2014 it included four new songs (Here Come the Calm Again, We Didn’t Do It Alone, The Sullen Flowers and I Sneeze in the Sunlight).
In 2018 I completed The Reluctant Cannonball, the sixth album. It contains nine new songs and two which are re-recorded versions of songs from the third album, Gyroscope (Phobiac, Sandstone Fossil Fear). Emotionally genuine, this album spans a wide variety of styles. Great continuous-play experience!
The seventh album, Marbles Considered Lost, was completed in 2021. Once again, I re-recorded a track from Gyroscope for this album (Magnitude). That third album had never made it past the Demo stage back in 1997. It had always bothered me that the recordings were left so raw.
The eighth album, Outside the Inside Out, was completed in 2022. This album was born out of a challenge I came up with in December 2021 to create an album using a very detailed predetermined timeline. I charted out a 300-day plan. It was the first time I’ve ever written music with specific weekly deadlines. It turned out to be a really amazing experience. Highly effective.
Building on the momentum of the prior album, I launched into the ninth album using the same systematic process developed with Outside the Inside Out but extending the timeline from 300 days to 512 days. In March 2024, Cave Echoes of the Info Eaters was completed. It was written in song order, with a continuous storyline running through all twelve songs.
Please help us out by spreading the word and buying these recordings. The album versions of the songs are generally better than the singles found on this website – so go to any music service and buy the whole album!
Most current release: Cave Echoes of the Info Eaters
Email: [email protected]
Enjoy. Peace. Jason. Don.