Jay Jo.-

Jay J began playing drums at 3 years of age, schooled by his performer father in their home. Upon entering high school, Jay immediately took the Percussion Captain title for his Alma Mater, leading both the competitive marching and indoor drum lines through four consecutive, award-winning seasons, as well as being the featured performer for the jazz, concert, chorus and show bands. In 1992, Jay auditioned for and was offered to perform with The Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps for their Planet Earth series of shows that was to tour the United States. Jay achieved district, regional and state level band acceptance during his Junior and Senior years of high school before being approached by the United States Marine Corps to become part of The Marines Corps “President’s Own”. After exiting the Corps honorably in 1998, Jay began teaching locally in Beaufort, South Carolina to a select group of private students before joining the staff of Youth Education in the Arts (Cadets, Crossmen, Magic of Orlando) for the 1999 DCI World Championships Tour. Before heading off, he acted in the award-winning movie “Rules Of Engagement”, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. After the tour, Jay relocated back to his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he honed his showmanship talents in ""The Cover Band Capital of the Country"" by co-founding and/or performing with some of the most popular and highly respected bands and shows to dominate the region in almost 15 years. Performing to packed venues 5 nights a week also garnished Jay various endorsements, including Zildjian Cymbals. During this time, Jay also joined the instructional and sales staff of George's Music Stores, Inc. His devotion to his craft helped him attain not only the top students in the region, but also various awards and recognitions for drum and percussion sales for the entire national company. As a regular clinician, Jay even once surpassed drumming legend Terry Bozzio's attendance numbers for a clinic. Jay then branched out and continued his love of drum corps by instructing for myriad high school drumlines, including The Ridley High School Raiders, who achieved the coveted High Percussion, High Visual and High Music Composition awards... all during the same competitive season that Jay and his select staff were contracted. Just as well, Ridley placed