Knoxville520.com

With R&B renditions of a wide range of old classics from soul legend Marvin Gaye to ’80s rock hair band Whitesnake, Jaystorm is not afraid to span the musical spectrum as long as he’s “performing good music,” which include a number of his own originals. The performer has opened for major label-recording artists such as 112, Mystikal and Coolio, and even gained great popularity for his originals in the UK—without even touring there.

And when it comes to writing music, Jaystorm is “all about being positive.” “First, I have to be in a super great mood to write a super great song,” he says. “And I’m usually in a good mood because I’m a super positive person.”

Former V.P. for AC Entertainment and current GM of WUTK 90.3, Benny Smith describes Jaystorm as “dynamite and a very diverse individual with great stage presence and powerful vocals to wow any crowd…he has been paving the way for urban independent artists all throughout the Upper East Tennessee area.”

“As an artist, it’s a must that I have to be versatile. It’s gotten me a lot of places I wouldn’t have gone otherwise,” Jaystorm says. And as far as his classic covers, the artist says he performs songs by the “people who paved the way for me to be here.”

Yet Jaystorm is perhaps most notarized for his slamming originals off of his full-length album “Lets Do This,” and his popular single “TwentyFourSeven,” originally a track by local jazz legend Donald Brown. And Jaystorm never ceases to bring his own spin to the music, adding dance moves and performing with rap artist Mista Enz on the single. He has also performed with local guitarist Dave Landeo, a musician whom Jaystorm says adds a “high energy acoustic” sound to the performance.

Originally from Greeneville, TN, Jaystorm (also known as J.J. Jimmy Sardin), moved to Knoxville in ’97 because of the city’s thriving music scene. “Knoxville is a good place to start a base,” he says. "And it’s not too saturated. It’s in the middle of everything that’s going on.”

Since his arrival, Jaystorm, like a stubborn squall, has evolved significantly, honing his skills and sharpening his style. Jaystorm’s first venture into performing was with R&B/ hip-hop group PD-6, where he headed two completed CDs. The singer even fronted the rock band Dead Star Prophecies for months, packing and airing on the radio.

“I started to think rock ’n roll,” he says. The band eventually fizzled, but Jaystorm still attributes his current success and versatility to his experience singing for Death Star. “It made me the front man that I am today,” he says. No wonder he can rock “Is This Love,” with such edge.

“I get crazy on stage,” he touts. “I have a lot of energy.”

Nowadays, that energy is poured into working with his new accompanying band, which he has been with for two ears, as well as producing a new album to be out next year.

“It has taken me to heights unknown. It’s really stepped up my career,” he says of his band, which is composed of Aram Takvoryan on bass, his brother Sevan Takvoryan on lead guitar and Kenneth Brown (Donald Brown’s son) on drum kit.

Since Jaystorm’s “Let’s Do This” came out in 2004, Jaystorm has, on some level, exceeded “having a strong regional buzz,” which he claims to be his No. 1 goal. He has since been nominated for Independent R&B Album of the Year (2005 Southern Entertainment Awards) in Nashville, won a Battle of the Bands national competition held by Got Milk org. based out of Chicago, IL, was voted into November's Top 10 Bands from Pulse Unsigned (UK) out of over 75,000 votes and sold over 2400 copies of his album.

Jaystorm was even featured in 2walls.com, a Webzine with a “Radar Screen,” which touts the slogan, “commentary for the socially misguided.” The radar for the month of April in 2004, picked up Jaystorm, commenting “It’s time to ditch that old Babyface and R. Kelly records, you know the ones you break out on those special occasions, because one listen of the debut album “Let’s Do This” from Jaystorm and the smoothness in his voice is all you’ll ever need. When Jaystorm is not laying down true soul/R&B tracks, he switches gears and gives you a healthy dose of hip-hop that puts the southern roots of his crew on full display.”

Also, Pulse decided to feature Jaystorm in the new Logic Player, a media player that comes with preloaded tracks. All this notoriety, yet Jaystorm is still humble as ever.
“I was tripping out man,” he says of when he heard the news about the Logic.
And yes, it seems that with all this recognition, it almost appears like Jaystorm has become more famous among the laddies in Britain than with the cowboys in the South. But Jaystorm assures me that his roots and his soul remain in the region (although a tour of the UK is not out of the question). And Knoxville certainly wants to keep him around as well, for his live performance schedule in East Tennessee is booked solid.

“It’s been a long journey, he says, “but I’m more advanced now more than ever…It’s called passion. I don’t focus on the obstacles. I focus on the end result. Obstacles are what you see when you quit focusing on the goal.”

Before we parted, I curiously ask Jaystorm about his name. He replies:
“Jay is my middle name, and a storm is what I want to take the world over by.”