How long have you been performing?
Well, my very first performance in front of people, playing guitar and singing was when I was in 10th grade for a talent show. So that was about 20 years ago. And playing music became my full time job, let's see, in 2008. That was when I started making my living exclusively by playing music. Between college, which I graduated from in "98 and 2008, I was in varying degrees of part-time musician, ski-bum, surf-bum – and I started working on it in earnest in 2003. It was like, "Ok, I need to do this."
Where did you go to school where you could be both a ski-bum and a surf-bum?
Well I really wasn't either of those things, I mean; I skied a lot in college. I was an engineering student in college. After college is when I started…I spent a year playing music in New York, and then I spent two years in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, skiing…a lot. And then the first two years I was in L.A. I spent a lot more time surfing than playing music.
So from engineering to music, that must have been a daring leap?
The crazier leap was trying engineering in the first place! But I spent a lot of time playing music. I kind of knew in my gut that that was where I'd end up at the end of the day anyways, but I figured I'd try, at least, to pursue a real job. But it didn't stick.
So, have you always performed original material?
Actually, when I was in college, I made my living – my summer job was playing covers in bars in my hometown up in the 1,000 Islands of upstate New York. So I was the solo guy in the corner playing Grateful Dead, Credence, Dylan, the Band, Cat Stevens, you name it - anything to keep a room full of drunks excited.
Are those bands your primary influences?
I would say my primary influences are the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, the Band, a little bit of Cat Stevens, Sam Cook, John Coltrane. Those are probably the most significant influences in terms of shaping the way I originally thought about music and how I wanted to connect with it.
Those bands, especially the Dead, Credence, and the Band are absolute road warriors and they do a lot of live stuff with a large band – what inspired you to keep it down to just a guitar and a drum?
Well this is kind of the reforming, the restart of an ensemble project. For years, from 2004 to 2007, I was touring with a band out of Los Angeles – just friends and peers in the musical community that I managed to persuade into coming on the road with me. I've always written songs for more of an ensemble setting, but I got to the place where we were all starting to grow up. It takes a lot of money to keep a five-piece band on the road. Better offers came in and people started to get real jobs. Things were growing, things were sustainable to a point, but not enough to keep five adults" mortgages paid! So out of necessity I started trimming back, and I also got to a point where I grew a little bit tired of the dynamics of a band. It is a lot of work and it is certainly not without significant rewards, but it is a lot of work to make a band go. A lot of rehearsing and social dynamics – it's complicated to keep a band functioning on the road. And I saw some of my peers going out and playing solo acoustic and I started doing that a little bit, and my booking agent encouraged me, and I found that I could make just as significant of a musical impact with audiences in terms of converting fans and selling records. And it was just so simple, I could just get in my car and go. So, since 2008, I have been touring a lot as a solo acoustic act, and this newest record, Letters from the Lost, leaned heavily on rhythmic motifs and percussion and drums, so I was reluctant to go out and tour without that element being represented. I started talking to Josh Day about the possibility of touring together and the more that we played together, the more we found that there was a lot of sound we could make with just two people. And if we put some thought into it and approached things just a little bit differently, we could make something great. We started touring on May 14th, which is the same day the record came out. We had a month worth of shows, so what you heard, the show that you saw was still in the early stages of building the sound, but I think it is starting to come together.
It sounded great, I don't know where you could polish it.
Thanks man, so you weren't missing anything?
No, not at all. And again, I was blown away at how well you handled the broken string. And I love that it gave us a chance to see Josh improv. He is an incredible drummer.
Yeah he is pretty great. In my mind, he is as good as it gets. I love the way he plays.
So his kick drum, is that just a hard case for a floor tom?
That's right! Sometimes the constraints of figuring out how to do things economically and efficiently can be a creative advantage. In this case, we were flying into these states. When you're traveling with just an acoustic guitar, you can check two bags for free, so that is my suitcase and my bag of merchandise, and then I get on the plane with my acoustic guitar and my backpack. Now, if you re touring with an electric guitar, it gets very interesting, because in addition to your suitcase and merchandise, you have your pedal board, which is another piece, and then your amplifier, which is another piece! Then you get into drums, and a drum set, as you know, has a lot of equipment that can potentially be a lot of pieces of gear. So every flight, the third bag is $125 and the fourth bag is $150. That can get expensive REAL quick, especially when you have to take a bunch of flights throughout the tour. So, he kind of devised this kit, and he has been working on it for a while since he has played with a lot of singer-songwriters who are in a very similar situation that I'm in. So he built this kit out of percussion instruments, the kick drum is a floor tom case and the entire kit fits inside the case – the snare is a tambourine without the bells, and he uses a pandera, a low-pitched tambourine for his floor tom. With the right microphone placement and a capable engineer, it sounds really impressive.
Yeah, it really is. And just the stripped down sound he had coupled with his technical stick-work, I was blown away at what he was able to do and all the sounds he was able to pull out of that small kit.
Well, I will pass the praise along to him, I'm sure he will be pleased to hear that.
So I know that Letters from the Lost is a slight departure, what was you inspiration behind writing it?
For the first time, I had some isolation in writing and recording a record. I think that had a significant influence over the sound. I didn't set out trying to write a specific record or specific songs, I just gave myself space to explore new sonic textures and explore new themes, and hopefully get to a deeper level of honesty with less filter. I think one of the things that happens when you go into a recording process and you want to write a song that tells a specific story, you are already coloring the story - already putting a slant on it. Whereas, when you can tear away any preconceived notion of what you are trying to do, you get to just let things fall out and make some discoveries. My only goal with the record was to try to find some new ground. It took a lot of doing to get there, and I had to write a lot of songs. Some of them sucked and some of them were good but didn't make the cut. This collection stood out as a cohesive batch, so here they are.
You were just talking about getting at truth and when you were introducing a lot of your pieces, you told several stories. Lyrically, is it easier to write fiction or nonfiction?
I think that nonfiction is probably easier for me to write. You can just tell the truth and you don't have to invent anything. It might take a little bit of gumption to write [nonfiction] but it is certainly doable.
So this is a light question, but where is your favorite venue and why?
Favorite venue… well, I think maybe the Clayton Opera House in Clayton, NY where we put on this concert called Rock For The River each year is probably my favorite, because of the energy and emotional impact I've had there. It is kind of an unconventional venue, but of clubs? I think, Space, in Evenston, Illinois might be my favorite venue in the country right now. Every time I play there, without fail I put on a perfect show – the sound is great, the audience is completely enthusiastic, and my shows are always sold out or nearly sold out.
I know that you travel around the world. Are there notable differences between performing in front of a European or American crowd?
There can be. I've actually noticed less of difference in recent years. I think my audience in the states has sort of evolved a little bit. And I think times have changed here for a multitude of reasons. I used to remark that European audiences were more attentive, and more excited about the music, but more and more I am finding the same kind of audiences over here. They are just in it, you know? The music means a lot to them and they are not afraid to show that. The show the other night in Fort Worth was kind of a rowdy audience. I mean, this is David Ramirez's home turf and even during his set there was quite a bit of drunken chatter going on. There were great moments throughout the night, but there was a little bit of distance at points between the performer and the audience.
When you stopped and asked the audience, "What are you guys talking about?" I was laughing so hard! I thought that was hysterical.
Yeah, sometimes that works! It helps reel things in and remind people that there is a concert going on. Ramirez was telling me a story about how during one of his shows in a small theatre, this guy just kept talking and al of a sudden another guy from the audience comes up, tackles the guy and puts a knife on his neck!
That seems like a bit of an overreaction.
Haha, yeah, of course! That's insane! So I tell that story form the stage and a few minutes later a dude is taken out in a headlock during my set! It was incredible. Its funny though, even in a room like that where 90% of the room is giving the utmost respect and attention, there is this lingering 10% of people who are either oblivious or just don't care. As performers, we don't expect complete silence, it's not a lecture, and it's not church. It should be a good time, but what we do expect is respect. Not so much for the performer, but how about the other people in the room who have paid good money to see the show? For the most part I never say a word about it, but there have been some circumstances when I hear a little bit of chatter, and after the show I hear that there were huge conflicts going on between the people who were talking and the people who wanted to listen. The people who want others to shut up will get to a boiling point where they are like, "I've paid god money for this, and that guy is completely interfering with my enjoyment!" That can be a pickle of a situation.
I noticed you were really good with crowd control and when you were switching from electric to acoustic and back, you always had an interesting story or playful banter with the audience. Have you always been so good with the crowd?
I think its like anything else – you do it long enough and you get more comfortable.
Do you have any advice to new musicians who are trying to put on similar shows?
Well, I apologize if this seems generic, I would say to surround yourself with people that inspire you and tell the truth. When you tell the truth, it compels people to listen.
So what is next for Jay Nash?
Well, I've got a little bit of time off from touring, with the exception of some small shows and festivals and such. But most of the summer I've set aside to unwind little bit. I also do some producing and composing in my home studio, so I've got some projects I'm diving into. Actually, this morning I'm working on a television commercial. I'll be over in Europe in September and then a few scattered dates around the U.S. in October. I don't think it is going to be a comprehensive campaign like I did this spring. Then this winter, Josh and I are going to make a record that is more of a band project.
Are you still going to be under the name Jay Nash?
You know, that remains to be seen. I've made ten studio records as Jay Nash, so I'm certainly open to the idea of a band endeavor, where it is not all about me.
