Jay L. Smith has been patiently waiting to share his debut single with the world. “The song was actually written back in 2002,” the singer/songwriter divulges. “It’s been that long ago. It’s a twenty year old song I wrote at my grandfather’s house right around the time I started to write music, trying to make it work as an artist and not just play other people’s songs. For whatever reason, I remember having a harmonica, trying to learn to play it and guitar at the same time. The chord progression came about while keeping in tune with the harmonica.”
Having a twenty year old song bouncing around in your head means it goes through many revisions. “Back then Cross Canadian Ragweed was making waves. They were doing more Rock N Roll. My first band, the Kentucky Redheads, were huge metalheads. Long hair, hard rock musicians. In my mind I was a Country singer. I was going to play Texas Country. Pat Green was a big influence. I showed [the band] the song and they really vibed to it. They incorporated that rock edge.”
When he finally decided to make the song official, Jay started looking for more than just a studio. “Bobby Texas and I have known each other for a long time. I told him I was looking for a producer to help find my sound. Something definable. Bobby was recording with a band that Tim Lightyear was producing. Bobby suggested I work with him since we have similar tastes. Tim is partnered with [Cody Jink’s keys player] Drew Harakal. Together they have a way of communicating without words, it’s amazing. They do it musically. Once all three of us were in the studio, it came together beautifully.” That beauty helps sell Jay’s message to the listeners. “You gotta know it’s just a day that didn’t go well. I’m not going to let it define me. I’m not going to let the next one go bad. You may not be in the right place or perfect time, but if you look at the bigger picture: this is just one incident in one day within a week within a month. It’s gonna be alright.”
