Jason's Autobiography

It all started back in 1986 when I was visiting my father. We were driving up the rough and rugged logging roads of the British Columbia coastal mountains in his old beat up Isuzu. He pulled an audio cassette out of the console and popped it into the tape deck. The music that started to play was some of the most beautiful music I had ever heard in my life. I was enthralled. There I was, in the mountains surrounded by some of the most majestic scenery in the world with this fantastic music washing over me. This was it, this was the moment dreams were made of. As it turns out the music I was listening to was my first introduction to Ray Lynch.

I was spellbound by that album. I couldn't get it out of my mind. As a kid it was so far fetch from what all my peers listened to. My father sent me a duplicate of the tape and I played it until my cassette player got sick of it and ate it. I was sad. Soon after I got a CD player and picked up that album, Deep Breakfast, and all the rest of his CDs. That summer I took the little money I had earned working at a summer camp and bought my first synthesizers. A Roland D-20 and a Roland Sound Canvas 55. I managed to pick up an institutional copy of Cakewalk 3 from my high school and an internal MIDI card from a downtown music store.

My sequencing days had begun. I started by recording music I was listening to by ear, but soon enough I was off on my own composing rifts, chord sequences, and eventually melodies. My high school music teacher and department heads were so impressed with my progress they requested that I submit a piece of music to be judged as my grade 12 music exam rather than taking the written theory exam other students had to take. They listened to it over the winter break and when school resumed in January they passed me with flying colors. The piece I submitted was called "High Albedo" and was my first independent musical piece.

Since those days I have spent time on and off playing with my music. I've never really considered it as a source of income. I have the marketing skills of an orangutan. But that doesn't discourage me. People tell me they enjoy my music and that alone is enough to keep me motivated to keep composing and recording. With each new piece I learn more and expand on my style, if even ever so slightly. In 1997 I moved to Pennsylvania where I met my wonderful wife, Kelley. Of course as I am sure people can figure, my song Kelley's Song was named in her honor and dedicated to her. She has supported my musical hobby since we first met. She even bought me my Mackie mixer as an anniversary present! They say the way to a man's heart is through his music studio? I don't know, but it sure works for me!

So here I am today, 3 albums out, another 20 or so songs I haven't released, and I'm still going strong. I write what I like to hear. My wife asked me once, "Don't you feel strange listening to your own music?" to which I replied, "No, if I didn't like to listen to it I wouldn't write it."

Why this name?

My name is Jason Ward, and since I am a solo artist I didn't really feel the need to make up a band name. However because my name is not very unique I can often be found as JasonWardStudios, WardStudios, or Ward-Studios.com on other web sites.

Do you play live?

I do not play live. I have a private studio where I spend my hours composing, arranging, and producing my music.

How, do you think, does the internet (or mp3) change the music industry?

The internet opens wonderful possibilities to independent musicians such as myself to expose our music to everyone around the world in a unique and exciting new way.

Would you sign a record contract with a major label?

If I were presented with the opportunity to sign with a label I am sure I would give it strong consideration.

Your influences?

My biggest musical influence from a very young age has always been Ray Lynch. Ever since I first heard his amazing album "Deep Breakfast" I have been lost in the wonderful world of new age music. Other people who have had a big influence on me and my style are Yanni, Vangelis, Nobuo Uematsu, James Horner, Enya, David Lantz, and Robert Miles just to name a few of the many.

Favorite spot?

I love being completely surrounded by nature, and this is no more true than when I am in the mountains. Whether looking up at them in awe from the ground or down across the land and ocean from their slopes, there is little in the world that can inspire me more. As for my favorite city, I would have to say Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Equipment used:

My studio is what I am sure many now-a-days would consider old school. I use rack mounted synthesizer modules and effects units with an analogue mixer. The following devices are what makes my studio whole: Roland JV1080 synth with 4x JV-80 expansion boards, Roland Sound Canvas 55 synth, Roland D-20 Linear Synth, E-mu Proteus/1 synth, A.R.T. MultiVerb III effects, Behringer Virtualizer Pro Effects, MidiSport 8x8 MIDI interface, and a Pentium 4 Computer with Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge.