ON OUR RADAR: JAY LUKE
Jay Luke opens up about the dark side of life and his start in music in today’s On Our Radar!
INTRODUCE YOURSELF!
Hello, my name is Jay Luke. I am a musician from the Northeast in the US.
WHAT’S YOUR ORIGIN STORY?
My origin story as far as making music I guess would be around 2nd grade when I first discovered my first true obsession. It was MTV, Music Television. Back then it was the biggest life-changing thing for me. I sat transfixed by all these bands and videos.
The band Van Halen had arguably left the biggest impression on me. I had then asked my parents to take guitar lessons. Quickly that dream ended when I was told instead of learning ‘Hot For Teacher’ I would first be learning to play ‘Happy Birthday’. My guitar playing was then put on hold for about ten more years until in High School around 14 years old I bought myself an electric guitar.
This go around I taught myself. I sat in my room and didn't come out until I had a grasp on that six-stringed instrument enough to play along to the music I was listening to. I was driven to learn with zero room to give up. As I heard things and learned them I built enough confidence to eventually try to work with other musicians. Around 2003 I began performing live and from that first performance, I think I have played at least one show a week ever since. I used to be terrified at the thought of performing in front of people and now I think I am more comfortable in front of an audience than not.
WHEN DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH MUSIC?
I am pretty sure the love of music began as I mentioned very early on. I remember kids in my grade school asking if I played cops and robbers while I was gloating about seeing three concerts by the time I went to third grade. My mother loves the Rolling Stones and my father loves Led Zeppelin. So I was in between those two influences while I discovered bands like Van Halen, KISS, Queen and a lot of other bands on my own.
I absorbed all of it like a sponge. I soaked in every song and fact about every band. I think it is true when they tell you that when you are young your speed and quality of learning are remarkable because still to this day I remember so many useless facts about bands that no one remembers and their timelines, birthdays, and lyrics it is kind of out of hand.
DOES THE MUSIC YOU MAKE DIFFER TO THE MUSIC YOU ENJOY AS A FAN? IF SO, HOW?
That is a great question. I think in certain aspects, yes the music I make is different. My songs are like my own diary. I mentioned Van Halen earlier, to me as much as I adore them, I can't write anything like them. Not only because of the brilliance of Edward Van Halen's guitar playing but, to me, they represent summer or good times. When you put on a classic Van Halen album it makes me want to roll the window down in the car, even if it is winter. So I am the kind of songwriter who cannot seem to capture the good times like that. When I am in a good mood the last thing I tend to do is write a song about it.
So certain artists I admire or am influenced by I am quite different from. On the other hand, many have shaped me to be what I am today and I have taken little bits and pieces to build the style I have today. I think we are all products of our influences in some way or another. What may not show in sound may show in an attitude or knowledge.
FOR READERS WHO HAVEN’T HEARD OF YOU BEFORE, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC?
If any artist has a quick nifty answer to this question, I would be pretty surprised. I think the easy answer is that I am a rock musician. We may take on many styles, many genres and many routes to get the songs out, but ultimately I am a rock musician. It seems to encapsulate so many things. For me, in what we do I feel some artists are comfortable making the same album repeatedly with different lyrics but the same sound. And all the power to them for finding what they feel works. I know with me I have always loved the artists who take chances in having one song be harder, the next be softer, different styles all under one umbrella.
People like the late great Prince or David Bowie inspired me to think not every song has to be full-on metal or full-on punk they should go with the natural storytelling of the songs and what they call for as far as the music. While I identify as a rock musician I see elements of Indie, Punk, Metal, New Wave, Prog, Psychedelia, Glam and a lot of other styles in what I do. It is kind of like taking parts of what I was influenced by and tossing it all into a blender.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO STEP INTO THE WORLD OF RELEASING MUSIC?
I was inspired incredibly and deeply by a concept album called The Crimson Idol released around 1991 by a band called W.A.S.P. After hearing the way each song ran into the next to tell this incredibly deep personal story I fell in love with the idea of writing music and songs. Ever since I have been writing lyrics on notebooks in school, on napkins, and you name it. Inspiration strikes at the weirdest of times so I try to capture it before it goes away. I was in a band since 2003 building up a catalog of songs thinking our lineup would be solid enough to record the songs as we played them and we kept losing a member along the way which always prevented a release. I waited as the band (The MESS) was my baby. I wanted it to be perfect. Even the most patient of men have their limits and mine came around 2017. I said "I cannot let my life pass me by waiting for the perfect lineup anymore. I am going to use the studio time to make my album." From that moment my first album appropriately titled It's About Time came to be.
HOW DO YOU FEEL YOU’VE GROWN SINCE YOUR DEBUT ALBUM?
The evolution for me has been constant. They say you have your whole life to make your first album, but everything after has to be relatively soon before you fade into obscurity. So the first album was a lot of fun having my friends in the industry come play little parts and make it a huge collaboration. Each album aside from the first one has featured the same lineup and each album brings us closer together. The songs have become a lot more comfortable to write and they hit deep. I will say it now and forever but Michael "Duds" McDonald who plays lead guitar has been the single biggest asset to these songs and I am so grateful for him and our collaboration. The album may have my name on it but he is just as much a critical part of these albums as I am. We work well in creating these songs and I couldn't do it without him.
You’ve just released your fourth album, Me and My Demons, were there any songs you were nervous for your fans to hear?
I will be 100% honest and say these songs show me at my most vulnerable and in a way they show a diary of a broken man and the journey through hardship. Initially, the album was going to be called "Winging It" since the songs were written so closely to entering the studio. Once the song "Me And My Demons" came out I knew that had to be the album title it was perfect. With this album unlike the rest, going into the studio with songs so fresh and new gave them a true cohesiveness to the story I had to tell. So thoughts went through my head like "Will the fans get this? Am I showing too much of myself?" It feels good to show the dark side and the ugly sides of things sometimes and that is kind of what this album is about.
Often people say that the moment in which you experience music for the first time can make or break how you feel about it. Do you recommend a way for your fans to experience the album for their first listen, if they haven’t heard it already?
I think listening to this album on full blast in a car on a long drive is a great way to listen attentively to it. Aside from that, listening with your eyes closed and wearing headphones would probably be the best way to pick up each effect and nuance in the recordings. That is the way I listen to everything. Something about your eyes being closed lets the senses heighten.
Having been in the music industry for a while, do you have any tips for emerging artists?
The number one thing I can say is despite what your friends, family, co-workers, etc tell you, ALWAYS create. ALWAYS believe in yourself. Critics don't just write for magazines, they are sometimes your closest friends and everyone is entitled to their opinions but ultimately you are the artist and have to listen to your heart. If you are doubtful that is natural but NEVER try to please everyone because it only leaves you unhappy.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I am deep in promoting this new release and doing shows at the moment but I am already plotting out the direction for the next release. I am just keeping on with the momentum that has been building up. In the first three days of the album's release, it hit over 110,000 streams which is mind-boggling to me. I am just extremely grateful that fans globally have embraced it when it shows such a personal side. Makes me feel like we hit the mark on this one.
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