Here's something you might be interested in.
On November 11, Jefferson Jay's fifth CD, Gift to Be Alive, will debut at the Griffin, with For the Faint and Charbra also on the bill.
"The story behind the album title is I think life is a precious gift, every single second. We can value life like that and treat people kindly or we can waste time, treat people however we feel l like it and pretend it doesn’t matter. I feel strongly that it does. Finding a way in this world is not easy. This album shares a lot of thoughts, feelings, opinions, and ideas on ways to make it much easier. It offers some positive ideas and solutions for our 21st century realities."
While Paul Lopez of Agua Dulce plays drums and percussion on the new CD, the Jefferson Jay Band's new drummer is "My loving girlfriend, Leanne Pearl. She's a natural. She played drums for the first time less than a year ago, and almost instantly she was rocking out with the band. She‘s a special talent, blending in seamlessly with four guys who’ve been playing forever collectively."
Jay met returning cover artist John Warner when the illustrator was still living in San Diego, before moving to Austin and then Philly. "He's done all five of my album covers, and many of my posters. I spent a lot of time thinking about what image pops into my mind when I think of Gift to Be Alive. I think of a sunset and the ocean. Nature constantly reminds of how beautiful and precious life is. I found a great picture of a sunset online, and John did the rest. He’s been getting huge gigs lately, like Further tour and Warren Haynes, and he'll have a book coming out with his poster art."
For the Nov. 11 release party, "The [Griffin] room has a special significance to me, because I hosted an open mic and played there twice on New Year’s Eve back when it was O’Connell’s. It's a lot nicer in there now...we'll be playing some songs off the CD, of course. We also have a lot of upbeat material that we've been playing often. We’ve been working a bit with a Latinized cover of 'Hava Nagila,'"
Formerly known as Brainstorm, the Jefferson Jay Band has been playing around San Diego since 2001 and has opened for Jane's Addiction and Steely Dan. Jay, a Jersey native who moved to San Diego in 2000, released a CD of children's music, Blue – a Kid's Album, in 2009.
He shortly thereafter released a dual-DVD set Jefferson Jay's 24 Hours of Free Music, commemorating a 24-hour marathon of acts at Portugalia the previous year, in 2008. “A very special scene developed around my shows,” Jay states. “A close group of talented friends came together. I cherish the opportunity to share our experience and my music with anyone who is interested in these sorts of things.”
His fourth full-length Yellow was released in 2010, the third and final offering in his Primary Colors trilogy. The album includes tracks such as “Dawson,” a tribute to all people named Dawson, and “Intimate with Ludacris,” Jay’s response to the popular hip-hop artist. His fifth CD Gift to Be Alive was released in November 2011.
Jay founded San Diego Musicians Collective, as well as heading up a yearly Acoustic Evenings series at the La Jolla Athenaeum, an institution he once wrote a thesis about before earning his degree in history at SDSU. He also plays with Greens of Mind.
Jay’s radio program, The Jefferson Jay Show, used to air online on Monday nights from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. at SDSU’s all-volunteer radio station www.kcrlive.com, as well as Cox digital cable channel 956 and Time Warner digital cable channel 957. The bawdy six-hour Monday music-and-comedy show reportedly prompted complaint letters that resulted in the show being pulled.
“[The letters] accused me of having sex on the air with intoxicated coeds,” Jay told the Reader at the time. “That would have been pretty hard to get away with since there is a big plate-glass window where anybody can see in." (For more, see Ken Leighton's July 2009 Blurt @ http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/jul/01/blurt1 )
Asked to cap off this blog entry with his Worst Gig Ever, Jay recalls "It was probably the time we played the old Dream Street [in Ocean Beach]. They paid us six bucks for the whole band, and gave us a half-beer each. World-class bad vibe. No surprise they’re gone."
The nightclub he references (2228 Bacon Street) has been undergoing somewhat of a wild west-themed renovation. New owners Colin and Shelby Wickersheim told the Reader's Dave Good that "We’re gonna have live music, but we’re gonna change the atmosphere. Not so much the heavy metal anymore." The remodel also reportedly includes a kitchen.
