Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Edwards.
Hi Jay, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My parents put headphones on my mom’s pregnant belly & fed me music from when I was a wee little fetus. My dad, who was (and is) a choir director, taught me how to sing & play piano. Then I learned drums & got into rock music, which was a new flavor compared to the country & church music I’d been listening to for about 13 years. I saw a dude at this choir convention in high school become swarmed by babes while playing everyone’s song requests on guitar and said to myself, “I think it’d be kinda cool to be that guy”, so I learned the best “babe requests”, started writing songs about heartbreak, thought they were pretty good, spent lots of money on recording equipment & taught myself how to produce music.
Two years later at the same choir convention, I sold my first CD called “Here’s to The Firsts” to fellow choir mates (and babes). Okay, mission accomplished. All done. Nope. I formed my first band in college, partied hard, made mistakes, & experienced real-life challenges, disappointment, & heartbreak. Pop punk, emo, & melodic hardcore music got me through hard times because I felt like someone out there related to my problems & cared. After the band dissolving in college, I bought a van, made it a tiny home, & moved to LA in 2019, where I formed the pop-punk band, “You Were Never Lovelier”. We have fun, rowdy songs, but we also have songs about things society doesn’t regularly/openly discuss, like eating disorders, self-esteem issues, & suicide awareness. We were eager to perform live in March for the first time but couldn’t due to coronavirus. BUT, we stream every week on Twitch.tv/youwereneverlovelier, sharing our music, telling jokes, & playing requests (babes are welcome).
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
In life, I’ve had various health struggles & surgeries. Pain that’s always there takes a toll on your everyday existence, but I’ve persisted and made it through everything so far. If you’re reading this and feel the same, I wanna tell you to not give up & to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion from doctors if you have health issues. Music-wise, I’ve had to work hard to find where I want to be & who I want to play music with. Thankfully, I think I’ve found the right mates to make music within LA & we’re in it for the long haul. I also had some of the most frustrating days of my life while building the van. It was tricky, but it’s paid off enormously.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I teach private music lessons as my day job & write music for sync licensing, band originals, & produce as my side/career jobs. I’m proud of my college band winning my school’s first songwriting competition, which won me a trip to a music camp in Germany. It was an incredible experience that I couldn’t have had without the help of my bandmates. I think my raw lyrics, passion/attitude, & creativity with altered guitar tunings & arrangements set me apart from other musicians.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory is getting this very special LEGO Star Wars set for Christmas. I remember it was pure entertainment & bliss for hours. I still play with LEGOs as a 23-year-old. Hehe.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://jayedwardsmusic.com/merch
- Instagram: instagram.com/jayedwardsmusic
- Facebook: facebook.com/jayedwardsmusic
- Youtube: youtube.com/jayedwardsmusic
- Other: twitch.tv/youwereneverlovlier
Image Credits
Allison Griffith: https://allisongmedia.com/
