MP3 Self-Titled - ROCK: Classic Rock

An eclectic mix of rock styles guaranteed to have something to please every musical taste.

9 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Classic Rock, BLUES: Rockin' Blues



Details:
G-Jay is a four-piece rock group based in Cheongju, South Korea. The band is made up of a Scotsman, Tony Boyd, on bass, and three Canadians, Ike MacDonald on lead guitar and vocals, Caleb McIvor on rhythm guitar and vocals and Ryan Paulsen on drums.

The band got together progressively, with Ike and Caleb knowing each other and playing together for years before coming to Korea. Once in Cheongju, they met up with Ryan and started jamming at a local live music bar. Soon afterwards, Jeff Bowers (another Canadian) joined on bass for a few shows, but time restrictions forced him to leave the band. The final line-up was established a few weeks later when Tony got back from a holiday in his native land and completed the best rhythm section in Korea.

After playing shows and building a solid fan base among the locals and foreigners in Cheongju, G-Jay entered the 2006 Seoul Railart Music Competition, which called for an original submission. This was the motivation the band needed to focus their energy on songwriting, with two songs coming out of the initial sessions, Nowhere to Go and To Yuri. The latter was chosen as their entry for the contest, and after three rounds of judging and two performances at different venues in Seoul, G-Jay was awarded third place.

Following this, G-Jay continued to focus on writing more original songs, all while rocking venues in different parts of Seoul and Cheongju.

The 9 songs on this album are a very eclectic mix, ranging from light pop numbers to straight-up rock to bar blues tracks, and about everything in between. They are also a mix of individual and collaborative efforts, with some being songs written entirely by either Ike or Caleb, and others being group efforts where everyone had a hand in the evolution of the song.

The recording process was as bare-bones as it can get, with the entirety of the album being recorded, mixed and mastered on Tony's computer by Tony himself, the drums being recorded at Pearl Jam bar in Cheongju, and the remainder of the tracks recorded in semi-isolation in Tony's one-room apartment.

Despite the lack of flashy recording, or maybe partly because of it, the final product was one that the band was and is extremely proud of, with rich and full sounds that belie the recording's humble settings.