For the third and final installment of the Jay Legaspi sessions, I’m proud to present, Paper Shapes:

Quite simply, the song is about being in over your head.  Given the percussive nature of the track, I wanted to showcase some beatboxing and looping for live performances, and this is what I came up with. If you like it, please share the video and help me spread the word!

This video was the biggest undertaking in terms of the sessions, and the one I’m the proudest of.  Thank you to JR Pena and Daniel Dai who were the creative force behind this project, and to Luke Villapaz and Michael Fernandez, who provided additional camerawork.  A special thank you as well to Amanda Yu who recorded the audio and worked behind the scenes to make sure the session ran smoothly, and to Grace Subervi, who offered additional assistance on set.  This video was all due to their hard work, and I can’t thank them enough!

I hope you enjoy!  Lyrics are at the bottom.  If you like what you hear, there is a version of the track on my most recent album, Picture Perfect.

For those curious about my setup, I’m using an Electro-Harmonix 2880 Super Multi-Track Looper.  The mixer feeding the audio to the loop is a Behringer Xenyx 1002FX.   My microphone is a Shure Beta Series 58A.

Paper Shapes
Not to sound a broken record she said
But for the record I am scared of the things that passed
In the last few minutes
Patience worn like the tires thinned
By the ground ground ground

And I replied with an immeasurable wit
And what would have been a riot if we weren’t faced with
What had made itself to be
A truth that kept us tightly wound
So there we were like paper shapes in 3-D planes
Aware of a depth we couldn’t fake
No matter how much we tried to bend or twist

A tragic netting made from tearing out a page
Made to hold against a sea of crashing waves
We just weren’t made or cut out for this

We’re not cut out for this
We’re not cut out for this
We’re not cut out for this
We’re not cut out for this
We’re going down down down

Music and lyrics by Jay Legaspi

I’m happy to announce that the second installment of the Jay Legaspi Sessions is now up!  I’m proud to present, 10 Past 3:

This was a song I wrote literally at 3:10 AM, and it holds a special significance to me as it’s one of the very first songs I ever wrote.  I love the simplicity and directness of it, and it reminds me of the time when it was just me, a guitar, and a marble notebook.

I hope you enjoy!

Special thanks to JR Pena and Daniel Dai for their creative direction in producing this and all the videos in the series.  A big thank you again to Luke Villapaz and Shelby Chung for the additional camerawork, and a big thank you as well to Amanda Yu who was behind the scenes and the Protools rig making sure I looked and sounded good.

Also, a shout out to Gifted Thought, who wrote some very kind words about the song, and named it his #2 track in his Top 10 Asian-American Tracks of the decade!

10 Past 3
It’s 10 Past 3 and I’m wondering
If I’m in past over my head and I’m
Filled with a lot of anxiety
I apologize in advance for
Not giving you any type of warning
I hope that you won’t get too mad at me

Don’t read too much between the lines, ’cause I haven’t written much this time
Just want to see if I’d be fine without you in my life
And my heart says no
But my mind says it’s possible
But can’t get you out of my head
Ironic, and I know I’m not prepared

Take one last step, take a breath and just clear my head
Wipe the tears from my eyes and go to bed
Can’t believe the dream is ending
Still I can’t stand holding back when I’m feeling us slip away
Oh darling, you know that I just can’t stay
And leave me at that

Lyrics and Music by Jay Legaspi

Today starts the first installment of the Jay Legaspi Sessions!  I’m really excited to share these videos with you, and what better way to start a series than with an introduction to myself!  Check out this interview piece we shot highlighting my creative process and my musical career:

A big thank you to JR Pena and Daniel Dai who put this and all of the series together!  A big thank you as well to Luke Villapaz and Shelby Chung, who were behind the other cameras, and Amanda Yu for moderating the interview and handling sound.

More to come!  Be sure to check the site every week!

