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"Last Man Standing" is a blues-infused spiritual journey through Miley's musical mind, and what a great trip it is. (A-)

Devin Grant

The Post and Courier

"Last Man Standing" is tasteful and simple, as clear and straightforward as a Carolina morning.

Fernando Rivas

The City Paper

Jay Miley

Still Standing

                Every now and then a new artist will emerge with a certain sound or look that catches the public’s eye, and soon you have a hundred copycats cashing in on the latest trend. When that trend has run its course, record executives start scrambling to find the next big thing. During the lulls in-between, music without the flash or glitz seems to make a huge comeback. Fact is, that music never really goes out of style. Music that is real and performed with heart and soul will always be in vogue. That’s why Jay Miley has been able to make a living for over twenty years in the music business. His energy onstage is contagious and makes for great family entertainment at festivals, songwriting venues and restaurants throughout the Southeast.

            Born and raised in the low-country of South Carolina, Jay seemed destined to be a fourth generation farmer. His family lived on a plantation near the Ace Basin (between Charleston and Beaufort) where his father worked. Jay knew how to drive a tractor at the age of eight and was baling hay with the big boys by ten. He had to drive 30 miles just to get to school. When he was a teenager, Jay got a job at the closest gas station (still 12 miles from home), and picked up the guitar in his off-time. He progressed quickly and was a working musician by the age of 16. Club owners would sneak him in, even though he was under-age, just to hear him play.

            When he was old enough to leave home, Jay moved to Charleston with dreams of making music for a living. After being in several groups he decided to form his own band, and from there things started happening. He performed throughout the tri-state area with a bluesy trio known as The Jay Miley Band. They built quite a following and released a CD of original material entitled Shelter. Critics loved the project and hailed Jay as the next Stevie Ray Vaughn. Airplay on a dozen radio stations helped to push the band even further. Then between grunge and the Hootie craze, the band lost momentum and went their separate ways.

            Jay moved to North Carolina where he found work as a hired gun and picked up various solo acoustic gigs. He developed a love for recording and started working as a freelance engineer in several area studios. His reputation grew not only as a great session player and engineer, but as a producer and arranger as well. The owner of Charleston Recording Studios (where he recorded Shelter years earlier) heard of Jay’s newfound talent and offered him a chance to move back home and work at his place. Jay had recently acquired a new family and saw this as an opportunity to get off the road and put down roots. After six months he bought out both partners and was the sole owner of Charleston Recording Studios. 

            Jay developed a style in the studio that keeps him in demand. His ability to get a big sound from real instruments (like a full drum set or a nice acoustic guitar) constantly keeps his projects in the news. He has worked with Grammy Award winners David Holt and Fernando Rivas and has done voice-over projects with Golden Globe winners Tom Berenger and Donald Sutherland. His reputation as a guitarist won him a spot on the Major League 3 soundtrack doing a version of Santana’s “Oye Como Va” on classical guitar. The music director liked working with Jay so much he got him a spot in the movie’s bar scene playing in the background. His work with the Frank Carlier Band receives glowing reviews all over the world. The western swing group Swing Soup was nominated for several awards and had airplay on numerous radio stations. His guitar and production work on the humbles “Firewall” was voted CD of the year by Charleston’s Free Time magazine.

            Jay’s love for playing live never diminished and he manages to perform at least three times a week. His creative juices flow now more than ever. The recently released CD LAST MAN STANDING is proof positive that Jay is a man on a mission. This acoustic project (only the Hammond B3 organ was plugged in) has eleven songs that rock. Jay not only recorded and produced it, but played the resonator, classical guitar, acoustic guitar, fretless bass, percussion and vocals. Rodney Stone (bassist from the Jay Miley Band) had upright bass duty and provided back ground vocals. Frank Cothran displayed his talents on drums and percussion, and Nashville Symphony cellist Matt Walker lent his skills on strings.  Longtime friend Frank Carlier showed his mandolin chops on the ballad “My Heart Don’t Feel Like Runnin’ No More.” Others include Bill Nance on piano and organ, and the sweet sound of vocalist Carol O’Quinn. A gospel choir helped on the tune “What A Time” showing the influences of the rural AME churches Jay went to as a kid.

            What stands out most about LAST MAN STANDING is that all the songs are real. Each song has a story to tell, each instrument has its place, and each note is played with feeling.  Jay includes three songs from other projects he has worked with in the past. “Mother Mary” was on the Shelter CD. This revamped version is what he says he envisioned when he wrote the song years ago. Another is “Gospel Tent” written by famed songwriter Michael Reno Harrell (Michael won best songwriter at Merlefest in 2003). Jay and Michael worked together on Mike’s Southern Son CD, and when Jay heard that song, he fell in love with it instantly. Paul Allen contributed the song “Sweet and Wild” originally released on the CD The Man With The Hardest Belly (Paul is a Pulitzer prize winning poet that teaches at the College of Charleston).

            “Glory Train” begins LAST MAN STANDING with a screaming resonator track. It’s amazing how much sound can come from three people. Then again songs like “Daisy Jane” (written about Jay’s daughter Jana), “Rockin’ Chair” and the bluesy “Boneyard” feature one man - one resonator - and one voice. That’s called keepin’ it real. There is no flash or glitz on LAST MAN STANDING. No fancy footwork or laser light shows; just music strait from the heart and played with a truckload of soul. It’s no wonder Jay Miley is still standing after all these years.