Thank you so much for the interview Jay... Tell the readers about your link with Johnny Thunders?

I actually knew Johnny way back in the late 60s, when I met him on the lower east side NYC. We were both playing in all sorts of different bands, and basically the whole scene was one big jam party seven days a week. Later, my sister, Julie Jourden Genzale Thunders, married Johnny back in the 70s.

How long were they married before he left us?

They never got divorced.

It sounds like you knew Johnny well?

"Yes and no." "Even though we ran in a lot of the same circles in the late 60s and early 70s, jamming, getting high, bangin around the streets, making the scene. Back then, everyone was kind of like their own comet, making trails and connections, then moving on like the wind and a wildfire. After he married my sister, we got closer, but we were always both traveling somewhere and hustling to make it in the music business. I got to hang with him a lot though, whenever I went back to the city after I moved down to Florida in 76. He definitely was a wild man!" I've got more than a few stories on that!

Tell us about what your sister Julie. What is she doing now?

She puts on a brave face, but I think she's kind of sad deep down, there were a lot of good times out on tour, after the marriage, with lots of great memories, but she had it rough with Johnny, with all the drugs and violence. It's tragic that none of her sons except Dino and Vito speak to her. She's asked me to keep her life private for now, and I have to respect that. I can say that she's gotten involved with the church and is staying clean and sober.

That is so great to hear about Julie. How old were you when you realized that you wanted to be a musician Jay?

Around 10, I started singing in the shower and would sing for hours until the hot water ran out making up songs.

Did you grow up in a musical family?

My mother was a pretty famous jazz singer, and I actually was immersed in the early days, old school, jazz world of NYC, Philly, and California way before I ever heard one note of rock & roll.

What was the name of your first band?

"Perseverance", with Billy Mitchell, up in Woodstock, NY. Billy had a deal with Mercury Records. After the Mercury deal fell apart, the band broke up, and I formed the band "Jadean & The Jaguars, moved to Florida in 78, and renamed the band "Hott Traxx". We were doing super hot dance rock with strong latino pop/jazz mixes and blowin' it up in Tampa. That band had an all star kick ass line up of David Santos, Michael Royal, George Monrose, Liz Hollister, and Reynaldo Stefanil, former drummer from Archie Bell and the Drells. I wrote the hit "Dance, Dance, Dance, (With Me) in Hott Traxx." "David Santos went on to tour with Fogerty, CSN, and others, George Monrose played with the Outlaws, Liz Hollister with the Indigo Girls and many others, and my dear friend Michael Royal, has played with everyone from Gregg Allman to Ray Charles, Terry Plumeri (U2), on and on.








Tell us about Jay Jourden and The Mystic Waters?

Ah yes, Mystic Waters. The continuing evolution of my dream to simply help the world smile with song and music". "Mystic Waters is a blend of musicians and singers of varied backgrounds and influences, originally I named the band Healing Waters, until I found out that there was a band with that name out west somewhere, and the natural transition became Mystic Waters. I'm a Mystic and follow no religion, yet I am a spiritual being with native Cherokee heritage, and deep down inside the well of music is my base, my belief, that music itself, is the true universal connector for all of us.

Who are some of your influences?

In my early, early years, the jazz greats who my mother sang with, and who I grew up around, like Ornette Coleman, Randy Weston, Dizzy Gillespie, Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, and many more. As I grew up in California, Texas, NYC, Philly, Boston, out on American roads like Route 66, I found rock & roll, the blues, latino/jazz/bosso/pop, folk, and almost everything in between. Santana, The Band, Van Morrison, Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and so many more were and are my heroes. My influences were mainly singer/songwriters. I've always wanted to be a song man, a writer of songs.

How long did Mystic Waters stay together?

Mystic Waters flowed in different directions two years ago. We're still friends, and like I always do, I moved on and away, and I'm in the process of putting new players together in Jacksonville.

Who was in the band and what did they play?

The former members are Ekendra Dass, drums and percussion; Corwin Klein, bass; Wester Joseph, electric guitar; Linda Klein, flute and vocals; Lacy Lou, background vocals and accent rhythm sounds; and Margo Buccini, background vocals, and accent rhythm percussive sounds. We do all original songs I've written. I'm singing lead vocals, rhythm acoustic electric guitar(s), and I do the arrangements.

Do you have any releases out? Are you signed with a label?

I've been fortunate to have released two rationalized hits with this band: "Save Our Suwannee" and "The Big Cat's Back" (Jacksonville Jags).

Has the band toured?

No. We've performed in North Florida some of the summer festivals like the Annual Farm To Family Festival. We played a reunion gig, kind of, with some of us getting together at the Cinema Verde International Film Festival earlier this year.

Do you have any Internet addresses that you would like to share with us?

jayjourden.com
reverbnation.com/jayjourdenmysticwaters
torontopictures.ning.com/profile/bluejay
https://brasovfilmfestival.wordpress.com/

What is in store with yourself and the band?

I'm recording some hot new multi lingual, multi genre, song(s) for global single release in South America and Spain. I'm also a signed producer with Toronto Pictures, and am working on several film scores with them, and one of the films was just shown in Romania this month at the Brasov International Film Festival & Market. We're shooting films next year here in the US.

Describe yourself in three words?

Grateful, driven, and blessed.

Any final words for Punk Globe readers?

That's a tough/easy one. I gave up drugs and booze 24 years ago, and I truly believe that music and that decision are the two main reasons I've survived. I've found discipline I never had growing up the wildflower weed with no direction in my youth. My life as a survivor has led to some fantastic opportunities in the music biz, and today, I'm working on some amazing projects with some of the biggest names on the planet TBA soon. I also suggest to anyone looking to get into the music business purely for the fame, money, and glory, to get out before you waste your time. To truly be successful in music, forget the money, and just play the song, and you'll be fine.