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March 20, 2008 issue

Singer-Songwriter Sally Jaye Tells Her Southern Stories on Amarillo

Rising Star To Play Shows at Canyons, Boone Saloon March 26 and 27

Story by David Brewer

The highways and interstates that weave intricate paths westward across the United States to Los Angeles have always held a certain allure for Eastern-born dreamers with visions of making their big-screen debut or cutting a hit record while basking in the glorious, sun-soaked landscape. Raised in Lawrenceville, Ga., singer-songwriter Sally Jaye, like so many before her, decided to take her chances, moving to L.A. in 2001 to pursue her musical dreams.

For nearly five years in L.A., Jaye was a member of rock band Paper Sun, contributing her songwriting and keyboard talents. However, as time passed, the tug of Jaye’s country roots became too much to ignore, resulting in her departure from the band to pursue a solo career.

Since taking the solo plunge, Jaye’s talents have been earning her much-deserved attention from fellow musicians and industry insiders taken with the Southerner’s innate storytelling ability and melodic sensibilities.

On Wednesday and Thursday, March 26 and 27, Jaye will make her performing debut in the High Country with shows at Canyons and Boone Saloon respectively.

While her songs figured prominently in Paper Sun’s rock n’ soul sound, it was Jaye’s annual holiday cross-country road trips from L.A. to Lawrenceville that crystallized the small-town characters and experiences that inhabit her new stripped down, country-tinged sound.

“Most of the things that I was writing at the time didn’t fit the band,” said Jaye. “The songs that I write are more rootsy and Americana, so I went off on my own and made my debut record.”

Entitled Amarillo, Jaye named tshe 10-song effort for the Texas panhandle town where she spent time during a number of cross-country drives to see her family during the holidays. Situated halfway between L.A. and Lawrenceville along the former Route 66, Jaye credits time spent in the Amarillo as a integral and inspiring for her songwriting.

Jaye was raised on the music and songwriting of Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Loretta Lynn, and Willie Nelson. Inspired by Bruce Springsteen and Ryan Adams, the songs on Amarillo tell stories of Jaye's life growing up in Lawrenceville, the movement toward L.A. and the spaces in between. Characters such as carnies and cotton ginners appear in her songs along with the local junkyard and summer evenings on the porch, and late night drives alone across Texas are peppered throughout.

“The record, from beginning to end, is a concept album about growing up in Georgia and moving to L.A. and what a struggle that is,” said Jaye. “All those songs came out at once because they were about a theme. I was thinking about the past and how to transition into the future.”

In August 2006, Jaye stepped into the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith's former studio to commence recording her debut solo record. The room previously housed the final sessions of Smith (where he had hand-picked all of the gear), along with past productions of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Elected and Jonathan Rice. It had recently hosted hitmakers Maroon 5 and indie darlings Rilo Kiley.

Jaye recruited her producer friend Will Golden to helm the sessions, along with Grammy-nominated engineer/mixer Mike Terry (The Eagles, Foo Fighters) to round out the crew. After 10 days of solid recording, the foundation for the newly dubbed Amarillo sessions was set.

Helming Jaye’s band for the Amarillo sessions was drummer and former Boone resident Josh Day. Formerly a member of Murphy’s house band Papa Gumbo, Day followed his bandmates to the West Coast in 2001, recently performing on national TV with singer-songwriter Sarah Bareilles. Following a chance meeting with Jaye in 2006, the dynamic drummer assembled the musicians that fleshed out the artist’s emotive, country soundscape.

Jaye is proud of her Southern heritage and freely admits that each trip to Lawrenceville elicits the inevitable questions from her father about returning home. While the bright lights of L.A. and its vibrant music scene have yet to lose their luster for the rising star, Jaye is candid about her feelings for her Georgia home.

“I don’t hate L.A.,” said Jaye. “I don’t envision myself living out the rest of my life in L.A., but I miss the South like crazy.”

To preview songs from Amarillo, click to www.myspace.com/sallyjaye.