Bio
Jay Formicola
Blues to Avant Garde Rocker
Jay Formicola
BLUES TO AVANT GARDE ROCKER
Jay Formicola hails from Rochester, New York. He started playing guitar at age 15 and began playing music professionally at age 16. From his start in wedding bands, he moved on to playing in Rochester New York’s burgeoning punk new wave scene. Through the 80s and 90s Jay could be found fronting many incarnations of his original rock bands under the aka Jason Lunaire. He churned out everything from Punk, Avant Garde, Progressive and Blues Rock often blurring the lines between genres. Some bands that Jay led or worked in included: “Y”, 2nd Division, Virgin Headset, Curb Life, Voodoo Tulips, Swollen, and the Blues Unit among others.
In 1987 Jay produced and released a solo album for Dresser Records. “The Howl” titled “A Handshake And a Kiss” which had some success in the dance clubs in Europe with the song “Red is Red”.
Jay had always loved roots blues music. From a young age he immersed himself in the acoustic blues music of the Mississippi delta and the Chicago electric blues. In 1998 after taking a break from the original rock scene, he began playing solo acoustic and duo gigs around the Rochester area BBQ’ and juke joints. He met many of the local blues cats and began to sit in at local jam sessions. Soon he was fronting his own blues band “Jay Formicola and the Hell Hounds”.
Jay released a highly regarded blues album titled “The Blues Never Felt So Good” in 2005.
Jay took a break from live performing in 2010, continuing to write and record. 2022 saw Jay's return to the stage backing darkwave maven Sapphira Vee on her world tour. He is also working on an upcoming release of all new music! Stay Tuned!
This site is dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Jay’s past and present work.