A direct descendent of John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Big J went through life enduring the mockery of modern day Jeffersonians who believe John Jay sold out his country by negotiating an unfavorable treaty with England following the Revolution. Tiring of the battle cry “damn John Jay, damn anyone who won’t burn a candle all night damning John Jay,” he officially dropped the “-ay” from his last name in 1996 to distance himself from the Jay legacy.
During Stone Carnival’s early years, Big J was best known for wearing outrageous stage attire that called to mind a gay pirate. Unlike typical bass players who tend to fade into the background, Big J was a fan favorite focused on entertaining the crowd, so much so that he would sometimes drop out and stop playing his instrument altogether. Though this would be a problem for most bands, Stone Carnival in fact exploited this quirk to its advantage by becoming one of the only bands ever to feature two bass players simultaneously.
When Stone Carnival broke up, Big J sided with Paul K. in his dispute with Berry Dale. After playing bass and singing background vocals on Paul K.’s solo album, Big J opened a pet store specializing in rare birds, mostly parrots.
