Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis is recognized as a laid-back guitar virtuoso. He remains still on stage, hardly shifting, while he plays intricate guitar solos and uneven riffs with apparent ease. Sadly, Mascis has gained a comparable image as a subject for interviews, sitting quietly and giving clever vague responses.

That is not to imply Mascis lacks humor or appeal. As our conversation neared its end and I expressed gratitude for his time, he began to relax somewhat. He shared stories from his younger days as a mini golf fan. "I had a 3-foot putt for the win" at a mini-golf event, he mentioned, but "that's when I realized that I was a choker ... When I was 11, I choked." And that led him to conclude, "I should maybe not do sports." Thus, rather than pursuing a career in professional mini golf, Mascis formed one of the key bands in alternative rock.

While many of his peers have retired or are merely performing routinely for money, the original members Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow, and drummer Patrick Murphy continue to release new albums of solid rock tracks regularly. Yet Mascis claims there is no big mystery to the band's endurance. After more than 40 years, he notes, "I guess we have nothing better to do."

What might seem like annoying apathy to an interviewer could actually be Mascis' secret to longevity - for better or worse. In creative and professional matters, his method appears to involve adapting to situations without overanalyzing.

For the latest album There Near, he explained, the group "just didn't push it." There were no long studio marathons. They avoided perfecting basslines or exchanging project files remotely. Mascis would arrive with complete demos and the band would begin recording right away, even while Barlow and Murph were still picking up their parts, "on the off chance that it comes together quickly."

This relaxed method also influences Mascis' equipment selections. He noted, "I am kind of a tube purist guy, but it's just also kind of inconvenient sometimes," so he uses what functions. That includes mixing and mastering to tape while tracking in Pro Tools.

Regarding creating signature guitars with Fender, he is equally casual. "I try to, you know, do the important things that I want, but not make it too complicated ... I think it's better to keep it kind of cheap ... just so people can do what they want with it." The neck matters most to him, he said. "I'm a sucker for jumbo frets and, you know, if the neck is good and the frets and stuff, that's the main thing. Most of the other stuff, you know, you can swap out if you want."

However, that casual attitude has drawn some criticism. Two years ago, Mascis put out a video for his solo song "Old Friends" created with generative AI. In a talk with The Verge, he addressed the issue publicly for the first time. "Yeah, just some kid did it," he said. "I thought it looked cool, so... Yeah, that's dipping my toes into the... I don't do much with videos." He paused often while responding before saying, "But yeah, I guess that's a slippery slope."

Likewise, he mentioned that although he does not see a role for AI in creating music, we must accept that it exists regardless of our preferences, and "I guess we're learning how to deal with it. And hopefully it won't kill us all."

The only topic where Mascis showed strong opinions was the band's famously loud concerts. (Dinosaur Jr.'s recent show at the small Baby's All Right is what finally made me start carrying earplugs.) "I noticed the audience too seems more desperate for something kind of reality-based," he said, revealing a bit of his traditionalist side. "We don't have in-ear monitors or click tracks. We have amps and you know, just, I think some people are responding to the reality of it. Like they really need something that's not, you know, computer-generated or something."

He complained about the absence of amplifiers on stage (Mascis performs before three full stacks, even in a small 280-person venue) and the dependence on advanced sound systems. "It's very weird. Now, soundmen create the sound instead of capture the sound," he said. Naturally, his appreciation for the intense energy of live performances and direct audience connection makes his casual view on AI more puzzling.

Dinosaur Jr. are currently on tour in the US supporting There Near, which is available now.