Quick Facts
Biography
Jay Hails, (born October 16, 1967), is a Canadian singer, songwriter and performer. His songs are influenced by Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, and in his own words, "the guy who wrote that Juicy Fruit chewing gum jingle".
Biography
In the 1990s he was lead singer in two Celtic rock bands, the Echoing Green and the Drowned. Since 2000, he has been performing and recording as a solo artist, backed by a folk-influenced rock band of Saskatchewan musicians, featuring guitars, violin and piano.
He has played at folk festivals, coffeehouses, and rock venues from Vancouver to Toronto. His most regular concerts are in Saskatoon, occasionally at Lydia's Pub.
He has shared stages with the likes of Barenaked Ladies, Great Big Sea, the Waltons and Jay Semko. He has received video airplay on Much Music and CMT, and been featured across Canada on both CBC TV and CBC radio.
He says he finds his greatest inspiration "in secondhand bookstores, in two-hour-long hot baths, and in the unfailingly abysmal weather of Saskatchewan".
Press comments
- “Jay Hails has been inspired by the literary works of folks like Oscar Wilde, William Blake, and Milan Kundera. These influences explain Hails’s capacity to stretch excruciatingly honest lyrics across aching melodies … Remember the name: you’ll be hearing it often.” - Chart (magazine), Toronto
- “The music is infectious, deeply moving and intimate. Reality and fantasy are woven into the harshness and beauty of the world in which we live.” - The Prairie Dog, Regina
- “The songs here are about love in general, specific, and even vague terms – just don’t call ‘em love songs. Jay Hails’ literary credentials add more to his band than the self-conscious ironies of Brad Roberts do to the Crash Test Dummies.” – Soundscape Magazine, Saskatoon
Discography
- the Echoing green (as member of the Echoing Green) (1991)
- Barefoot and Pregnant (as member of the Echoing Green) (1992)
- If Happiness is Water (as member of the Drowned) (1994)
- Broadway Basement Suite (as James Earl Hails) (2000)
- No One Knows I'm Famous (2005)