Jay Loftus

Jay Loftus is just starting his musical career. But soon he might hear his name mentioned in the same company as Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson, among others.

Loftus is one of 10 finalists in a singer-songwriter competition sponsored by Guitar Center, a musical instrumental outlet.

The contest winner will have the chance to record a four-song EP with Don Was, a Grammy-winning producer. Was has worked with Dylan, Wilson, the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, the B-52s, and John Mayer, among many others. In addition, the winner of the competition will receive $25,000 in cash, new recording equipment and instruments, plus guaranteed distribution of his or her EP for a year.

*************
Rest of the article can be viewed at: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014302080001 - MyCentralJersey.com

Lately, I’ve been wondering – where’s John Mayer? He’s been conspicuously absent from the interwebs lately. Shouldn’t he be calling somebody “sexual napalm,” or at least promoting his new single? Some quick internet sleuthing reveals that, oddly enough, he’s been hanging out in my hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s cool, John, you can stay there. Because there’s another guy with a guitar that we’d rather listen to.

New Jersey native Jay Loftus caught our attention with his irresistibly catchy melodies and fresh sound. He’s taken to YouTube to display his versatility, mixing in his originals with a wide range of covers. His talent, along with his humble, relatable personality, has us feeling pretty confident that we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the near future.

If you live in New York City, you might just catch Jay playing a song or two in the subway. He also admitted that he was once persuaded to serenade a group of girls while riding the Staten Island Ferry. So maybe, if you ask really nicely, he’ll sing a song just for you.

Check out our interview with Jay below.
- Crushable

Twenty-four-year-old pop singer Jay Loftus believes it is his time to shine in the music industry, and his songs definitely back up his goals. Jay is currently working on an E.P. and has released “Fortune Cookie,” “Velvet Arms,” “Mona Lisa” and “The Time Traveler,” all soft-pop tunes that are soothing, melodic and easy to listen to.

Strangely enough, Jay has never actually taken a formal vocal lesson in his life; however, from a young age he knew he wanted to be a singer: “[ I can remember] sitting in the waiting room of my piano teachers house, waiting for my mom’s piano lessons to be finished. Looking up at a picture on the wall of my music teacher’s son who was in a famous hair metal band at the time and thinking it would be cool if that was my mom with a picture of me on her wall.”

While Jay has loved every minute of his music career so far, he says it is “being able to meet new people” that is what makes his job so amazing.

Read on for College Gloss’s exclusive interview with Jay Loftus... - College Gloss

If you’re looking to fall in love with a musician whose voice is enough to make you completely melt into his velvet arms (we’re not even going to start talking about those brown eyes!), here he is—Jay Loftus—a name that’s impossible to forget once you press play.

This NYC-based musician is not only a phenomenal artist, but his goofiness, slight nerdiness, and ability to tell stories through his lyrics is something we can’t get enough of.

L20: Tell us about how you got started as a musician.

JL: I started really young—when I was 5 years old. My mom got me a piano lesson, and then from there at the age of 9, I started playing guitar—because guitar was cool. I stopped playing piano, and then started writing songs at the age of 12 and then went on from there. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

L20: And you had some troubles as a child with bullying. What would you tell your 12-year-old self now and all of the people who are going through the same issues?

JL: It might sound kinda harsh, but I would just say to deal with it. It’s not that big of a deal in the scheme of things, ya know? Stuff is really not worth getting that upset about and letting it ruin your life like that is not an option, because it’s just pointless.

L20: What inspires you and your lyrics?

JL: I like to think of myself as a storyteller. I remember my father always telling me he really likes how Bruce Springsteen paints a picture with his lyrics, so you can just close your eyes and see what he’s talking about. I’ve always thought that in the back of my mind—you really have to bring those people into that situation. When I record my songs in the studio, I sort of put myself back to the time when I wrote the song because that’s the time when you’re most raw emotions are going to come out.