JL

I’m happy to announce the upcoming Jay Legaspi Sessions, a series of videos to be released this month!  For a taste of what’s to come in March, check out the teaser:

The first part of the series is an interview piece touching on my music, my creative process, and my career up to this point.  The following two parts of the series will be performance pieces, including a multi-angled view of how I build a song with nothing but a microphone and a loop pedal.

The Jay Legaspi Sessions were shot under the creative direction of JR Pena and Daniel Dai with the help of many talented individuals.  We hope you enjoy the teaser, and what’s to come in the following weeks!

Every new video will be posted on the front page of www.jaylegaspi.com, so be sure to check back to see each piece!

Just a reminder about tomorrow night’s show at Googie’s Lounge!  It’s my first time playing there, so come out and watch if you can.  I’ll be opening for the very talented Cynthia Lin!

CYNTHIA LIN TRIO + JAY LEGASPI
Wednesday JUNE 15, 2011
8:30pm – 10:30pm @ Googie’s Lounge above the Living Room
154 Ludlow St, NYC
http://livingroomny.com/
no cover, 21+, 1 drink min per set
$5 suggested donation

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=165692026824298

Please spread the word.  Hope to see you there!

June is just starting, and with 2 shows coming up, we’re starting it off right!

This Saturday 6/11, I’d like to invite you to Arts and Awareness for Pulmonary Hypertension at the Jersey City Resident Community Center.  Hosted by Alice Matiz, the show is in honor of her sister, Martiza, a Jersey City artist who recently passed away from the condition.  Artists, poets, and musicians from the area will be sharing their talents to both celebrate her life and raise awareness about pulmonary hypertension .   I hope you’ll be able to make it!

Also, on Wednesday, 6/15, I’ll be sharing the stage with the very talented Cynthia Lin at Googie’s Lounge.  I’ve never played at Googie’s before, but I know it’s a very intimate venue, with very limited seating.  I’ll be playing an acoustic set, with a few surprises, so if you’re in the area, come through and watch Cynthia and me!

That’s all for now.  Hope to see you at the shows!

Photo by John Gonzales

May 25th marked the one year anniversary of the release of my debut album, Picture Perfect. To celebrate, the band and I played a special show at one of my favorite venues in the city: The Bitter End. It’s always a bit of a homecoming whenever we play there, because it’s something we normally do only once or twice a year, and whenever we do, many of our family members and old friends who we don’t see often come through. I’m happy to say that this time around was no different.

The night featured performances of tracks from the new album including my all-vocal loop version of Paper Shapes as well as a revisiting of older material like Try, Wait, a track from my first studio EP, The.Tale.And. To top the night off, we played a brand new song entitled “5 to Life”- a song about caring about someone so much, you’d commit crimes:

Video by Feliza Mirasol

Click here for a playlist of videos of the night.

A special thank you to my family, friends, and fellow artists who came out to support the one year anniversary of the album! Thanks as well to Matt Pana, John Violago, and Amanda Yu for their time and talent in making the show possible.   Finally, a big thank you to Feliza Mirasol and John Gonzales who took the video and pics you see here!

Photo by John Gonzales

And now, it’s on to the next. I’ve been staying up working on new riffs on my new guitar, and I just got Reason 5. Time to bring new to the table.

Photo by Amanda Yu

The first show was on Friday night at the AsianArts Initiative in Philadelphia.  I was asked by my good friends Michelle and Catzie aka Yellow Rage to perform as a featured act for Family Style, a monthly open mic held at the venue.  As a special treat both to the audience and me, Amanda and Catzie sang two song medleys which included Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, Kanye West’s Heartless, and… Milli Vanilli’s Girl You Know it’s True.  I happily played DJ for the tracks on both the guitar and my loop pedal, which Catzie likes to call, “the foot harmonizer”.  I had a great time performing, minus a bit of a cough, but the audience was very supportive and showed a lot of love.

