Brandon Jay
The Influence of Songwriting on Literature, May 4th, 5:00 – 6:00pm, Mt. View Mausoleum
Brandon Jay has been playing drums since he can remember. His mother would lay out pots and pans and other household items for him to bang on – similar items can be found in his percussion basket today! A giant comb, a bicycle wheel, a couple slide whistles, too. Having been the heart and soul of many bands through the years (Lutefisk, Miss Spiritual Tramp, The 88), his piano playing led him to begin writing and ultimately front the circus-like Quazar and the Bamboozled. Shortly after he and Gwendolyn Sanford met, they took silly up a notch and began writing and producing music for preschoolers known to many as Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang. The Good Time Gang pioneered the tot rock music scene in Los Angeles and ironically, led Jay/Sanford to compose the score for the popular Showtime series Weeds. Weeds led to harder stuff (namely prison) in the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black.
Recently, Jay/Sanford started booking a free all ages music series featuring many San Gabriel Valley based artists at the Aztec Hotel in Monrovia. Quazar and the Bamboozled will be playing there 5/18.
When not in the studio making music or performing live, Jay enjoys listening to the ringing in his ears.