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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.
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]
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.
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]
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.
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]
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
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]
The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single "There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Badger in 1983 and Mavers joined the next year, although for most of the group's history, the frequently changing line-up revolved around the core duo of Lee Mavers and John Power along with numerous other guitarists and drummers including Paul Hemmings, John "Timmo" Timson, Peter "Cammy" Cammell, Iain Templeton, John "Boo" Byrne, Chris Sharrock, and Neil Mavers.
Cast is an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 1992 by John Power and Peter Wilkinson after Power left The La's and Wilkinson's former band Shack had split. Following early line-ups with different guitarists and drummers, Liam "Skin" Tyson (guitar) and Keith O'Neill (drums) joined Cast in 1993.
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist, known for his extensive work with Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald. He was also a founding member of the group that would later develop into the Modern Jazz Quartet.
The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2001 in Liverpool. The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne, and saxophonist Abi Harding.
L.A. Guns are an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns, Phil Lewis, Ace Von Johnson, Johnny Martin, Adam Hamilton and Shawn Duncan. The first incarnation of the group was formed by Tracii Guns and Rob Gardner in 1983 and merged with fellow Los Angeles group Hollywood Rose to form Guns N' Roses in March 1985. After only a brief tenure in that band, Guns reformed L.A. Guns with a new lineup, consisting of Paul Black, Mick Cripps, Robert Stoddard, and Nickey Alexander. Black would soon be replaced by former Girl singer Phil Lewis while former Faster Pussycat bassist Kelly Nickels was added to the group. Later, Alexander would be replaced by former W.A.S.P. drummer Steve Riley with this being known as the "classic lineup" of L.A. Guns. They achieved moderate chart success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, the group went through numerous lineup changes and failed to regain mainstream attention.
Tracy Irving Richard Ulrich, known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the supergroups Brides of Destruction and Contraband. He was also a founding member of Guns N' Roses, but left shortly afterwards and was replaced by guitarist Slash.
Lee Anthony Mavers is an English musician. Mavers was the songwriter, singer and rhythm guitarist in The La's and is best known for the song "There She Goes" from October 1988.
Michael Robert Todd or Mic Todd is the former bassist for the progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria. Upon the time of his initial departure, he had been with the band for ten years. He officially parted ways with the band in 2011.
The Stands were an English alternative rock band, formed in 2002 in Liverpool. The band was composed of singer-songwriter Howie Payne, guitarist Luke Thomson, bassist Dean Ravera and drummer Steve Pilgrim.
John Timothy Power is an Irish-English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is the frontman of the Britpop band Cast, and the bassist and backing vocalist for The La's from 1986 to 1991. Following the dissolution of Cast in 2001, Power embarked on a solo career.
Who Killed...... The Zutons? is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Zutons, released via Deltasonic on 19 April 2004. The album's last known sales are that of 581,088 as of July 2006.
The Kooks are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard, Hugh Harris and Alexis Nunez (drums).
The Bandits were an English blues rock band from Liverpool. They are most notable for the singles "Take it and Run" and "2 Step Rock", which both reached the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart.
Liam Sean "Skin" Tyson is an English guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for Cast.
Samuel Lawrence "Larry" Taylor was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis. He was the younger brother of Mel Taylor, long-time drummer of The Ventures.
Miles Peter Kane is an English singer and musician, best known as a solo artist and the co-frontman of the Last Shadow Puppets. He was also the former frontman of the Rascals, before the band announced their break-up in August 2009.
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are an English rock band formed in 2010 as the solo moniker of former Oasis songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Noel Gallagher. The touring band consists of former Oasis members Gem Archer (guitar), Mike Rowe (piano), and Chris Sharrock (drums), as well as former Zutons bassist Russell Pritchard. The band has also had a variety of guests contribute to albums such as the Crouch End Festival Chorus, Amorphous Androgynous, Johnny Marr, and Paul Weller.
Troubled Times is the fifth album by the English band Cast, released digitally on 2 November 2011. It is the first album they recorded since reuniting in 2010 for shows celebrating the 15th anniversary of their debut, All Change. It is also the last album recorded with founding bassist Pete Wilkinson, who left the band in 2014.
Kicking Up the Dust is the sixth studio album by the English band Cast, released on 21 April 2017. Produced by Al Groves, it is their first and only album recorded with bassist Jay Lewis, replacing founding member Pete Wilkinson who left the band in 2014. It also marks the return to recording for drummer Keith O'Neill, who had rejoined with the other members when the band reunited in 2010 but was absent from sessions for previous album Troubled Times due to his work as a tour manager.