Jay Gillespie: Columnist, Musician, Humorist, Historian, Educator
My blogs
| Industry | Arts |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Writer, Musician, Humorist, Historian |
| Location | Somerville, Massachusetts |
| Introduction | May Ave. was a long-term project that began on a Boston commuter boat in 2003. Bill Barton (A.R. West Studios/Billy and the Goats) listened to Gillespie discuss music, subsequently challenging him to write a bunch of songs that he offered to record in exchange for beer. This beer-inspired offer could do little else than garner a country-influenced record. Gillespie went to work writing songs and Barton began to artfully (well, sort of anyway) record. In the studio, the two shared common philosophies and developed a sound that in some ways pre-dated 1970 (just like Bill and Jay); meaning that it captured all of the raw energy of the 1960s while still drawing influence from old-time Americana. While "It's You that I Love" sounds like a lost George Harrison track, "The Facebook Song" might have been something crafted by Roger Miller if he had been given the chance to assess contemporary social media. "It was Just You and Me" harkens back to the pop country Urban Cowboy era of the early 1980s. "Kerri with a K" is the rock yarn of a young couple separated by the Atlantic Ocean riddled by a litany of phobias. "Goodnight Anna" is a creatively upbeat pop lullaby. |
| Interests | Baseball, the banjo, my dog Hannah (yellow lab), and writing. |
| Favorite Movies | Continental Divide, Duel, Bull Durham, Backbeat, Bergman |
| Favorite Music | Nick Lowe, Robbie Fulks, Kelly Willis, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, the Lonesome Strangers, the Del Fuegos, the Derailers, Kasey Chambers, David Wilcox, Sam Phillips, Mark Knopfler, Brian Setzer, Melvern Taylor, the Beatles |
| Favorite Books | The Lost Continent - Bill Bryson, Straight Man - Richard Russo, Without Feathers/Side Effects - Woody Allen, Where Nobody Knows your Name - John Feinstein |