Saturday night was at Drexel University for a showcase.  The event was held by the Filipino Intercultural Society of Drexel University (FISDU) to benefit Japan relief.  The event was marketed as a coffeehouse, but in reality, it was more like an all out concert, with an amazing sound system, and a big stage.  Other acts included singer-composer Matt Campana, 3 part harmony wizards PSFA, and a cappella group 8 to the Bar.  I got to rock the stage full-band style with my brothers in music John Violago and Matt Pana.  The Mitchell Grey Band also performed.  For those not in the know, Matt Pana drums for both bands, and essentially proved why he’s known in our parts as a SuperDrummer.  Afterwards, we all went for our standard post-gig meal when we’re in these parts–Cheesesteaks!

Photo by Amanda Yu

Photo by Amanda Yu

Sunday found us back in NYC for a performance at The National Underground.  This show was also for Japan relief, and was organized by the folks at Kollaboration NY.  It was my first time at this venue, and the atmosphere was definitely that of the indie rock club: small, no stage, dimly lit, with a standing room only crowd eager to hear the performers.  For this crowd, I wanted to throw a curve ball and do something different from my standard guitar set, so I did an all vocal loop pedal version of my song, Paper Shapes.  Performing like that was an interesting experience, since the crowd was only about 3 feet away from me, and everyone could see how I set up the entire song live and from the ground up.

Needless to say, it was a very jam-packed weekend.  Here’s to hoping it happens again!

A special shoutout to everyone who made this weekend awesome:  Michelle Myers, Catzie Vilayphonh, Nancy Chen, AsianArts Initiative, Ben Silverio, FISDU, Cat Chung, Gil Seok, Jason Chang, Kollaboration NY, The Mitchell Gray Band, and everyone who came out to support.  Thanks so much!

An extra special shout out to Amanda Yu for helping me on the road and chronicling the trip through pictures, Matt Pana and John Violago for being amazing musicians, and Rena Eleazar, my lovely cousin who booked us for the Drexel, and also housed us.  Thank you!

That’s all for now.  Hope you can join the band and me on May 25th, 8PM for our show at The Bitter End!

5/20 (Friday), 7:30P – Family Style Open Mic @ Asian Arts Initiative – Philadelphia, PA
5/21 (Saturday), 7:30P – FISDU Spring Coffee House – Drexel University
5/22 (Sunday), 7:00P – Kollaboration Open Mic- The National Underground, NYC

Be sure to check out the links for more info!

Also, next week is the one year anniversary of my album PICTURE PERFECT! To celebrate, we’ll be returning to The Bitter End!

LIVE @ The Bitter End
May 25th 2011, 8:00PM
147 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and LaGuardia)
New York City, NY 10012
$5 + 2 Drink Minimum
18+
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=183045631745030

Look out for more big things on the way!

Hey all!

So yesterday I was lucky enough to see Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino center stage/front row at the Bowery Ballroom, and I must say it was truly inspirational! One day, I’ll play that venue.

While I work my way up to the Bowery, I hope you’ll catch me at one of my other shows in your area! May’s a fun month for shows, and the next one is this Friday at the Asian American Writer’s Workshop in NYC where I’m one of their featured acts:

AAWW Presents: The Mouth to Mouth Open Mic
Friday, May 13th
Asian American Writers’ Workshop
110-112 W. 27th Street, Suite 600
New York, NY
Sign up @ 8:30PM, Show starts @ 9:00PM
$5 suggested donation; All Ages
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=201874573182183

The show also features NYC artist Soomi Kim!

If you can’t make it to this show, be sure to be on the look out for the rest (more info to come as the show gets closer):

5/20 (Friday) – Family Style Open Mic @ Asian Arts Initiative – Philadelphia, PA
5/21 (Saturday) – FISDU Spring Coffee House – Drexel University
5/25 (Wednesday) – LIVE @ THE BITTER END!
6/15 (Wednesday) – Googie’s Lounge w/ Cynthia Lin – NYC

That’s all for now. See you soon!