I started playing as a kid and just didn’t stop. As a teenager I was playing in bands at school. Where I come from, in Philadelphia, jazz was a big way to make money, so I played in a lot of jazz trios and stuff like that, and eventually, as I earned more, I could give more attention to the rock stuff that I loved. KM: We know that you’ve got a Vox AC30CC2X, so was that purchase inspired by seeing classic artists use Vox amps?
I’m a huge Beatles fan and I remember the Vox name from the fi rst day I saw them playing with one in the Hard Day’s Night movie. It’s a bit of a romantic thing too… but what I will say is that it totally lives up to my image of it as a surprisingly powerful amplifier with a great sound.
I was playing through a lot of amplifi ers, and there was a warmth missing from my sound. We use so many different tones: I can go from pretty stark guitar to these other things that sound almost like keyboard whistle. We needed an amp that would retain all those sounds, that would keep me in those frequencies at a loud level, but with some warmth there too. With the AC30CC2X we were still able to keep the sound warm, even with all the screechy stuff.
It’s certainly made my life a lot easier. I never have to worry about what to tweak on the amp, or about adding EQ; it means I can concentrate on my pedals and all the variables. I let them be my problem and not the amp.
I haven’t done much with the guys in the studio, although I have worked on the recordings of the B-sides. It’s totally different from the live set-up; how you record stuff is totally different from how you perform it live. A lot of the time we want to recreate on stage a sound that we created in the studio, and vice versa, and it’s actually impossible to retain that vibe and that emotional content when you take it from one context to the other. You can make much bolder statements when you’re recording, even if you’re being subtle. You can take a subtle sound and it retains a lot of power when it’s being recorded.
The Kasabian sound is always changing, and you can hear that there is quite a style leap between the first and second albums. We’re shameless about chameleonisation; we’re not afraid to offer something new. We also never underestimate the intelligence of our audience, and we know they are open-minded and accepting of change.
When I joined the band, I knew that there was a certain sonic quality that needed to be retained and represented, and those first rehearsals in Rutland pretty much involved me fitting in with the band and replicating the sound that was on the record. But there’s no one style you can maintain, it’s always changing, and luckily our fans have always welcomed change and growth.
I was playing bass in another band, Mad Action, in the US (I’m originally from Philadelphia) with friends I grew up with. We were pushing a record in the UK and doing a tour, and we played alongside Kasabian, before they were big. We made friends with Serge and Tom, and stayed in close contact.
We were all musically involved with each other, but as far as stepping into that position goes, nothing had already happened when Chris decided to go off and do
his own thing. When he left, I think I was the fi rst one on the list!
I got the call from Serge at 4am in the morning, he was on the farm, and he basically said “Can you be here tomorrow?” This was just as Empire was coming out, so we went straight into rehearsals, doing recordings for B-sides, doing mixing and stuff like that.
Serge is pretty much always the main songwriter, and he’s compiling ideas at the moment while we’re building a new studio. Usually he’ll come in with a tune and we’ll pile ideas on top. The seedlings come from Serge, but as we live with the songs, and play them together, acoustically or otherwise, they’ll gradually develop. On the other hand, sometimes we will go round to Serge’s and the song’s pretty much already done, so I’ll maybe come up with guitar bits here and there, and then in the studio we will build it up, but as far as colour is concerned, that song is Serge’s.
I’m really blessed. Kasabian fans are, it’s pretty safe to generalise here, cool people, and they just get the music. We’re hard-working guys, we love the music and as long as you’re honest about that, then anyone who’s got a heart just gets it.
Heroes
Kasabian - Tom Meighan, Serge Pizzorno, Chris Edwards, Ian Matthews.
Jay Mehler Fans's Details
Status:
In a Relationship
Orientation:
Straight
Zodiac Sign:
Capricorn
Smoke / Drink:
No / No
Income:
$250,000 and Higher
Jay Mehler Fans's Companies
Kasabian Leicester, UK Guitarist
2006 - present
Jay Mehler Fans Kasabian's lead guitarist and CLUB FOOT bassist! Posted at 10:51 PM Jan 6, 2008 view more
About me: Jay Mehler [real name Jason Mehler] is a guitarist in the Leicester based band Kasabian. He joined the band in 2006 after the departure of Chris Karloff. He is now a permanent member of Kasabian, although he is not involved with most of the promotional work that the band does. He is credited on Kasabian's 2nd album 'Empire' and also features on the video for the song 'Empire'. Jay is originally from Philadelphia, USA and has now settled down in the UK. He works with Kasabian between their base in Leicester and also London, where is looking to buy a house.
THIS IS A FANSITE. JAY MEHLER CANNOT BE CONTACTED VIA THIS PAGE...
Who I'd like to meet: Fellow Jay Mehler fans on the web.
OMG Love him sooo much I know this may be a bit controversial to people who have been fans of Kasabian longer than I have but he is better than Christopher Karloff - better looking anyway :)
Amen to that...
OMG Love him sooo much I know this may be a bit controversial to people who have been fans of Kasabian longer than I have but he is better than Christopher Karloff - better looking anyway :)
Hey Jay !!
You beat hardly your strings
Why does they not broke?
Sorry I'm french and I've 9/20 in English...
Hurray for Jay! Angela and I miss you!