There’s a song we recorded for the new album that’s not a sad song, but it’s kind of a bummer, so I had to put myself back into that frame of mind. For the rest of the day, I was all bummed out and pissed off. Laughs. I had to keep telling my friends I was sorry I was all pissed off, but I had to think about this stuff.

I like to live what I write and write what I live, and I feel like I continually connect with the people that listen to my music and I’m doing it for that reason—not just to sing songs.

L20: Do you have certain spots you like to write your music?

JL: I have one room in the house that I really like. It’s a little space I can escape to. But other than that, I do a lot of writing in my friend’s studio in New Jersey. It’s an escape from the city and a good place to clear my head and just write some thoughts down.

L20: I saw you’ve performed at a lot of colleges. Have you had any really memorable moments while you were on the stage?

JL: Yeah, the first college I played at was an all-girls college in Virginia, and Dave Matthews actually played there a couple times, too. I heard rumors he met his wife there—don’t quote me on that! Laughs. But the most memorable is my most recent college show, which was technically a sorority show that was in front of like 57 girls sitting on the floor in front of me and my two band mates. It was pretty intimidating, but it was a fun show and I definitely had a good time.

L20: They were probably sitting there drooling the whole time!

JL: They were definitely cute!

L20: While we’re on the subject, I asked our readers for some questions for you! To start them off, what do you look for in a woman?

JL: Somebody that can make fun of me and call me out when I’m being stupid, because I’m the first person to make fun of myself, so she has to have a good sense of humor. If I like someone, I’ll bust their chops, and I like somebody who’s going to be able to dish it back to me.

L20: And what are your deal-breakers?

JL: Clubfoot? No, just kidding. Laughs. Jealousy—definitely jealousy.

L20: What’s your dream date?

JL: Umm… this is tricky, because I don’t go on very conventional dates.

- Love Twenty

Sometimes us girls just want to get dirty in our own homes, without any spectators or players. Just us, a scandalous pair of lingerie, and an inviting bed. Here are some sexy songs (from my playlist to yours) to help set the mood!

1. “Looks Like Sex” — Mike Posner
2. “Right There” — Nicole Scherzinger feat. 50 Cent
3. “In The Dark” — Dev
4. “Dirty Talk” — Wynter Gordon feat. David Guetta
5. “Top of the World” — The Cataracs
6. “Birthday Dress” — Lil Playy
7. “Dangerous Girl” — Jay Loftus
8. “Sex 101? — Jay Sean feat. Tyga
9. “Brunettes (Do it Better)” — Kid Force
10. “Girls on the Dance Floor” — Far East Movement
11. “If I Was You (OMG)” — Far East Movement feat. Snoop Dogg
12. “Say Ahhh” — Trey Songz feat. Fabolous
13. “Take Me On the Floor” — The Veronicas
14. “Good Girls Go Bad” — Cobra Starships feat. Leighton Meester
15. “Dirty Picture” — Taio Cruz feat. Ke$ha - Love Twenty

Lately, I’ve been wondering – where’s John Mayer? He’s been conspicuously absent from the interwebs lately. Shouldn’t he be calling somebody “sexual napalm,” or at least promoting his new single? Some quick internet sleuthing reveals that, oddly enough, he’s been hanging out in my hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s cool, John, you can stay there. Because there’s another guy with a guitar that we’d rather listen to.

New Jersey native Jay Loftus caught our attention with his irresistibly catchy melodies and fresh sound. He’s taken to YouTube to display his versatility, mixing in his originals with a wide range of covers. His talent, along with his humble, relatable personality, has us feeling pretty confident that we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the near future.

If you live in New York City, you might just catch Jay playing a song or two in the subway. He also admitted that he was once persuaded to serenade a group of girls while riding the Staten Island Ferry. So maybe, if you ask really nicely, he’ll sing a song just for you.

Check out our interview with Jay below.

Crushable: Inquiring minds want to know – do musicians get their own songs stuck in their heads?

