Press Release Blog

Man Doing Something Nobody’s Ever Done Before… And Probably Never Will Again

Maybe you’ve heard of Project 365. A Project 365 is when a person takes a picture of themselves and posts it every day for a year. Jefferson Jay, in his own inimitable style, took the idea further.

On Thanksgiving, looking for a way to share his work, Jay began posting three videos to YouTube every day, thus began Operation 365. He posts one original song (that he wrote), a cover song that he performs (a song written by someone else,) and a third video of a local musician performing -- often filmed at one of Jays’ songwriter showcases over the years. He also has an Operations 365 blog to explain the significance of the videos to the online audience. The videos are available at youtube.com/jeffersonjaydotcom and the blog can be found at jeffersonjay.blogspot.com.

“A very special scene developed around my shows in 2007 and 2008,” Jay states. “A close group of talented friends came together. I cherish the opportunity to share our experience and my music with anyone who is interested in these sorts of things.” Jay added the “cover” component of Operation 365 with the thought that playing songs that people knew and loved would create additional impetus for web-users to look into Jays’ work. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Phish, Bob Marley, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan are just a sampling of the artists whose work Jay learned for the project.

Jay possesses and energy and stamina that few can match. While some musicians/promoters are content to put on shows that last three or four hours, Jay created, booked, and hosted Jefferson Jay’s 24 Hours of Free Music four times, one of which was made into a movie. Jay has hundreds of notebooks full of his writings and has had to write dozens of songs to meet the demands of what he refers to as “the 365.” To the best of Jay’s knowledge, no one has ever attempted a 365 project of this magnitude. Jay is compiling the blogs, through which he shares his views on a seemingly exhaustive list of topics, into nine short books, titled 40 Days and 40 Blogs: Books 1-9.

The economic downturn has affected the entertainment business and Jay turned to the internet to express himself and connect with a larger audience. “Operation 365 is an experiment. I started it to see what would happen. Would I finish? Would people care? Would I learn anything?” says Jay. “I had no pre-conceived outcomes in my mind. I have received some really appreciative feedback from people, and it’s kept me busy. That’s a large part of what I’ve got so far, but there’s still 80 days to go.”

Jay is very inspired by his friends and enjoys sharing their music in the archives. “I am a very community-oriented individual,” says Jay. “I want to share the stories and music of all kinds of different artists around San Diego. Last week, I posted a song I wrote for my friend’s son, Eli, a six-year old boy recently diagnosed with leukemia. It is easy to feel good about these sorts of things.”

When Jay is not 365’ing, he helms The Jefferson Jay Band, as he has for 10 years. The group features a diverse line-up, with members ranging from Leanne Pearl, Jay’s 25-year old girlfriend and drummer to The Soul Man, a 93-year old World War II veteran and percussionist. Jay’s music features an eclectic array of musical styles and a message more typical of a Woodstock-era than one typically found on airwaves today. “I play music because I want to spread ideas, free thought, and help make the world a more positive place to be,” says Jay.

Jay has already posted well over 800 videos in his Operation 365 and has some tricks up his sleeve, as his project winds toward a conclusion. “On 11-11-11, I am going to release my 5th CD, Gift to Be Alive. I will focus on the tunes from the record until Operation 365 ends on Thanksgiving. I am really proud of the music and its message and I hope to build on that moving forward,” says Jay.