Meet Jay Long: Queer Music Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jay Long and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jay, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I like to believe that a creative path chose me. Music speaks to me like no human can. The process of music making is my church, my therapy, and my meditation. When I am at a loss for words, or cannot process my own emotions, I find the mindfulness I need in making music. The career has just made sense. Doing this thing keeps purpose and excitement in my life, so how can I make sure it never stops? I know I will never stop doing it, so it seems only natural I make it my career.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Jay Long is my name both personal and stage. I am a queer artist with many talents, but my biggest passion in life is song creation. I am blessed to have a convergence of talents that lead me into artistry. I think something that contributes to me being an interesting artist is another convergence. One of identity: My father is a prominent published theologian and pastor (aka professional God/Bible nerd). I am a slightly gender-fluid queer artist. The journey to where I am now has been a wild and interesting one. I am riddled with anxieties, diagnosed Bi-Polar (type 2), ADD, and depression. I list these things because they are a big part of my musical journey and contribute largely to my identity exploration. I am now ten years away from an attempted suicide that changed my life, and my relationship with myself and my father/family. Music has allowed me to dissect and explore these things within myself in a safe, external, and even public way. Mental illness is such a challenging individual struggle that so many of us go through, and I am blessed enough to have found music in my life to help me through it. I take it as a personal job to use music to try and help others. To try and create safe spaces, communities, and moments that can be shared built around this music. My family is a massive support system to me, which is a privilege. “Coming out,” going through inpatient programs, outpatient programs, and years of recovery has not pulled us apart in the slightest. We have in fact opened ourselves to understanding more about difference, more about inclusion, and more about mental illness as a small family community. I would like the world to see the power that music has for people to heal collectively. Vibrate, create mindfulness through music, and enjoy in community built around celebrating both difference and same-ness. I like to say I have set out to change the world and will settle at nothing less. Love and community is a powerful tool we have yet to fully wield, and I would like to help do that through music and performance. I have started to call my journey and genre “Mindful Music.” I have gotten to where I am today (professionally) by quite literally never giving up. Constantly working on my craft and trying to find new ways to advance what I am doing, or what I want to do. I like to look up to those that remind me of myself but are steps ahead of me. I reach out, I witness, I support, and then I learn from them. Once I learn something, I do my best to apply it. I am very much self made and taught with many things, but there are at least a hundred people who have given me the skill set to teach myself these things…. so in short, People. Loving and respecting people. Both my violin, and my studio equipment were gifts from beautiful humans who believed in me and what I was doing. Music has quite literally been a gift to me from people. Lessons I have learned along the way: -Be patient with yourself -You can break your personal deadlines. It is not a race. -Wherever you are in your journey, there is someone watching and saying to themselves “I cannot WAIT to be there,” so keep going. -Love the people who love you -Be intentional with how you use your heart and mind. -The only way to do it, is to do it. -Support the people you look up to -Jealousy can be poisonous. -You are only trying to be the best YOU you can be. Be weary of constant comparison. -The only constant thing in life is change

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There is a bustling underground scene of Queer artists in our city, and many places that they perform! I would do my best to catch a show at one of the following places: The Mint, Troubador, Federal Bar, Redline, Precinct, Akbar, Faultline, or out in WeHo. If we are to have a casual afternoon brunch my favorite spot in all of LA is “Home” in Los Feliz. It always feels intimate and, well, homie. I live in East Hollywood and I always love to bring my friends down Hollywood blvd, and a hike up to Griffith Observatory (especially if my friends are first-time tourists). If we are to do any shopping, Santee Alley and the plant district are a must! I used to be a member of the Gay Mens Chorus of Los Angeles, and through this community I have made many lgbtq friends who are artists and entrepreneurs. Catching a show, or getting to a pop-up shop is always a great way to support local folks.The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to “BaexJing” a creative partner and Drag Queen friend of mine (insta: @remotekai and @baexjing) and Josh Hallman, a musician, long time collaborator, and community activist (@silverlake_fruit_bandit and @silverlaketrashbandits)

Website: worldwidevibetribe.com

Instagram: @jaylongofficial

Youtube: youtube.com/jaylong

Other: Alllll my links and info: https://linktr.ee/jaylongofficial

Image Credits
Elliot London