Jay Loftus: Oh yeah, all the time. Not to sound lame, but my songs are some of my favorite songs. I have to like the song and I have to be able to hear it a million times and not hate it. Because I do hear it a million times before it gets to the CD. I will say though, that once I record songs they usually don’t get stuck in my head. If I’m writing something and I think of a melody, or a chorus, that will get stuck in my head all day. And I have to finish the idea.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and where you grew up.

I grew up in a suburban area of Central Jersey. I was an only child, and went to Catholic school growing up from kindergarten through fifth grade. Then I made the move to public school, so that was kind of tough, because I didn’t really have any friends going into sixth grade. And then I went to high school in the same town, which was the same town my father grew up in, so my family has always been there for at least two or three generations. In high school, I started playing music more openly, out in the coffee houses and at school. And I started really focusing on my writing around 15, 16 years old. I started to develop that and realize that I wanted to actually make a career out of that.

I moved to south Jersey, because my parents got divorced when I was 16. I lived with my mom, but she wanted to move to Ohio for financial reasons, and I met this producer that worked in South Jersey. And I also had a girlfriend at the time that I didn’t really want to leave, so I found a way to stay. I lived in this 10 by 10 room in Jersey and started recording the first album I had ever recorded. It turned out to be garbage. It was horrible. And the living situation reflected that, anyway. But it was a learning experience. Then I met the guys that I’m working with now in the city, and my mom decided that she didn’t really like Ohio, so we kind of came back together. First we moved to Brooklyn, and then Staten Island.

What attracted you to the guitar?

Music started with piano lessons when I was five, my parents signed me up for that. And it wasn’t just music, I did other things. I used to race cars and play soccer, but music was always what I liked the best. At around nine years old, I decided I wanted to start playing the guitar, because I was playing the piano and singing and I kind of wanted to play another instrument and sing. Although I admired Billy Joel and other people that played piano, there weren’t too many singer/songwriters who played piano because it’s a little bit more difficult. Besides, to a nine-year-old kid, guitar is way cooler.

What was the music scene like in your hometown?

It was really cool, actually. I grew up right around Birch Hill and the Stone Pony. I was actually in a pop-punk band first. I - crushable.com

Lately, I’ve been wondering – where’s John Mayer? He’s been conspicuously absent from the interwebs lately. Shouldn’t he be calling somebody “sexual napalm,” or at least promoting his new single? Some quick internet sleuthing reveals that, oddly enough, he’s been hanging out in my hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s cool, John, you can stay there. Because there’s another guy with a guitar that we’d rather listen to.

New Jersey native Jay Loftus caught our attention with his irresistibly catchy melodies and fresh sound. He’s taken to YouTube to display his versatility, mixing in his originals with a wide range of covers. His talent, along with his humble, relatable personality, has us feeling pretty confident that we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the near future.

If you live in New York City, you might just catch Jay playing a song or two in the subway. He also admitted that he was once persuaded to serenade a group of girls while riding the Staten Island Ferry. So maybe, if you ask really nicely, he’ll sing a song just for you.

Check out our interview with Jay below.

Crushable: Inquiring minds want to know – do musicians get their own songs stuck in their heads?

Jay Loftus: Oh yeah, all the time. Not to sound lame, but my songs are some of my favorite songs. I have to like the song and I have to be able to hear it a million times and not hate it. Because I do hear it a million times before it gets to the CD. I will say though, that once I record songs they usually don’t get stuck in my head. If I’m writing something and I think of a melody, or a chorus, that will get stuck in my head all day. And I have to finish the idea.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and where you grew up.

I grew up in a suburban area of Central Jersey. I was an only child, and went to Catholic school growing up from kindergarten through fifth grade. Then I made the move to public school, so that was kind of tough, because I didn’t really have any friends going into sixth grade. And then I went to high school in the same town, which was the same town my father grew up in, so my family has always been there for at least two or three generations. In high school, I started playing music more openly, out in the coffee houses and at school. And I started really focusing on my writing around 15, 16 years old. I started to develop that and realize that I wanted to actually make a career out of that.

