the songs "School," "Pennyroyal Tea" and "Drain You." In August 2014 he released the solo album Tied to a Star on Sub Pop and toured in support of it. Mascis joined Unknown Instructors on their fourth album, replacing Joe Baiza as guitarist. The album, Unwilling to Explain, was released in 2019. Personal life Mascis's wife, Luisa, whom he met in New York in the mid-1990s and married in 2004, is from Berlin, Germany. They reside in Amherst, Massachusetts, in a house formerly owned by Robert Thurman, a professor of religion noted for his work on Buddhism, and father of actress Uma Thurman. In September 2007 they had a baby boy named Rory. His brother-in-law is German filmmaker Philipp Virus, the director of the 2006 Dinosaur Jr. DVD Live in the Middle East. He is a devotee of Mata Amritanandamayi, a Hindu guru and author. Mascis explained that he discovered her in the mid-1990s when "I was at my lowest, as the band got bigger, I got more depressed. I was looking for anyone to help, to feel better". In 1982 Mascis became straight edge, part of a hardcore punk associated subculture whose adherents avoid drug and alcohol consumption. Since then, he has mostly been a teetotaler and never used other recreational drugs. Signature guitars July 2007 saw the release of a signature guitar by Fender, the J Mascis Signature Jazzmaster. The instrument comes in a Purple Sparkle finish and, while otherwise visually similar to a standard Jazzmaster, features a few modifications J requested. December 2011 saw the release of the Squier by Fender J Mascis Jazzmaster. This features a basswood body, C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with 9.5" radius and 21 jumbo frets, two high output single-coil Jazzmaster pickups, three-position switching and dual tone circuits, gold anodized aluminum pickguard, aged white plastic parts (knobs, switch tip, pickup covers), Adjusto-Matic™ bridge with vintage-style floating tremolo tailpiece, vintage-style tuners, chrome hardware, Vintage White finish, and J Mascis signature on the back of the large '60s-style headstock. Mascis replaces the stock pickups with Kinman Guitar Electrix ThickMaster (Jazzmaster) Zero-Hum pickups. These are, however, excluded from the factory guitar. In August 2021 Fender released a new signature Telecaster. This features an Alder body painted with a blue sparkle finish with a high-gloss polyester finish. It has custom pickups based on a 1958 Telecaster, a mirrored pickguard and a pre-worn Maple neck with a custom