Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jay Bales. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jay, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I was born and raised in a small town in Indiana. Where dreams were frowned upon. It was a “waste of time” pipeline dream people said. But, I knew my mind was made up and I wanted accomplish things outside of my small town. So I decided form a band from the ground up. I went out and looked for other people that loved the craft just as much as I did. It seemed fairly easy to find people that wanted to be apart of this project with me. The real issues were within the dedication of the other members. I had a hard time finding band members to match the vibe and dedication that I have put in. Nobody really believed in me besides my friends. While everybody was out partying with their friends, I was absolutely head over heels in love with music. I didn’t believe the critiques from other people. I kept my mind balanced and focused on many small goals to reach bigger goals. God willing, I wanted to accomplish things that was unheard of in our little small town of 15K people.
I entered one of our songs into a nationwide contest online for Marvel’s “Punisher Warzone” movie which was being released through LionsGate. 5000 bands entered this contest and submitted their music. The winner got their music in the movie and on the soundtrack. We got a call from LionsGate! We WON! The town swarmed around us with support. Radio stations, billboards, newspapers. magazines, show opportunities, etc. This happened literally overnight. Eventually that lead to us having our music in 3 other motions pictures. Belief in yourself is so important. But, it’s so much harder to believe in yourself whenever nobody else believes in you. I didn’t just have a dream, I had a vision and created it. We got to play a show in Indianapolis, Indiana in front of 10,000 people. The band eventually moved to California, got signed, played legendary venues like The Whisky A go-go, The House of Blues, and many other legendary amazing venues. I look back now and I still remember those times when I wanted to give up and just maybe do something else. But, my heart wouldn’t let me. Will power and belief are so important in any success story. You have to fail HUNDREDS of times to finally succeed.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I got into the music industry because I really loved everything about. It was my element, and my place of peace. The place I could go to to get away from all the negativities in my life. Eventually I started to lean on music. For my good days and bad. I went from being in a national band, to a music producer and artist development. Truthfully, the artist’s music NEEDS to matter. It has to belong to you in everyway. So I search for people who remind me of myself. Because whenever I was younger and playing music, there was nobody like me. There were musicians but, not many that I met saw/heard/felt music the way that I did. I now develop and produce artists successfully. Once again, self belief got me to the places I needed to be.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building a social media following in 2024 is very difficult. You have to be able to offer the masses something that nobody can do for them. Significantly yourself. You have to stand amongst the millions of other people out there that are trying to do the exact same thing as you. I would recommend sharing your product. Giving free samples to people. Creating business cards with QR codes on them and passing them out. If you sell online, with every order give them a business card with EVERY package. Tell the world about your product. Be proud of it and believe that everybody can try to mimic your product but, YOU ARE THE ORIGINAL.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
In the music industry there are a lot of people that will take advantage of your vulnerabilities. With the good, there is always the bad as well. My advice is to get to know everybody that wants to get in business with you. Understand their motives. Because some people are in it for the wrong reasons.
When I was younger with a big dream I wanted to succeed so badly. I would’ve went to the end of the world to find success. A lot of people made false promises and 99% of the time it fell through. So many people in this industry make up fake stories and sometimes for no particular reason. I have trusted too many people and I have been burned one too many times. What I realized is that nobody matched the energy that I had. Band members kept falling off and moving on with life. Eventually I started doing everything on my own. THE HELL WITH THE BAND MEMBERS haha :) If you want be to successful it’s okay to have a team around you to help but, never let anyone lead you astray. Learn to do things on your own and people will come to you with interest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/7daysaway
- Instagram: @JayBalesMusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jay.bales.5
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@jaybales7da
- Other: TikTok – @JayBalesMusic Band – 7 Days Away Band – HeartVane