Hello, my name is Jay Best, and I have been playing music since I was 14 years old in 2002. I got my start recording, however, a bit earlier than that. In middle school, I produced 4 "albums" a group of friends and I made as a joke. This project was entitled "Hi-Keeba", named after a joke in Mystery Science Theater 3000. There were two musical albums, Crazy Mr. Lemon Head, and Crazy Mr. Santa Claus, as well as two prank phone call albums, Smokey D, and The Turd Burglar. The music albums used prerecorded, royalty free backing tracks or MIDI compositions with my group of friends and myself singing over them. The prank phone call albums are self-explanatory. All of these albums sold out of their limited runs of 30 (for the music) and 100 (for the pranks). This would lead to my first true songs a few years later, under a project featuring myself and a friend named Bob Mackenzie. This project was named Promiscuous Corndog. We recorded and released a 6 song EP, #1. Most of the tracks were simple, featuring only an acoustic guitar and vocals. One track, however, featured electro beats and synthesized speech. The EP was burned to 3.5" CD-R's, and we sold out of our run of 75 by marketing to kids during lunch. The sole electronic track, "Techno Taco", would be the genesis of my first (and ongoing) solo project, MNHHNGBFS. MNHHNGBFS typically features strange beats with odd samples, synthesized speech, or rarely, actual vocals. I have self-released 9 volumes of the "Use Real Sugar" series through MNHHNGBFS. During this time, I began crafting my stage presence when I joined my older brother Brandon in an alternative metal band called "Quick Ritual". We played over 60 shows all over Michigan within my time in the band. I was only 15 when I played my first bar gig with them, and this is where I fell in love with playing the bass. After Quick Ritual disbanded, I was left to my own devices for quite some time. This lack of a band to play live with led to what started off as an "open mic night terrorist duo" named Yesticles. I recruited my long time friend, Jeremy Nycholas, into Yesticles and we began showing up at random open mic nights, improvising bizarre tunes that would antagonize the audiences or tell tales of really messed up things. This led to our first two albums, which were improvised on guitar + vocals initially, with me going back to the songs once I had them memorized, adding in bass guitar and digital drum tracks, though the drums had to be played, not programmed, as none of the material had been based on a metronome and thus shifted wildly between time signatures and tempos. This version of Yesticles was soon discarded for a much more focused, predetermined brand of songwriting. We began writing the music ahead of time, and recording it properly. Yesticles albums 3-666, as a result, are MUCH better overall than the first 2. It's a night and day difference. Around the recording for Yesticles 5: Skandalkonzert, myself and Jeremy formed a band with members of infamous Detroit noise group "AIDS". This band became known as Cockhorse, and we set off right away to construct some of Detroit's most vicious and original sounding heavy riff rock music. We recorded our first LP live in the studio to amazing results. Our first album, "We Eat The Sales Tax" has been released on vinyl and digitally. It captures our exciting live sound quite strongly, and has been highlighted on many "best of Detroit Rock" lists, blogs, and podcasts. We continued on until August of 2018, when our bass player was forced to move 4 hours away, and we decided to call it quits instead of finding a replacement. We basically finished our second LP, "Ready For The Bargain Bin" before the hiatus, leaving only minor mixing and mastering to be finished. It will see release one day, the songs on it are definitely the best music I had ever written up until that point in time. Cockhorse built a strong reputation among the local Detroit DIY punk, rock & metal scene, playing various venues typically once a month. We even got to tour the midwest for the release of our first album on vinyl, which was a massive success, achieving FM airplay in Madison, WI! We have opened for big names such as Big Business, The Amino Acids, and Voivod, to name a few. We were a big draw for the annual Berzerker Festival in Detroit, playing the Masonic Temple for the festival's third year. We never had a single issue with any other bands, promoters, or venues, everyone who worked with us knew just how professional, courteous, and dedicated to our craft we are. One day soon, hopefully, Cockhorse will ride again! But until then, enjoy what is already out there. PS: Yesticles will be releasing their seventh(!) album of debauchery-based rock 'n' roll April 20th, 2019! Keep your eyes peeled!
Music is my go-to reliever of pent up stress & emotion. It gives me peace of mind when I finish writing and recording a track, something that is very difficult for me to achieve through any other means.
I just want my music to be heard. I don't care how many hear it, if I make money from it, or if I ever become hugely popular. That doesn't matter to me. I simply want to be heard.
The way the music industry works, all the way from talent being found, to the way radio airplay works, and down to the system of being paid for the hard work musicians put into their craft.
96 Tears by ? & The Mysterians!
Ween, Devo, CKY, Megadeth, Down, CoC & Alice in Chains, to name a few.
Bipolar Disorder.
To aspiring musicians: you can do this on your own without needing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars To casual listeners: music can still be fun and innovative.
Like my entire being is cumming
It's depressing and bleak. EVERYTHING can be improved. Our current landscape is bleak; grey & shitty all around for those who rock.
Amazing platform as far as I can tell from my small amount of time spent thus far. Maybe a little crazy with the need of points to upload songs. That's kind of a shitty set up, but it does force you to check out other artists and songs. That part is AWESOME
Breaking strings, band members that are never on time and aren't dedicated to their craft
I help out friends' bands in any way that I can. I make art for flyers, I help get the word out about shows, I recommend bands to people at bars who would be into their type of music. There's many, many more points I'd bring up, but I'm lazy so ..fleh
No idea. I was hoping you'd tell me! :)
Cockhorse, MNHHNGBFS, Yesticles, Trigger, The Counter Elites, The Amino Acids, The Lucid Furs