1) How (and when) did you get started in music? I’ve ALWAYS loved to sing. My earliest memory of performing at home for our parents was about six or seven years old. I also loved singing in church choirs. I was given a little keyboard at about eight years old, a book on hymns, and how to make chords. I fell in love with music theory and it was my best subject in school.
I joined my first band at 17 after auditioning with a Pat Benatar song.
2) Was there a particular event or person that inspired you?
In the third grade, we had an opera singer come to speak in our music class. She was amazing! And she inspired me to pursue vocal training. I have studied with various teachers over the last several decades, which gave me opportunities to sing as a church cantor, soloist, worship leader, alto/mezzo soprano in small & large choirs, as well as lead and guest vocalist positions from Boston to Vegas & Nashville too. I also credit the vocalist & band awards I’ve been blessed to be a recipient of, to the educators (private & collegiate) and my fellow bandmates I’ve known over the years. Iron sharpens iron and they have certainly continued to inspire & encourage me be the best I can be.
3) What is your favorite style(s) to play/sing? Most everything from Pat Benatar to Patsy Cline so pretty much rock to country.
4) Can you share a little bit more about your musical experience for our readers? Well, I’d always wanted to attend Berklee College of Music and I did have that opportunity and am grateful for the time I did spend there but I’ve also been blessed to study music at other colleges which has led to some life-long friendships. When I joined the country music scene in 2001, our management company wanted our band (“Hearts on Fire“) to participate in local, state, regional and national competitions, to which we agreed and were able to find more opportunities for having won several categories (from vocalists to entertainers to band of the year) which was pretty cool because as a young person, I struggled with crippling anxiety – which affected my ability to complete auditions. Walking through those fears as an adult – and with the very people I did with – helped me achieve some life-long goals.
A pretty cool highlight of my time living in Nashville, was getting to sing BGV’s at CMA fest aka Fan Fair (IYKYK) with a Spanish country singer named Cerrito alongside some incredible musicians including one of Loretta Lynn’s grandsons.
Oh, one more thing I’ll share is I started playing guitar in my late thirties – just a little and then more seriously later – mostly because I had become very ill and needed a way that I could exercise my hands while recovering at home. I didn’t realize how much I would “take” to it. So, if you think it’s too late – it’s not! No matter your age, if it is important to you to learn a new skill, please don’t let the calendar or clock hold you back from going for it!
5) Any studio time? My first demo, I recorded in the famous, now retired studio in Carlisle, MA – Blue Jay. Since then: Kingston Recording (Kingston, NH), StarPlex (White House, TN), and The Project Room (Hendersonville, TN).
That’s it from here! Have you checked out Jay’s bio yet?
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