Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar Compose Like Kerouac for Upcoming Documentary

Among other things, author and beat generation figurehead Jack Kerouac was known for mastering a style of writing he called "spontaneous prose." He wrote about his life -- and the people and the places in it -- in an urgent manner, writing flurries of words on the page as fast as he could with little regard for editing or revisions. When Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and Jay Farrar (Son Volt) started collaborating on the soundtrack to a Kerouac documentary, things came together in a way that both artists also describe as being spontaneous.

Approached by Jim Sampas, the film's producer and Kerouac's nephew, to be a part of the project, Gibbard was given some demos that Farrar had thrown together and was flown into St. Louis to participate. "I had never met Jay before and we met over some drinks," Gibbard tells Spinner. "And then the next day I was thrown into a recording studio with a documentary film crew and a bunch of people I didn't know. Jay and I were sitting there with acoustic guitars trying to figure out where to start. But even out of that initial recording session we got some really great performances."

Originally asked to contribute vocals to a song or two, Gibbard collaborated with Farrar on a dozen tracks over the next year and a half, contributing a lot more than just vocals. "It was probably a couple days into it when I realized that we needed a drummer and I was calling all these guys trying to find one," Farrar tells Spinner. "It turns out, Ben's a really excellent, badass drummer."

"There wasn't really a master plan," Farrar continues. "There wasn't really anybody that was calling all the shots. And I think that ultimately that gave a degree of spontaneity that was good for the project."

Sampas had initially hinted that he wanted a variety of guest singers to accompany Farrar for the soundtrack, but Gibbard fit so well that the two formed a sort of partnership out of it. Gibbard gives Farrar the "lion's share of credit," saying that he was just "navigating in the passenger's seat," but Farrar sees it differently.

"What was important was that Ben and I were the last ones standing," he says. "We were the ones that showed up. It sort of meant that we were the true believers in a way, and ultimately the spirit of Kerouac carried the project through."

The album, entitled 'One Fast Move or I'm Gone' will accompany a documentary film by the same name, about the circumstances surrounding Kerouac's novel 'Big Sur.' Both the CD and DVD are scheduled for an Oct. 20 release in various packaging configurations. Farrar says that plans for a tour around that time are already underway. After all, not everything can be spontaneous.