I moved to south Jersey, because my parents got divorced when I was 16. I lived with my mom, but she wanted to move to Ohio for financial reasons, and I met this producer that worked in South Jersey. And I also had a girlfriend at the time that I didn’t really want to leave, so I found a way to stay. I lived in this 10 by 10 room in Jersey and started recording the first album I had ever recorded. It turned out to be garbage. It was horrible. And the living situation reflected that, anyway. But it was a learning experience. Then I met the guys that I’m working with now in the city, and my mom decided that she didn’t really like Ohio, so we kind of came back together. First we moved to Brooklyn, and then Staten Island.

What attracted you to the guitar?

Music started with piano lessons when I was five, my parents signed me up for that. And it wasn’t just music, I did other things. I used to race cars and play soccer, but music was always what I liked the best. At around nine years old, I decided I wanted to start playing the guitar, because I was playing the piano and singing and I kind of wanted to play another instrument and sing. Although I admired Billy Joel and other people that played piano, there weren’t too many singer/songwriters who played piano because it’s a little bit more difficult. Besides, to a nine-year-old kid, guitar is way cooler.

What was the music scene like in your hometown?

It was really cool, actually. I grew up right around Birch Hill and the Stone Pony. I was actually in a pop-punk band first. I - crushable.com

In the second video of the series, Jay Loftus performs "Fortune Cookie" in his living room At The Crossroads!

Follow Jay @ImJayLoftus
Follow the Crosstitutes @atTheXRoads

Love up on Jay at Facebook.com/jayloftusmusic
and love up on us at facebook.com/atthexroads - Cross Roads

In the second video of the series, Jay Loftus performs "Fortune Cookie" in his living room At The Crossroads!

Follow Jay @ImJayLoftus
Follow the Crosstitutes @atTheXRoads

Love up on Jay at Facebook.com/jayloftusmusic
and love up on us at facebook.com/atthexroads - Cross Roads

A quick run-down on the artists we didn’t want to fail to notice this spring

honorable mentions imageReview by Ellen Eldridge

The indie feature was organized through SonicBids to provide indie artists – those acting as their own publicist or those for whom electronic press kits (EPK) are submitted by their publicist – an opportunity for a full-length feature in Target Audience Magazine. The Fall 2011 feature I wrote focused on what Dale Turner did so well with his EPK, and how he could teach other indie artists about marketing. The Winter 2012 feature showed how the inspiration from acting as the voice of JEM in the ’80s cartoon led Samantha Newark to forge her own way as a real pop icon. Every quarter I look for some aspect of an indie artist (band or singer/songwriter) to feature, and the staff gets a chance to decide what submissions to write regular reviews for. The submission fee paid by the band goes directly to the writers for reviews so the community aspect works well to encourage everyone’s dream.

With the submissions for the Spring 2012 issue, I just felt like these artists should receive more recognition that, ‘Sorry, we just don’t have the space for review.’



The Wiley One:

Love the artwork and the graffiti art heart showing off the EP title, Kill it With Love, because this band makes a dedicated effort to empower fans through charity. The band is well known for taking a powerful stance on spreading environmental awareness, working with many prestigious environmental companies and organizations such as Zero Hero, ACE Alliance for Climate Education and Disney’s Planet Challenge. The February release contains lyrics like, “I don’t want to swim in your shallow water; let’s go deeper” that could easily refer to an unhealthy relationship or to the power of getting involved with a great cause. This Phoenix band can be found at http://www.thewileyone.com



Jay Loftus:

This 24-year-old singer/songwriter defies the pretentious attitude adopted by many indie artists trying to stand out in a saturated market. His crisp vocals radiate melody and his lyrics venerate introspection about one’s place in everyday situations. His music is the kind of thing that coffee house patrons do not have to hide in their papers from awkwardly, but his ability to invigorate the casual listener will win him gigs. His personal voice in the submission is what won me over, and though I couldn’t find an angle worthy of an entire feature on indie artists I feel strongly that Loftus can teach other indie artists something about genuine sincerity:
In response to, “Briefly describe why we should write about you,” Loftus says, “Well, I guess it depends if you like my music or not. Otherwise, I’m like every other singer/songwriter out there struggling to get my music heard. It’s hard to stand out so, if I do stand out in your ears, then I think it’s worth writing about.”