Says Jefferson Jay, "The new venue there, Mother’s Saloon [named after the bar in About Last Night], looks awesome."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TYh__ykc4I
On November 11, Jefferson Jay's fifth CD, Gift to Be Alive, will debut at the Griffin, with For the Faint and Charbra also on the bill.
"The story behind the album title is I think life is a precious gift, every single second. We can value life like that and treat people kindly or we can waste time, treat people however we feel l like it and pretend it doesn’t matter. I feel strongly that it does. Finding a way in this world is not easy. This album shares a lot of thoughts, feelings, opinions, and ideas on ways to make it much easier. It offers some positive ideas and solutions for our 21st century realities."
While Paul Lopez of Agua Dulce plays drums and percussion on the new CD, the Jefferson Jay Band's new drummer is "My loving girlfriend, Leanne Pearl. She's a natural. She played drums for the first time less than a year ago, and almost instantly she was rocking out with the band. She‘s a special talent, blending in seamlessly with four guys who’ve been playing forever collectively."
Jay met returning cover artist John Warner when the illustrator was still living in San Diego, before moving to Austin and then Philly. "He's done all five of my album covers, and many of my posters. I spent a lot of time thinking about what image pops into my mind when I think of Gift to Be Alive. I think of a sunset and the ocean. Nature constantly reminds of how beautiful and precious life is. I found a great picture of a sunset online, and John did the rest. He’s been getting huge gigs lately, like Further tour and Warren Haynes, and he'll have a book coming out with his poster art."
For the Nov. 11 release party, "The [Griffin] room has a special significance to me, because I hosted an open mic and played there twice on New Year’s Eve back when it was O’Connell’s. It's a lot nicer in there now...we'll be playing some songs off the CD, of course. We also have a lot of upbeat material that we've been playing often. We’ve been working a bit with a Latinized cover of 'Hava Nagila,'"
Formerly known as Brainstorm, the Jefferson Jay Band has been playing around San Diego since 2001 and has opened for Jane's Addiction and Steely Dan. Jay, a Jersey native who moved to San Diego in 2000, released a CD of children's music, Blue – a Kid's Album, in 2009.
He shortly thereafter released a dual-DVD set Jefferson Jay's 24 Hours of Free Music, commemorating a 24-hour marathon of acts at Portugalia the previous year, in 2008. “A very special scene developed around my shows,” Jay states. “A close group of talented friends came together. I cherish the opportunity to share our experience and my music with anyone who is interested in these sorts of things.”
His fourth full-length Yellow was released in 2010, the third and final offering in his Primary Colors trilogy. The album includes tracks such as “Dawson,” a tribute to all people named Dawson, and “Intimate with Ludacris,” Jay’s response to the popular hip-hop artist. His fifth CD Gift to Be Alive was released in November 2011.
Jay founded San Diego Musicians Collective, as well as heading up a yearly Acoustic Evenings series at the La Jolla Athenaeum, an institution he once wrote a thesis about before earning his degree in history at SDSU. He also plays with Greens of Mind.
Jay’s radio program, The Jefferson Jay Show, used to air online on Monday nights from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. at SDSU’s all-volunteer radio station www.kcrlive.com, as well as Cox digital cable channel 956 and Time Warner digital cable channel 957. The bawdy six-hour Monday music-and-comedy show reportedly prompted complaint letters that resulted in the show being pulled.
“[The letters] accused me of having sex on the air with intoxicated coeds,” Jay told the Reader at the time. “That would have been pretty hard to get away with since there is a big plate-glass window where anybody can see in." (For more, see Ken Leighton's July 2009 Blurt @ http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/jul/01/blurt1 )
Asked to cap off this blog entry with his Worst Gig Ever, Jay recalls "It was probably the time we played the old Dream Street [in Ocean Beach]. They paid us six bucks for the whole band, and gave us a half-beer each. World-class bad vibe. No surprise they’re gone."
The nightclub he references (2228 Bacon Street) has been undergoing somewhat of a wild west-themed renovation. New owners Colin and Shelby Wickersheim told the Reader's Dave Good that "We’re gonna have live music, but we’re gonna change the atmosphere. Not so much the heavy metal anymore." The remodel also reportedly includes a kitchen.
Says Jefferson Jay, "The new venue there, Mother’s Saloon [named after the bar in About Last Night], looks awesome."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TYh__ykc4I