kay, so Jay Parmar isn't a household name, yet. At the present, he is known for spearheading the first ever fan tribute CD to George Lynch, released in 2004. He can be found on the George Lynch messages board participating as a leader in the many discussion topics that are carried on daily if not hourly there. He contributed two tracks to that CD, the most notable is the covering of "Mr. Scary." A monstrous task in of itself, Parmar demonstrated his keen sense for playing fluidly and nailing the ambience of the song.
Parmar hasn't been sitting back letting life pass him by. He has just completed his first solo project which is a 10 track CD titled Strange Day. Handling all the instrumentation himself, except on the song "My World," where his good friend Chad Coggin added additional lead guitar, Jay proves himself to be a great songwriter in his own right.
First don't be surprised by the heavy handed influence of George Lynch on Parmar's guitar style. He wouldn't deny this; in fact, he would revel in letting you know the countless times he has flown to the U.S. and seen his guitar hero perform live or the times where he has had conversations with Lynch.
The smooth legato phrasing, speedy passages, vibrato and bends that assail your ears play out on the nearly 44 minute CD. Opening the CD with "I'm Having a Strange Day," a whirling ambient track that capitalizes on the use of spacey sounding effects the journey begins. "Kick It To The Kerb" steps up the pace. Here, Jay demonstrates how he can make his guitar scream and growl. Pinch harmonics and the flurry of notes careen into a bluesy mellow half time feel and move the song towards the finale.
"El Diable" continues the moderate uptempo vibe. This consists of mixing spacious melodies with speedy guitar runs. "LSD" is a bit funkier, featuring an acoustic rhythm guitar under the lead guitar melodies. "Perpetual Motion" hits you like a ship taking off into the stratosphere. The song is full of blistering lead work, played over busy rhythm guitars.
"Cool Time" and "Never Forget" pull back the reins and feature controlled, melodic mayhem. "Sacred Serpent" opens with a 48 second solo interlude before taking a brief pause as the rest of the instrumentation join in on the fray. The track features swirling snake like solos and grooves. "My World" makes use of an up beat driving beat as Parmar and Coggin duel it out together. The CD closes with "The Final Chapter," a fitting title to close out a CD with. The song opens with a synthesizer providing the ambient sound bed for Parmar's fret work. With the exclusion of other instrumentation "The Final Chapter" is an exclusive demonstration of Parmar's solo prowess.
Wow! There is a lot to take in listening to Strange Day. Fans of George Lynch will get a kick out of the CD. Critiques will debate that the uncanny stylized playing of Parmar lumps him into a copy cat category. If you can go deeper than the similarities, which at times are glaring, you will hear a talented aspiring guitarist on the verge of something big. If he can continue to discover his own identity on guitar, he just might take the Lynch inspired fret work to a whole other level.
Let's not also forget that Jay handled the production of his debut solo CD, which is also an impressive accomplishment.
HRH Rating: 7.5/10
kay, so Jay Parmar isn't a household name, yet. At the present, he is known for spearheading the first ever fan tribute CD to George Lynch, released in 2004. He can be found on the George Lynch messages board participating as a leader in the many discussion topics that are carried on daily if not hourly there. He contributed two tracks to that CD, the most notable is the covering of "Mr. Scary." A monstrous task in of itself, Parmar demonstrated his keen sense for playing fluidly and nailing the ambience of the song.