Meet Jay Allan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Allan.

Hi Jay, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Well, I have been a musician for most of my time since high school. But when I moved to Los Angeles for college I dove pretty much head first into it, which was about 1998/1999. I really started out as a bass player and from 2000-2004 I traveled the country playing in many bands. I lived in Santa Cruz, CA, New York City, Alexandria, VA/Washington D.C. area, Augusta, GA, and San Diego, CA playing and touring around the country in multiple bands. In 2004 I moved to Costa Rice for a good part of the year and that is where I really started playing more guitar and becoming more of a singer/songwriter (because who takes just a bass to the beach).

When I returned to Phoenix in the second half of 2004, where my family still lived, I met a multitude of amazing musicians who quickly took me under their wing and helped me immerse into the Phoenix music scene. I have basically made Phoenix my home ever since. I have continued to tour many times through the years but Phoenix has been my home base. There is such a cooperative and communal scene here and with it being such a large spread-out city there are plenty of gigs to go around. So now I am still working as a full-time musician in multiple bands (JTM3, The Uncommon Good) and also playing and releasing music as a solo artist as well. I am now married (almost 10 years) and have two beautiful little girls (Kaiya 9 and Rigby 6).

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Being a full-time musician there are always struggles. Whether it be that gigs are difficult to find at times and the weather here in Phoenix can play a part in that, especially during the summers. But again, the musical community here has been very welcoming and everyone helps keep each other afloat usually. It was challenging starting a family as a full-time musician but my very understanding and supportive wife, Miranda, has helped push me along the way and I have a very supportive family and an amazing fan base that keeps me going through it all.

There was this little hiccup called “the pandemic”. That wasn’t good for anyone, especially those in the arts such as me. But, my fan base and friends really helped me and so many other musicians with tuning into live streams and coming to very socially distant outdoor “driveway” shows. And we got creative during that time coming up with ways to still play to and connect with people. The silver lining was definitely getting to spend my time with my family and including them in my live streams and other shows. So, the road is never smooth but it’s the company that you have on that road that makes you not notice the bumps as much.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a singer/songwriter at my core. I love writing and creating music and stories and what really feeds my soul is using those things to connect with people, aka my “Friendly Friends”.

I really love to write! I do that by singing, playing guitar (mostly acoustic), and also playing lap steel on a lap steel that I built with my father. My father taught me and continues to teach me, about woodworking and we have made many instruments together. It is another means of creativity that I really enjoy. Being able to make an instrument that I play at pretty much every show has been very satisfying and also such a great connection with my father. I am very proud of that!

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The characteristic I find that has been most important to me has been my ability to connect with people and befriend them and bring them into my life and me into theirs. I love my friends and family so very much and they are incredibly important to me. I also love adding more and more people to that circle and sharing in life and love. Music is such a catalyst to be able to do that sharing and connecting.

It can take down barriers very quickly when done with intention, love, and an open mind. I have watched so many people from so many different walks of life come together and become very close through my and others’ music. That is something I want to continue to do and facilitate and connect with as much as possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: jayallanmusic.com, jtm3band.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/jayallan
• Facebook: Facebook.com/jayallanmusic1
• Youtube: YouTube.com/@jayallan8445