Jay Lewis (musician)

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James "Jay" Lewis is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Huyton, Liverpool. He is best known as the frontman of Liverpool band Cracatilla and current guitarist with the Zutons also bassist for the band Cast, and as lead guitarist during comeback shows for seminal Liverpool group The La's.

Cracatilla[edit]

Lewis first came to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist in Cracatilla, a trio he had formed with school friend Dave Penswick on bass and neighbor Louis Fitzpatrick on drums. Named after Lewis' mishearing of the volcano Krakatoa, the band released their debut single "What Do I Know" in August 2002.[1] This was followed by the double A-side "You've Got It All"/"Everyman" on 2 June 2003.[2]

The La's[edit]

After announcing they were reuniting for performances at Summer Sonic Festival in Japan,[3] on 24 March 2005, The La's confirmed their first U.K. shows in over a decade with a new line-up consisting of original members Lee Mavers and John Power, with Lewis on lead guitar and Nick Miniski on drums.[4] While the sets were mostly similar to the band's shows in the late Eighties until 1991 by drawing heavily from their sole full-length album, these shows were also notable for including three unreleased songs, "I Am the Key", "Gimme the Blues" and "Sorry".[5] Besides headlining shows in the U.K., Ireland and Japan, the band also played at festivals including Glastonbury and Oxegen. The La's final shows took place at V Festival in Chelmsford[6] and Stafford on 20 and 21 August 2005.

John Power[edit]

Following their stint together in The La's, Lewis would become a frequent collaborative partner of John Power in the studio and for live shows, both as part of a backing band and as an acoustic duo. He played slide guitar and bass on Power's third solo album, 2008's Stormbreaker,[7] and is featured on The Mariner Sessions, one of the four discs in Power's The Complete Studio Recordings: 2002-2015 box set released in 2015.[8]

Cast[edit]

After bassist Pete Wilkinson abruptly left a Cast tour in December 2014, Lewis was brought in to finish the remainder of the dates.[9] When it emerged that Wilkinson had left the band altogether, Lewis became the band's new permanent bassist.[10] He is featured on the band's sixth album, 2017's Kicking Up the Dust, contributing bass, backing vocals, organ and Fender Rhodes.

The Zutons[edit]

Lewis was recruited to play bass for The Zutons' 2019 reunion tour[11] to mark the 15th anniversary of their debut album Who Killed...... The Zutons?[12] in place of Russell Pritchard who could not participate with the other members of the band's original line-up due to his commitments as part of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.[13]

Solo work[edit]

Lewis released his solo debut album Back to the Fountain in 2012[14] and he is currently working on his second album. Jays second album Waiting for the World released 2022 via www.labelrecords.co.uk

Influences[edit]

Lewis is a fan of Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Pink Floyd, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, The Raconteurs, Dr. Dre, Captain Beefheart, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, The Doors, Bob Marley, John Williams and Nick Drake.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Cracatilla New Single out June 2nd 2003". Glasswerk Magazine. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  2. ^ Ong, Seph (23 June 2003). "Cracatilla - You've Got it All/Everyman". Glasswerk Magazine. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  3. ^ NME (21 March 2005). "LA'S BROADCAST?". NME. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  4. ^ NME (24 March 2005). "THE LA'S RETURN!". NME. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  5. ^ Porter, Tom (23 April 2009). "The La's recruit Babyshambles for second album". Music Radar. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  6. ^ NME (20 August 2005). "The La's bring out the sun". NME. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  7. ^ Courtney, Kevin (25 January 2008). "The latest CD releases reviewed". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  8. ^ Demon Music Group (2015). "John Power: The Complete Studio Recordings 2002-2015". Demon Music Group. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  9. ^ Cast (12 December 2014). "Pete had to leave the tour after Hull gig for personal reasons and Keith is back on drums after tomorrow. Jay Lewis will be playing Bass". Twitter. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  10. ^ Wyatt, Malcolm (2015). "The change is Cast (in stone) – John Power through the Looking Glass". writewyattuk. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  11. ^ The Zutons [@thezutonsofficial]. (2019, March 23). Photograph of Russell Pritchard and Jay Lewis [Instagram post]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BvWXJ6kAoc7/
  12. ^ Earls, John (28 November 2018). "The Zutons are back for a UK tour after a nine-year break". NME. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  13. ^ Pritchard, R. (2018, November 28) Just to clarify the situation. I’m not gonna be doing @ZutonsThe reunion. I love all of the band and will always cherish the memories we made together. Can’t wait to see the band live, the gigs will be amazing for sure! X [Tweet] Retrieved from https://twitter.com/RussBassRuss/status/1067495498037239808
  14. ^ Lewis, Richard (21 April 2012). "Jay Lewis - Back to the Fountain CD". Penny Black Music. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  15. ^ Muddy Wolf Records. "James "Jay" Lewis A.K.A. muddywolf". Muddy Wolf Records. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
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