Western Heritage

When Jay Lashley picked up his first guitar at seventeen, he had no idea it would one day result in the formation of Western Heritage; his one man band hailing from Tulsa Oklahoma, now gearing up to release a debut EP on iTunes in April titled Native America.
Western Heritage is a brilliant combination of honest lyrics about life and love and vibrant music full of catchy guitars and dynamic rhythms that leave listeners hooked and wanting more. Heavily influenced by such bands as The Beach Boys, The Beatles and John Mayer, Jay has crooned his way into the hearts of Myspace listeners and Oklahoma's and is now ready to reach out and take his music to new heights.
Jay's relationship with music began at age seven when his parents decided to enroll him in classical piano lessons, which he studied for six years. It gave him a strong foundation in music theory, though it wasn't something that was able to spark his passion for music, as he found no real creativity in what he could simply read off of sheet music.
It wasn't until Jay was seventeen that he really began to take a serious interest in music. He and his family had bought a guitar as a birthday present for his Dad, who spent six months working on learning how to play it. Deciding that he wanted to try, Jay picked up his Dad's guitar and a month later had found he'd managed to catch up to same level his Dad was playing at. That year, as a senior, he performed a song he'd written for the first time in his high school's talent show. "I could have never fathomed performing in front of other people. I was shy in high school, but when I found music it was literally what opened me up to the world. Playing and singing was an expression that I wasn't afraid of. Music gave me a voice, and from the second I picked up a guitar it was always about writing songs."
Since that point, Jay began writing his own music; incorporating bits and pieces of his own tastes to form what can be heard today in his songs. "When I was in ninth grade, I was listening to Tupac and Hanson and that literally split my world in half. I loved tight pop music with harmonies like The Beach Boys and The Beatles and Hanson, and I had this other side [of me] that loved rap music. I loved the bass and the way the rhythms felt. Those two sounds are what shaped a lot about what I love about music." These influences have led to a unique blend of strong rhythms and catchy pop melodies that have given Western Heritage its own identifiable sound.
During college, Jay was given his first real taste of performing while in a group with a three friends, touring the area performing in local churches and Christian camps to try and recruit people to their college. This experience helped to open up Jay to the use of harmony and also gave him a feel for what it would be like to someday perform with his own band.
"In my senior year [of college], I went to Europe for five months. That trip really opened up my eyes to the world and it was where I wrote a song called Wallpaper Sky. It was the first song that I knew was special and made me realize that I had something." After that trip, Jay came home and graduated; using the money his parents gave him to buy a car to instead hire Rockwell Ryan Ripperger; the front man of Stephen Speaks, to produce his record. Those sessions, as well as sessions at Blackwatch Studios in Norman have now resulted in his debut EP Native America which is set to be released on iTunes this April.
Jay has been fortunate enough over the past few years to play and work with Stephen Speaks, perform a showcase in New York City for an up-start label, and has had opportunities to work with countless other artists such as Hanson, Adam Schlesinger, Derek Webb, Bleu, Mike Viola and Ryan Lindsey. He has also had the opportunity to work for Hanson's Songwriter's Retreat, The Fool's Banquet, and has said that "It was a cool chance to be around people that wrote music. I was doing the recording for the week, but working with the people there made me realize that writing is what I need to nurture when it comes to my songs."
His debut EP Native America features five songs that truly capture Western Heritage's sound, which Jay describes as "Pop like what pop was in the sixties". The track 'Western Heritage' is about identifying with where you come from and the pride Jay feels for the part of the world he lives in. It's upbeat, rhythmic and one of those songs you just can't help but sing along to. Written in five hours, Jay says that he was inspired after watching Anime and being exposed for the first time to Eastern culture, to write a song that really captured his part of the world. 'Don't Steal My Vibe' is a beautiful, melodic song filled with honest lyrics that are only topped by Jay's impressive vocal delivery. It was written while he was working for a Hurricane Katrina relief organization and it embodies something that everyone feels at one time or another.
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