Solar Spectrum: The Lonely King (Released April 2)

With the submission from Justin Street – now known as Solar Spectrum, I received a specific request for feedback should he not be selected for the feature. The immediate question upon hearing his music was, “Is it a bad thing to sound so much like another artist?” because the comparisons to Jimi Hendrix stood out like a pink elephant in a room full of sober hippies. His band has been gigging and writing music for the first EP for three years, and though the electronic press kit didn’t lead me to choose the band for a feature, I don’t feel it should be passed-by. This link allows folks to follow the process of mixing the album on their producer’s Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/eltoncharlesdrum





Photo by Luis Ramos Valencia



Gabrielle Wortman:

I keep thinking that I don’t like pop rock but singers like Gabrielle Wortman keep reminding me that I do get incredibly caught up when a singer can really sing. The fact that she has been booked through SonicBids over 50 times is not a testament to a lack of indie artists – it showcases the fact that she really deserves the attention she attracts! I’ll be the first to admit that a hot chick wearing only a bra may turn heads, but for me it’s the first indication of someone trying to be something he or she is not. Capitalizing on looks is exactly the kind of thing that makes me think I hate “pop rock” and love bands who use stunning artwork on album covers and hide their faces from promos to highlight the music. Well, this top-ranked ReverbNation artist has exactly what the major labels are looking for and that isn’t to say she can’t teach indie artists a thing or two. She writes that she is, “still an emerging artist, who has the potential to break in to a far larger space. I just hope it doesn’t come at the cost of the material becoming packaged in lip-gloss. I am writing this on the day that the death of Whitney Houston is breaking across the world and I am immediately drawn to a comparison in the strength of v - Target Audience Magazine

YouTube went from the computer screen to the stage on Friday, Feb. 3 as Julia Nunes with her ukulele and opener Jay Loftus performed at the Rathskeller.

The headliner played popular hits, many off of her new album “Settle Down.”

Nunes also played her own rendition of a stream of pop songs, including “Poker Face,” “Party Rock Anthem” and “Set Fire to the Rain.”

The YouTube star had the packed audience singing along and cheering throughout the set.

At one point, Nunes said, “I don’t know if you noticed, but my songs are really spiteful.”

As a result of this realization, Nunes played a love song.

She kept the energy alive as she played the ukelele and guitar.
Featured songs included “Nothings That Great” and “Stay Awake,”
among other hits.

In an interview, when describing her album, Nunes admitted, “It’s kind of just like a happy ukelele album.”

The album has 18 tracks, including three vignettes that break away from her typical style.

Nunes said that her YouTube fame was “accidental” and that its impact on her career was “less of a catapult and more of a slow rise.”

Opener Jay Loftus set the tone for the night as he played original songs off his new album, which was distributed for free after the show.

Loftus played songs called “Fortune Cookie” and “She Only Walks on Roses,” in addition to other original songs.

Loftus’ idea for “Fortune Cookie” literally stemmed from a fortune cookie: he was eating a fortune cookie one night when he received a fortune that read, “Your smile is a curve that can get a lot of things straight.”

This fortune compelled Loftus to look at two other fortunes and then write a song. He carries these fortunes around in a laminated card.

Unlike Nunes, Loftus is more reluctant about YouTube, as he feels that the site both helps and hurts careers.

Though Loftus believes that YouTube is an “animal” to tackle, he said in an interview with The Signal, “Plain and simply, my music would not be playing in Brazil right now.”

“It makes me more accessible worldwide,” he said.

Nunes can thank YouTube as her exposure landed her, most recently, on “Conan.” She also opened for Ben Folds multiple times in 2008.

To get more information about these rising stars, check out YouTube or go to their respective websites — junumusic.com and jayloftusmusic.com. - TCNJ Signal