nat jay
The official ramblings, observations, and inspirations of singer/songwriter/recording artist/clueless cook Nat Jay.
To hear music and for more info: www.natjay.com
Twitter/Facebook/Youtube: @OfficialNatJay
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Nashville Favourites
I’ve finally compiled a few of my favourite things I encountered in Nashville!! A few collages later…
1. We flew into a beautiful Nashville sunset and listened to an awesome indie station all week—I recommend finding it online (Lightning 100). I even heard some Kathleen Edwards on there!! We stayed in the SOCAN house, beautifully kept by our hosts Daryl and Lee Ann Burgess. We quickly realized that in Nashville it was easy enough to bring a cowboy home with us…
2. A super trendy local spot is Hillsboro Village, Fido is a nightmare on weekends! I waited 45 minutes for that “Local Latte,” complete with Tennessee honey. If you know me, you know I have a Degree in Chocolate Arts, and Fido’s locally-made Salt & Pepper dark chocolate is to die for!!
3. Across the street from Fido is my favourite place for shopping, Pangaea, where I got a few accessories and my Cowgirl Coasters! In another cool area just up the street by Music Row, called Edgehill Village, I bought that nautical necklace as a momento of my first trip to Nashville. The anchor reminds me to always keep my feet on the ground and the life ring reminds me that I always have the tools to keep myself afloat.
4. 16th and 17th Avenue South (Music Square East + West) is home to Music Row, are two entire streets of music publishers and other music companies, like ASCAP, BMI Music Publishing, Sony Music and many other major and independent companies. I felt right at home over at Anchor Down Entertainment, and also had a chance to hang out in Roots Three/Ole for a a bit. Everyone was so welcoming and excited to have me.
5. Besides my major in Chocolate Arts, I also have a minor in Ice Cream Management. However, we were en route for Ben & Jerry’s when we came across Sweet CeCe’s frozen yogurt. I’m usually not a fro yo fan, but O…M…G….the photos speak for themselves!!!
6. I’m realizing a lot of my photos revolve around food! On our last day, we drove about 45 mins out of town to the awesome Loveless Cafe, where they specialize in “Hot Biscuits, Country Ham.” AMAZING! I had the City Ham, which is recommended “for Y’all Northerners.” Other highlights in food were the Pancake Pantry and the GIANT refillable unsweetened iced tea everywhere.
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My first day in Nashville…
Monday, February 13, 2012
It’s done. My first day in Nashville. And it was a helluva day. I started out with a writing session over at Anchor Down Entertainment on Music Row. Pretty much every house along the street (and it’s a long street) is a publishing house. I nerded out a bit in the car and then got it together (mostly) for my session.
I had a very warm welcome from Anthony at Anchor Down and headed into my session with Billy Joe Walker Jr. All over and outside his room were records he’d produced or worked on in some way, including Travis Tritt, Bryan White, Faith Hill and more. I went in ready to write a song for one of those types of artists…but Billy Joe got my style right away after I played him “Love Me Too” and I ended up coming out of there with a song for myself. That’s never happened before with a co-writer, so very cool!
We then went to hang out with some of Sarah’s friends, both talented artists in their own right, and extremely well connected locally. Within an hour, they had a gig for me on my first night in Nashville! First we went to Foobar to watch The Voice with a couple of the competitors of this season, then they took us to a bar called Winners, where I played what’s called The Whisky Jam. This famous night is often home to special guests like Ryan Tedder (One Republic) and Taylor Swift. Tons of fun!
I will definitely be posting some photos in the next few days, as soon as I track down a special USB cable for my camera! In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a beautiful Nashville sunset, taken from the plane as we landed on Sunday.
Yeeha!
~Nat
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Heading to Nashville!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Well, folks, I’ll be headed down to Nashville, Tennessee this weekend and will be blogging up a storm right here on my Tumblr account. It’ll be my first time in the songwriting capital of the world and I’ll be writing with some pretty fab songwriters, so stay tuned!!
~Love Nat
P.S. Hope you like the new photo background on the site, from a shoot I did in December with Kale Friesen (http://www.kalejf.com/).
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PRESS RELEASE: Nat Jay nominated for Songwriter of the Year
Monday, October 24, 2011
Nat Jay nominated for Songwriter of the Year
Singer, songwriter and recording artist Nat Jay has been nominated for SOCAN Songwriter of the Year at the BC Country Music Awards. Along with co-writers Angela Harris and Michael Behm, the team has been nominated for “Family Matters,” a song that Harris recorded and released in March of this year.
Nat Jay was born and raised in Kelowna and currently resides in Vancouver. She has built a reputation through the success of her own pop/folk songs, which have been placed in film and TV on networks around the world, including ABC, The CW, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Lifetime.
“Last year I was invited to participate in a country song camp with the BCCMA, and it was the first time I’d written country music. It was also the first time I’d met Michael and Angela, but we sat in a tiny little room, and somehow came up with this really big song.”
“Family Matters” has been supported by Canadian radio this year, being added and featured on at least thirteen stations across the country, including Vancouver’s popular JRFM.
Also included in the category are heavy hitters Aaron Pritchett, Chad Brownlee, and The Higgins. The awards gala will take place Sunday, November 20 at Coquitlam’s Red Robinson Theatre.
“The country world has really welcomed me with open arms,” says Jay. “I’m heading down to Nashville in February, and I think I’ll be writing a lot more with cowboy boots on.”
**Listen to “Family Matters” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMdR45Dz_68
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