Jay Souza has been carrying around those lonesome songs inside his heart since his mom — whose great-great-grandfather was first cousin to Irish poet William Butler Yeats — sent him a present of three cassettes that he played incessantly — Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond and the Carpenters.
The Boston-born singer-songwriter, who has lived in L.A. since 1990, has exhibited qualities of all three in his music, first in his band 50 Cent Haircut, and now alongside the same musicians in Patrolled by Radar (guitarists Bosco Sheff and Bryan “BC” Coulter and bassist Bryan “Reno” Stone), with a timeless, narrative style that takes its cue from classic Americana roots: equal parts folk, rock, country, blues and soul. Their Knitting Factory debut, Be Happy, will sit comfortably in your collection alongside such contemporary acts as Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers.
Their first video is their take on the whimsical psychedelic folk of the Babar the Elephant-inspired “Pachyderm.”
