Jayc grew up in a Christian home where there was always music playing. At the age of 9 he received his first guitar for Christmas. His older brother began giving him lessons and soon he was playing in the family band. When Jayc was 10 years old,
his older brother passed away and left the family in turmoil.
Tragically, a year later, his older sister passed away. Unable to cope with so much heartache, this turned his father to the bottle. As the eldest son, Jayc began working 40 hours a week in the family’s automotive shop while going to school full time.
After a while the family sold the business, bought a restaurant, and he soon assumed the responsibilities of cook, server and manager, which helped develop strong people skills for an
otherwise shy young man. Growing up, Jayc listened to Ricky Skaggs and Randy Travis, even though it was not popular among his friends. Teenage peer pressure had him listening to various styles of blues but having religious background and trying to please his family, he started a gospel blues band. The absence of song material to suit this style soon forced him to hone his own songwriting abilities. However, the
constant influence of secular music soon had him playing in bars. During this time, artists like Dwight Yoakam and the Mavericks were topping the charts and he gained a great respect and appreciation for their style of traditional country sounds.
At the age of 20, Jayc got married. Being the responsible and hardworking man he’d become, he soon started his own roofing company and became very successful. He began to fall in love with the money and found himself drifting away from his faith.
By the age of 25, he opened up his own automotive shop and later turned it into a used car dealership. Again he did very well in his endeavors, and began buying lots of things like boats, bikes and hot rods, all the while trying to fill the hole in his soul left by the grief he’d experienced in his short life.
Around the time he was expecting his third child; his mother was diagnosed with cancer. The three months prior to her death were extremely hard to bear. The cancer had taken over most of her body and mind. She was constantly unaware of her surroundings and unsure of whom everyone was. Then the day before she passed away, she spoke some words to Jayc’s father that he will never
forget. She said, “If only our boys would do what they were put on this earth to do.” The first thing that entered Jayc’s mind was, “How did she know I had those exact same feelings, but have kept them to myself?”. Her words inspired him to change his career and make a total commitment to do what he believes the Lord put him here to do. The picture from the outside probably looked pretty good. Financially set, wife and family, he
had it all. But the hole in his soul was never filled, and kept getting bigger every day. Then, one day, while listening to a gospel tape by Buck Owens, Jayc gave it all over to Christ. He
started writing gospel songs again. He bought a Greyhound bus and spent a year rebuilding and remodeling it for a tour bus. A short time later, he sold the family home, and the car dealership and moved into the bus. With his family by his side, he drove to Nashville to do what he loves to do for the Lord, Honky Tonk Gospel.