Tell us about yourself and your music
A passion project formed by Jay Roecker, working in collaboration with other artists. Members Only formed in January 2012. It began as an 80’s cover band but quickly morphed into a band of original music. The name comes from the widely popular jackets worn in the 1980s. It is also a tongue in cheek reference to the exclusivity of the band. The aim is to build the music with creativity and passion being the driving force behind the records. For the first album, all songs were written by Jay Roecker and Corey McCurry with the exception of Afterlife the one cover song written by Ingrid Michaelson and her team.
On the initial album Jay collaborated with Corey McCurry, a mutli-talented composer to create the music. Corey was born in 1989 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and now plays in churches in Greenville, Texas. The second forthcoming album will be a collaboration between Jedidiah Breeze, Cut Down Trees and Jay’s team. All the music is co-produced by Jay Roecker.
Christi Rodriguez hails from Fort Worth, Texas She put the funk in funky town with her soulful vocals and guitar. Christi sings in a few local chorus groups. Her addition to the team added some much needed spice and female appeal on a few tracks.
Jay Roecker was born in Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. One of four army siblings, he grew up in Fort Worth Texas where he spent his youth singing in church choirs, competitions and numerous musicals. After graduating from UNT in Denton, Texas, Jay pursued a career as National Manager of Artist Partnerships for the Radio Disney Network, a part of the Walt Disney Company. In this role he coordinated numerous successful concert tours nationwide, developed new talent via Radio Disney’s Incubator (Now Called NBT- Next Big Thing) and acted as artist/label liaison for the network and stations. Some artists Jay promoted included Hilary Duff, The Jonas Brothers, Jesse McCartney and Miley Cyrus.
Jay always had a vision to create his own band writing his own music. Members Only allows Jay the vehicle to use his skills in artist development to spotlight new talent and fulfill his dream to create and promote his own music. Members Only was formed as a synergistic band of catchy pop tunes with new fresh lyrics and music. The writings are musing from life experience driven to speak to the commonality in all of us.
Jay Roecker formed Roecker Records to distribute the new tracks. The first single, “Bucket Full of Crazy” was released in February, 2013, followed by “You and Me” in June and “Thoughts of You” in July. Most songs for the debut album were recorded at Septien Entertainment Group, proving ground for such artists as Jessica Simpson, Ryan Cabrera, Nick Lachey, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. The latest releases including “Afterlife” released in December, 2014 are a collaboration effort with production from Cutdown Trees and Video Direction by Boy Epic. “Afterlife” is the first cover recorded by Roecker and Members Only. Jay lost his mother to breast cancer in March of 2003. After hearing Ingrid’s song, he felt inspired to record a version of the track. His perspective on life took a drastic shift upon his mother’s loss. The idea that we must live for today and that we are the “Afterlife” spoke volumes to Jay. In fact, his song ‘All We Have is Today’ speaks of this very lesson and his loss of his mother. The next single “Sunday Funday” released in February, 2015. The video for the single includes cameos by Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October, Lindsey Stirling, Rachel Reilly of CBS’ Big Brother/Survivor, Krystal Summers, Courtney Kerr from Bravo’s Courtney loves Dallas, DJ Leigh Ann Adam, Luke Wade from NBC’s The Voice, Comedian Dixie Longate, Katy Tiz, Hilary Shepard – Divatox from Power Rangers Turbo and Boy Epic. The single/video for “Let’s Run Away Forever” released on 3/19/15 featuring Christi Rodriguez. Boy Epic, Director of the videos has gained notoriety in his huge YouTube presence as an Independent Artist with much more to come. The debut album “Labor of Love” released 4/24/2015 with 14 tracks, a true culmination of Jay’s life work. The latest release “All Have Is Today” released 3/4/16. Enjoy the soulful baritone to tenor timbre in this Pop album. Jay is constantly recording and working on new videos. Stay tuned for more at jayroecker.com and membersonlymusic.com!
Talk to us more about your latest release
The newest release will be “Don’t Give Up On Love” a dance edm track collaboration with Austin native LA- based Jedidiah Breeze. The song is about working to do what is right and not giving up on love and your priorities. This will be released in December.
https://soundcloud.com/membersonlyaudio
What inspired you to write this release?
Today’s political environment leaves one questioning. This is an upbeat track to remind us how far we have come and to not give up on love.
Any plans to release a video?
Video will be released in December including lyrics and snapshots of important moments in history.
http://youtube.com/jayroecker1
Any plans to hit the road?
I just adopted a child so will not be on the road for a bit.
As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?
For me it is all about being authentic so I in keeping with that my imagery conveys the emotion I am discovering at the time. I do use our band logo also.
Who have you been listening to lately?
Jem
Metric
The Bird and The Bee
Tell us about your passions
My greatest passion is helping my son become all he can be and also helping others. I volunteer at Crossroads Studio bringing art to the under served community of Como in Fort Worth.
What else is happening next in your world?
I am on a reality show Cake Hunters on the Cooking Channel 8/18 at 9pm CST.
Thanks for an awesome interview, Jay!
Connect with Jay Roecker and Members Only
Website: http://www.jayroecker.com
Twitter: http://www.twiter.com/jayroecker
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jayroecker1
