Just this evening, Jay booked studio time with local studio owner, engineer, and music producer Wes Kosikowski, at Catfish Studio in Lombard, IL. But Wes isn't just a studio bum. He and Jay go all the way back to high school, when they used to jam with Darius Lafkus, frontman of electronic-rock band The Glide.

Jay's new record will be recorded in 12 hours over two days of hard work, on September 13th and 14th, 2010. The yet-to-be-titled, solo/acoustic record will feature all-new tunes - only a handful of which have ever yet been performed on stage. Many of these songs reflect the last 18 months of songwriting for Jay, and he wanted to present the songs in a way that more closely resembles his live show. Simple. Stripped down. Raw. Acoustic. Yet rich. Powerful. Moving. Evocative.

The official album release concert will be on October 1st at the renowned Two Way Street Coffee House in Downers Grove, IL. More details to be announced.

Just this week, Columbia College Chicago posted pictures from Jay's performance at the school, this past June. Pictures were taken by alumni and current photography students. Check them out HERE.

These times they are a changin' and I'm in the market for a new manager and booking agency. Right now, I have a few leads, but if any of you are interested - or know of anybody who might be - please have them contact me by email: jaymathes [at] jaymathes [dot] com. This next school year, I look forward to returning to the University of Illinois' Courtyard Cafe, Indiana Wesleyan, and other colleges, and am excited about the prospects of attending the 2011 SXSW Conference. It's all in the works, of course. In the meantime, check out some of my new music on YouTube: http://youtube.com/jaymathesmusic. Thanks for your help and support! -JM

A couple of weeks back, in my last newsletter, I promised everyone that I'd be sharing more music with you all - and less "tasty talk". I'm proud to announce that, for three consecutive weeks, I have delivered. Three new song up on my YouTube channel, here: http://youtube.com/jaymathesmusic. Thanks for listening. -JM

Cast your vote by downloading Jay's song, Wine and Rose, now, at:

http://www.sweetwatersongcontest.com

The 5 most popular artists, as determined by your downloads, will receive an awesome gear package, valued at $2500, plus a chance to win recording time at the world-class Sweetwater Productions studio and $2,000 in cash!

I need someone to create a custom WordPress theme for me - one that pretty much matches my current website. Some basic features I'd like on the back-end: easy updating of my sidebar links/images and header images/links. I'd also like a better music player embedded into each page. What would be great is if the music continued to play if a user clicked on a different page... Finally, I'd like to be able to change the background image/color, as well as font-type stuff. Let's start there. I have a few other requests, but I need to come up with a fix for my posting tool on my home page in the next week or so.

Okay, so I can't offer you much in exchange for your help; but I can write a song for you - your topic. And I'll also give you an awesome credit in the liner notes of my next album, on the new site itself, and... you tell me what you'd like from me and I'll see if I can make that happen. How does that sound? Just email me here: email {at} jaymathes {dot} com.

It's a long shot, but I just contacted a few people that I know who do booking for Milwaukee's Summerfest and Louisville's Forecastle Festival, and I'm really hoping to get one of the last remaining performance slots. I'm excited about the possibility of stringing a set of out of town shows together for the summer. I'll keep you posted.

Closed show and presentation, for students only. Just announced: I will be presenting and performing in West Chicago as a part of the school's series on "writing in the real world". I'll be talking about my process for songwriting and how I write lyrics, particularly. Details on my shows page.

After much thought, planning, researching, spending, and waiting, my new live performance rig is finally complete! In the last few weeks, I've blogged about ordering a new computer to use on stage with me, problems with a pedal, and a few other things. All of those issues *appear* to be *solved*, and it's now up to me to make sure that I fully utilize the tools I have for live shows.

I just got word from The Gap on Friday. John Alagia still has not selected a winner for the Best Song contest, but according to representative, Michael Balser, "We are very, very close to determining a winner."

I am still confident in the music that I submitted, and look forward to hearing the results of this contest. I would be humbled and honored to be selected - and hope that I am!

Again, this contest began with over 15,000 applicants, whittled down to 750, then carved down to the top 50, where I still remain standing. One, grand prize winner will receive a one-album production deal with John Alagia.

Be there! and meet Jay's new band member, Mr. DL4 Delay Pedal.

Just posted on Jay's YouTube profile today: three videos from his show at Uncommon Ground Coffeehouse, Wrigleyville, in Chicago on September 25, 2009. All new songs: Politician, Broken Well, and Jump. Check 'em out: http://youtube.com/jaymathesmusic

Hi, everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that it looks like a good friend of mine, Nick Gray, over at shadeofgraydesign.com (he does mostly web design, but he's getting in to video), and I are going to be working together on my debut music video. We're still talking it through, but it's all in the works. In fact, I expect a call from Nick this week... I'll keep you all in the loop. -JM

The newly-launched concert-booking website, G2.fm, contacted Jay last month about being featured in the site's intro video. The video was published on their website just a few days ago. Check it out at G2.fm!