Jad Fair is the most unlikely of rock heroes. In his 40s, yet with the tall and gangly body of an adolescent and the naive blue eyes of a child, he looks like a preternaturally wide-eyed manga character.
But over the last 30 years, Fair has, as a solo artist and in the group Half Japanese (with his brother David), championed a pure and primitive rock 'n' roll that has garnered passionate fans around the world.
Fair's take on rock -- lo-fi, spontaneous and deeply grounded in a community of like-minded musicians -- has its roots as much in the American folk tradition as in punk rock.