James Andrew Carlin was born in Omaha, Nebraska. The son of James Carlin, an Air Force officer, and Linnea Claussen, he discovered the appeal of travel at a young age. By the time he was 14, Jay, his parents, and his younger sister Krista had lived in half a dozen different states, in addition to spending two years in Seoul, South Korea. He attended his eighth school, Rochester High School in Rochester, Michigan, for a full four years. It was here that Jay first began to excel in music.
Beginning with a drum set and acoustic guitar in 7th grade, Jay became obsessed with all things musical. While studying under Detroit-area Drummer Joe Chila (www.jcdrums.com) and Guitarist Bryan Connolly (www.connollyguitarstudios.com), Jay was also active in the Rochester High School music program. He performed in the concert bands, symphonic winds, musical theater, jazz band, and marching band under the direction of August Thoma. For his 16th birthday, he received a Tascam 4 track cassette recorder, which sparked a fascination with recording.
After graduating high school in June of 2000, Jay pursued a Music Education degree, first at Oakland University prior to transferring to Troy University in Troy, Alabama. During college, Jay studied private percussion with Dan Maslanka at Oakland and with Jason Smith and Bryden Atwater at Troy. Jay credits his solid pedagogical training to the guidance of the John M. Long faculty at Troy University, particularly music education coordinator and mentor Dr. Diane Orlofsky. Further, he studied arranging with Alfred/Belwin arranger and Sound of the South director Ralph Ford and composition with Dr. Carl Vollrath. During college, Jay became fascinated with ethnomusicology, devouring books on the subject and assembling an impressive collection of instruments from around the world, including various Bateria/Samba drums, an Indian sitar and set of tabla, a Turkish oud and darbuka, a set of double second steel pans, bagpipes, and an accordion.
Upon graduating from Troy University in 2006, Jay accepted a teaching position at East Mountain High School in Sandia Park, New Mexico, where he instructed both a beginning and an advanced World Percussion Ensemble, Class Guitar, Music History and Appreciation, Music Industry and the Recording Arts, Ballroom Dance, and Introduction to Theater. During his time at EMHS, all of the curriculum and the majority of the ensemble pieces were created or arranged by him. By the time he departed in 2008, Jay had helped develop, teach, and organize about a dozen performances, many of them benefit concerts. He created a diverse portfolio of percussion ensemble arrangements and compositions. Jay also organized three out-of-state student tours to the Percussive Arts Society International Convention: twice to Austin, Texas, in 2006 and 2008 and to Columbus, Ohio, in 2007.
In early 2009, Jay reconnected with Shay Watson, a Nashville-based songwriter and producer he had met during a songwriting workshop in 2006. In February, Shay invited Jay to join him and his business partner Joe Nash in Nashville to assist them with concert booking, studio production, and website development for their newly formed songwriting duo Watson & Nash. Jay has production credits on Watson & Nash’s album “Mile Markers” (www.watsonandnash.com), as well as a songwriting credit for Kristine Rommel’s hit “Falling Into You” (www.kristinerommel.com). Jay maintains active professional memberships in the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). Jay departed Nashville in late May 2010 with the intention of moving to Mussoorie, India, in July to teach music at Woodstock School. However, due to issues with obtaining a visa, his course was altered yet again. In June 2010, Jay was admitted to the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas in Austin.
Jay currently lives in Austin, Texas, and is studying Music and Human Learning at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to recording and performing original music, he works at Starbucks and teaches music lessons to orphan and foster children.