Page 57 - ION Indie Magazine MayJune 2020 Issue

JAY LUKE

Pennsylvania-based rocker Jay Luke has performed gigs with Duff McKagan of Guns N’
Roses, W.A.S.P., Metal Church, To/Die/For from Finland, Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, and
Richie Ramone of The Ramones. Currently, Luke is a solo musician as well as a member
of the band Reach For The Sky.

Luke shared his frustration with the pandemic and its impact his 2020 plans, “As a
performing artist since 2003, I have done at the very least one gig per week since I
started. So, this time has been very hard in many ways. Once you do something for so
long, it gets in your blood. Being quarantined while l had 50 gigs booked for 2020 hasn't
been something I would ever have imagined. But then, no one can really predict a
pandemic. So, has it affected musicians? Absolutely! But it has also taught us to think
outside of the box.”

Luke had plans for new music on the horizon, both as a solo artist and with his band.
Says Luke, “I am hoping to finish my third solo album, but until the studio opens, l am sort
of in a bind. My band is releasing our second album "Set Me Free" on March 27th, which
we intended on doing an album release show. But we are ready to release it and don't
see how postponing it would be of any benefit. People are stuck at home and if any
time is right to put it out, we feel now is it. As far as me being stuck at home, I have been
writing a lot of new music and for the first time, jumping on the Facebook Live train. I
initially hated the idea, finding it incredibly annoying and frustrating. But since we are all
stuck inside, it is about the only way to get to perform and connect with your fans. A
bonus is that folks who never can make it out to shows locally or fans overseas can also
get involved in the action. So, I have lessened my hostility towards the FB Live thing. I
feel as an artist, it is very important to keep content up as often as possible and was very
grateful to have debuted two original songs off my forthcoming solo album in an NPR
Tiny Desk session. So, I had something new to put up on my YouTube channel.

Learn more about Jay Luke at the following links:

Facebook Jay Luke: https://www.facebook.com/jaylukemusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jay_luke
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messmusic/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Tn6LxUh1GBa0mM0vx5CyA
Video “Keep Your Head Up Kid” https://youtu.be/bJ_muQ5szZM