Road Dogma Blog

I suggest you watch this video first. It’s my postcard to Canada and ALL OF YOU! THANK YOU! I sincerely wish you all a HAPPY HOLIDAYS. For the million people I simply didn’t mention in this letter – please forgive me – it was all stream of conscious writing and I couldn’t deal with revising… Continue reading

In Memory of Jean Beliveau For those of you who’ve been my shows you’ll already know about my parents Madeline and John who are still going strong at 88 and 93 up in the Soo. You’ll also know that they had 8 children who are all in some way or another ‘a bunch of hams’… Continue reading

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I wrote this song for my father – John Aymar who served the entirety of WW2. We spoke this afternoon and he told me a few things about those years overseas. He did his basic training in Halifax and then applied to be in the air force. They put him through the educational tests, the… Continue reading

A musical acquaintance of nearly twenty years ago friend requested me today. It was the strangest thing as for some reason, only a few days ago I was reminiscing about a studio session he’d helped me with. I’m glad he’s survived the battle – that raging battle to live clean. He was (and thankfully still… Continue reading

I stared out my window last night to see the super moon. There it was, climbing above Big Chief –  the mountain face looming over us in this quiet little neighbourhood in Squamish BC. The air is very still here. There are no bugs. There is great party happening two houses down. I can hear… Continue reading

Hi friends, this is a few weeks late in coming but I’ve attached our Western Canada Summer Tour dates. The TUNE OUT, TURN OFF, DROP BY tour (we have t-shirts to prove it!) will be rolling through Alberta and BC over the next four weeks. Please pass this along to your friends. It helps. I’ll… Continue reading

I sat down with Paul Mills ‘The man on the other side of  the glass’. We discussed his engineering days, his lifelong commitment to music as an accomplished ‘Travis Style’ guitar picker,  producer, engineer and overall champion of the Canadian folk music scene. Beneath his humble nature and soft-spoken demenour lies a fierce passion for… Continue reading

YOU TELL ME: EPISODE #2, with Richard Flohil (02/04/14) Welcome to the second installment of “YOU TELL ME”. I assured you some interesting stories and this one really delivers. My friend and publicist Richard Flohil graciously agreed to discuss his life in the Canadian music industry. We sat down for a few hours in his… Continue reading

Hello friends, last year I had a wave of inspiration as I did the twelve hour drive eastbound along the north shore of Lake Superior, likely humming Homeward Bound. I realized that we were in danger of losing so many stories I’d heard on my recent tour. Your stories. You: the artist, musician, venue owner,… Continue reading

I was in the middle of my great Walden Pond experiment when I looked out the cabin window and saw a rabbit bouncing around in the snow.  I could see my reflection in the frost covered window while the pot belly stove crackled away in the background. My mind wandered into the great unknown areas… Continue reading

It never ceases to amaze me where we can find time to squeeze in our little creative ramblings. I’m writing to you from my dermatologists waiting room in the heart of Scarborough, ON.  Just to reinforce the Rob Ford stereotypes of our great city, upon arriving at Dr. Adams office I was greeted by six… Continue reading

Hi friends, this is not your typical ROAD STORIES BLOG. This is my first sales come-on out of 65+ blogs (so please forgive me – lol) Just a quick reminder that if you’re planning on giving the gift of music over the holidays, why not support an independent musician? Aymar could use the love, and… Continue reading

Where do Crows fly? I don’t know, go ask Crow. I’m always flummoxed at how the songs that took the least time to write have become the most requested and popular ones in my catalogue. After writing the song ‘Crow’ in approximately thirty minutes, I quickly performed it live and it made its way onto… Continue reading

“I was conceived in the summer of love a little bundle of joy sent down from above and while a half a million hippies left Yasgur with some trash I was rockin’ in the cradle to the sweet Johnny Cash” This is from my song ‘Seriously Delirious’ which I put out in 2011 on the… Continue reading

Yesterday was one of those very rare Sunday’s where we sat and watched an all-day YouTube movie marathon. A beautiful sunny afternoon in Windsor Ontario was met with a plethora of options. Sure we could hit Balloonapalooza down on the waterfront but you know how that goes: overpriced water, long line-ups, too many frustrated parents,… Continue reading

Canada Day and Bruno and the Sisters of Ursuline became a quick fading memory. It all went off without a hitch and they want to bring me back next year. Hmmm Canada Day in Bruno every year? We’ll see how it goes. Great folks to be sure. As they do every year a parade of … Continue reading

As I write this, I’m staring at a small plastic crucifix affixed to a concrete wall at the end of my single bed. To the left of me, the other single bed is occupied by my two guitars and one gym bag. To the right of my bed is a white concrete wall with a… Continue reading

Today, I am reminded of how fortunate and blessed we are living in Canada during peaceful times. Today is International Holocaust Day today and we should all give pause and prayers. I was fourteen years old when I discovered my oldest brothers University text books in our basement bedroom bookshelf. Wedged between Aristotle and Plato… Continue reading

(I have so much to write about this morning but simply don’t have the time as I’m on tour. Expect a mini War and Peace on Stompin Tom on Wednesday when I return. By then, the dust will have settled and those who are genuinely interested will be rewarded my top five stories of how… Continue reading

It was one song into their set and I realized that my union card stating I was a member of the American Federation of Musicians was invalid. Me? A musician? After watching the Slocan Ramblers lay down some unbelievable bluegrass on Thursday night, I concluded the ‘Musician’ part of the equation be left for guys… Continue reading

  HOW TO BE A TROUBADOUR How did February sneak up on us like this? It seems like only yesterday I was maxing out credit cards to help finance yuletide logs, books, socks, wine, whiskey and fancy two-for-one gifts like concert DVD’s and assorted ‘sleep wear’ for a girl who shall remain nameless. Oh this… Continue reading

I’ll be touring through a town near you this year with my new CD ‘OVERTIME’.  Here a sample of what you’ll be hearing from the latest album.  “Your Sad and Lonely Heart”.  See you soon.  Jay Continue reading

I Really Don’t Remember I released this song on my 2011 CD Passing Through. The title suggests the Canadian ‘white mans’  collective amnesia and outlines the main problem (in my humble opinion) on the subject of aboriginal affairs: open and frank discourse. In this story, the narrator participates in a Canadian studies course where a… Continue reading

Hello everyone, I hope you all have a great holiday season.  It was a great year of touring, writing, performing and a true pleasure meeting new friends and fans and reconnecting with old ones. Believe it or not you’ve all contributed so much to these songs as your stories have found their way into my… Continue reading

Go West Young Man… Happy Easter everyone! Well, my break is officially over. I’ve had a few days off to chill out with family and friends over the past few days, and now I’m ready to take my solo 2012 tour through Western Canada. You can expect over 60 original songs and about 10 new… Continue reading

It was just another pre-show Saturday night as I drove through suburbia to find the house I’d performed at two years ago. I was in Georgetown. The streets were very quiet. The hosts of the house concert series had invited me back for another concert, outside of the formal Home Routes Series they are a… Continue reading

Life has a funny way of sneaking up you when you least expect it. Sometimes it’s a friendly tap on the shoulder just to remind you of how good you have it. Other times, it bites you in the ass and says ‘hey pal, you lucky son of a bitch, stop complaining, get out there… Continue reading

Alright, alright…I’ve been AWOL all week and have been fielding emails about my vanishing act. I guess this is encouraging. Blogging! Hmmm….Quite the commitment once you get going. I’ve had hate mail galore. The Don Cherry debate sparked controversy beyond my wildest imagination. He is equally reviled and loved and there seems to be no… Continue reading