Jay Nash Tours Promoting All the Stars In Copenhagen + a Review!

Jay Nash is one of those musicians whose music I consistently follow and also consistently follow where he’s touring– because eventually I will get to see him live. Sad but true, I have yet to make it to a venue where he’s been due to conflicts in schedules and it seems that it never happens.
His latest EP “All the Stars in Copenhagen is a great bargain if you buy all four songs, there’s a bonus tune tossed into the mix, “Baby Tornado” which is quite an interesting tune
While there was a podcast/post with Jay about this EP, this is the review of the EP which I have been playing incessently since Jay gave it to me. I find his more musical style interesting because it gives me something new — a new meaning, lyric, phrasing, musical hook or layered emphasis that– that I hadn’t heard before. Each time it’s fresh and a song that starts out not as my favorite tune eventually morphs into something much more meaningful
Rainiest September is a down-beat tune that is about someone’s wedding. It’s based on a real life event where Jay was playing for the couple getting married and it was pouring rain the night before and the day of. While some might find the event a downer and the thought of a more balladic song not in line with a ”happy” event like a wedding, listening to this song about 20 times gave me some insight into what was going on. It’s as much about a wedding but also about a man who’s getting married to a woman where even the rain wasn’t sad– but a happy blessing. Think of it as a downpour of blessing from the sky because the groom wouldn’t change a thing as long as he was marrying this girl. The sunny days were still come and they would enjoy the beauty of those days but when you can find beauty and joy in the rainiest of days because it’s your wedding day, then it’s something special. Love the singing, almost country-like — think Jackson Brown influence here and that pretty much nails it down.
Statues and Memories is a very strong upbeat song and it’s all about the break-up of a relationship and how these two people were sparring with each other while they were trying to establish a relationship. The guy is unsure what’s going on with this roller coaster of events between them and where she was going. Eventually it all fell apart — the statues being what each thought the other was and the memories that are left over when the statues are broken as much as the relationship was. Truly upbeat in rhythm but a real ‘tear it all down” song.
Everything is perhaps my favorite song in the EP. It’s both romantic and yet it’s also revealing that the woman is trying so hard to make things perfect and that the man sees that but it’s not what he wants. He’s looking for her to just “be” and believe that they could actually make it if she didn’t work so hard to be the person she thought he wanted her to be. The presentation is so romantic with its’ ballad style but also a snapshot into the developing romance too -warts and all. The organ is gorgeous and sets the tone.The percussion is steady and provides the perfect backdrop for Jay’s vocals. He’s just trying to get her to just believe that they can work it all out. It’s about how much he sees in her– both the good and not so great– and he still wants to work it out.

photo by Mindy Hoff at Atlas Theatre in DC
Unshakeable is a really strong song and one that Jay liked enough that I was able to stream it from that podcast/post. It’s about the strength of the relationhsip despite how much these two people hurt each other fighting, scratching and kicking during their time together, that what they have together is unshakeable, unstoppable and they are fully plugged into each other. Maybe this is more the sequel to Everything . The acoustic opening is smoking hot, it’s just Jay and his guitar. The voice is rich and then the other instruments slowly layer in the background. While they fight and despite the hurt and pain, they are “unshakeable, electric everytime” and that’s what holds them together– though one wonders if the relationship can be hold up under that battering. The percussion is almost like a heartbeat in the second verse– it’s keeping the relationship’s heart beating. The electric guitar sizzles.
Baby Toronado, the bonus tune is about a doomed romance and how it was sure to fail from the outset. The woman had her agenda and he was worried that he would be blown apart like a house caught in a tornado. The force and power of the woman’s passion and demands were more than he could handle and while she sweet-talked his dad, yet his mamma spotted the “feigned romance” from her. She was a force of nature he couldn’t hold onto and while he was captivated, he also had some self-protective mechanism that set off that little voice in his head that knew it was never going to last and that she was going to “go away, gone for good”.

NY – by Deborah Lopez
Powerful, evocative, reaching beyond expectations from the The Things You Think You Need , Nash has evolved in his own organic style– as he derives his lyrics from personal experience or things he’s seen. To me, his music is so passionate, yet silky; forceful yet tender — evoking different emotional responses based on where you are personally in your own life at the time. I have listened to this EP at least 100 times (it’s only 4 songs,). How Nash manages to pull out something new, different and yet in tune with previous work is amazing. I find that he evokes many different California styles of music– despite or maybe because he’s from upstate NY.
If you haven’t seen Jay Nash, keep on scrollling down. I have the tour dates through part of December.. And Jay!– yes I will be at Saint Rocke no matter what, but then it’s video interview time.

Jay Nash with Sara Haze and Tony Lucca performing “Oogly Boogly” @ The Windjammer
Nov 3 2009 7:00P Zoey’s Cafe – w. Shane Alexander & Joey Ryan Ventura, California
Nov 4 2009 8:00P Lestat’s – w. Shane Alexander & Joey Ryan San Diego, California
Nov 6 2009 8:00P Saint Rocke w/ Timmy Curran Hermosa Beach, California
Nov 7 2009 7:00P Muddy Waters – w. Shane Alexander & Joey Ryan Santa Barbara, California
Nov 8 2009 8:00P Red Devil Lounge – w. Shane Alexander and Joey Ryan San Francisco, California
Nov 10 2009 8:00P Silver Moon Brewing – w. Shane Alexander & Joey Ryan Bend, Oregon
Nov 12 2009 7:30P Mississippi Studios – w. Shane Alexander & Joey Ryan Portland, Oregon

Nov 13 2009 7:00P Q Cafe – w. Shane Alexander & Joey Ryan Seattle, Washington
Nov 18 2009 8:00P Hotel Cafe Los Angeles, California
Dec 1 2009 7:30P The SPACE w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Evanston, Illinois
Dec 2 2009 5:00P Vaudeville Mews – EARLY SHOW – w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 3 2009 8:00P The Bottleneck – w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Lawrence, Kansas
Dec 4 2009 8:00P Off Broadway – LATE SHOW – w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Saint Louis, Missouri
Dec 6 2009 8:00P Natasha’s Cafe – w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Lexington, Kentucky
Dec 7 2009 8:00P The Southgate House (Parlour Room) w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Newport, Kentucky
Dec 8 2009 8:00P The Rhumba Cafe w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Columbus, Ohio
Dec 9 2009 8:00P Club Cafe w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dec 10 2009 8:00P Tin Angel w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 11 2009 10:00P Club Passim – LATE SHOW – w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins Boston, Massachusetts
Dec 12 2009 8:00P Living Room w/ Caitlin Crosby and Crosby Loggins New York
Stevie Wilson