Jay Headden with James Maddock
In case you do not know the meaning of serendipity, it is a lucky accident, a positive unplanned discovery. It represents those moments when valuable things are found while looking for someone/ something else, or not looking at all.
This is exactly what happened to me recently while attending sscapemay music conference in Cape May, New Jersey. Returning from a showcase, I moved right up to the very front of the ballroom inside Congress Hall. Sitting right between the Stage Manager on my right and someone videoing the show on my left.
A few times during the night, I glanced over to my left and watched the steady hand filming the show. At the very end, we were both pulled up into the crowd dancing to the closing song with Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie. I had not planned on dancing, it had been a long day and I was tired. However when someone you do not even know pulls you out of your seat, you somehow have no choice. So there we were dancing me and the guy that was seated to my left. We danced and enjoyed the moment with fellow music fans.
Adam Weiner and Jay Headden
Afterwards is when I officially met the guy seated next to me. Jay Headden, is his name, we introduced ourselves and that’s when I learned Jay was the founder of Jersey Shore Music. A service Jay provides promoting musicians and bands by offering video and photography work.
This interested me because for the past 24 years, I have been the person who attended musical gigs, videoing the live performances and offering photography, to the artists in my musical roster. However Jay seems to gravitate to the shows of the musicians he favors and/or wants to meet and capture. He especially likes videoing original artists. Some are brand new to him while others have been on his radar for years now.
Jay does not charge a fee at this time. He is busy collecting material to post on his YouTube, Instagram and Facebook sites and he will be launching his very own jerseyshore-music.com website soon.
Serendipity also means the occurance and development of events by chance in a happy beneficial way. Good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries. This is how I feel about meeting Jay and viewing his video content. He really is that good!
A gregarious, instantly likable music lover, who truly gets around- musically speaking. Sometimes over a given week, Jay has attended and videoed 10-15 performances that he shares on his Facebook page and over at YouTube.
Jay appreciates the artists and bands for allowing him to be there filming their gigs. He wants to share in the pleasure he receives when he attends a live show. He is working on a way he can post these live gigs and allow the artists to receive tips to go directly to the artists from viewers. He says, he wants to do away with the TIP JAR.
Recently I spoke with Jay, wanting to learn more about him and his future intentions. Here is our conversation.
Have you always lived in New Jersey? If not what brought you to Jersey Shore?
Yes. I was born and raised in Union Beach, New Jersey. I went to Keyport High School. I raised my kids in Holmdel. After I got divorced, I bounced around. I lived in Long Branch, Asbury Park, and then back to Long Branch. Always within a few minute walk to the beach. I bought a house in Neptune about 4 years ago.
You told me you were recently laid off, what type of work was your career? You do not have to mention the company you worked at just your position.
I always worked in accounting. I was a Controller for a toy company in Point Pleasant Beach for a while. I worked as a CFO for a small company. Recently, I was working in NYC. It was 3 days a week in the city. Two days from home. It was a French company, and they restructured and brought the accounting to France, so I was laid off in January of this year. It was a blessing because the commute was getting to me. And that was when the thought of doing this started. I knew it would be a full time job if I wanted to make it work.
When was your very first experience with music?
When I think about my first recollections of music, I remember it was probably around 1976. I was 10 years old, and I had an uncle who was visiting New Jersey from Florida. He took me to Keansburg Amusement Park. I remember him trying really hard to win a mirror of Bruce Springsteen. He kept saying to me how he lived around here. Since then, Bruce has been a huge part of my life and Jersey Shore music was instilled in me.
Who performed at your very first live concert you attended and where was it?
If I am honest, the first live concerts I ever attended were with my parents at the Garden State Arts Center (now called PNC Bank Arts Center). We always sat on the lawn because we didn’t have money for seats but being a kid and sitting on the lawn for those concerts are great memories. We always went with my cousins. They would be off playing. I would sit on the blanket and watch and enjoy the shows. I saw Barry Manilow several times. I was a big Barry Manilow fan. My mother had his albums, and I would sit and listen to them.
She was also an Elvis fan. I listened to Elvis’ albums all the time. That’s probably where my passion for rock and roll started. At the same time, I was a big Beatles fan. It was a combination of Elvis, the Beatles, and Bruce. But anyone who knows me, knows I am a huge Springsteen fan.
I remember seeing Liberace at the Arts Center and being so entertained, even as a young kid. I wouldn’t let my friends know what I was listening to and enjoying. This was at the time of Van Halen and Led Zeppelin. But Liberace would be a part of my life again when I was pledging my fraternity, ZBT at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
In 1987, the entire pledge class had to do a scavenger hunt in NYC. One of the things we had to do was get a picture with a celebrity. Not an easy task. We struggled all day trying to find someone. We put all our eggs in the Liberace basket. He was playing Radio City Music Hall. We were at the backstage door talking to his supposed “manager”. He told us Liberace would come out in between shows and take a picture with us. There were over 20 of us (a huge pledge class).
So here are 20 college kids waiting all day for Liberace to take a picture with us. His manager finally came out and said Liberace was tired and couldn’t take the picture. It was only a short time later that he passed away.
What encouraged you to form this video and photography service for musicians?
I had always enjoyed videotaping live music. I feel I have a niche for it. I would tape stuff and watch it over and over. I would analyze it to see how it could be better.
I was now laid off. I had access to all this great music and great musicians. You can walk around Asbury Park any night of the week and there is music somewhere. Many times, they’re great musicians. Not only great, but 20-30 year veterans, and rock and roll legends. And It’s been a privilege taping these musicians.
I started thinking this could be something one Sunday at the Black Swan in Asbury Park. I was watching and videotaping Marc Ribler and Friends. It was five local musicians just jamming for 3 hours. I was videotaping and saying, “this is a show”. Imagine being anywhere in the world and watching this live streamed. That’s how it started.
Then I went to see Sandy Mack and Friends at the Wonder Bar. That is just pure fun. The musicians are having fun. The people are dancing and having fun. That first day I videotaped them, the band was really crazy. When I posted all the videos, people immediately started making comments. And I got so many likes. Same thing with Marc’s videos.
How did it go from an idea to reality?
I started the company officially on 3/24/25. On 3/28, I bought a new phone because my camera was awful. That night, I went to McLoone’s Supper Club in Asbury Park to see Johnny Kasun’s Night of Guitar. This was his 3rd year doing it. I knew Johnny was a great young guitarist and I wanted to capture his show.
His show was great! And I got great videos of all the songs. That show was the first show and the beginning of this.
I knew it was a reality at that point but on 4/12/25, I attended Jake Thistle’s 21st Birthday party at the Wonder Bar. Jake is a rising star on the Jersey Shore, and I had been following him. I drove to Rutgers University a week before to videotape him. He is graduating from Rutgers, and he was playing with his band at a college function.
Johnny Kasun also happened to be playing guitar that night with Jake. The special guests included James Maddock, Jarod Clemons, and Reagan Richards and Gordon Brown of Williams Honor. It was truly a special show, and I am thankful that I got great videos of it. And followers of my page absolutely loved them. I started thinking about how I am taping history. These special moments are being lost.
(LEFT) with Johnny Kasun (RIGHT) with Jake Thistle
What was your very first video and what musician or band was it for and where was it?
The first musician I remember videotaping in more of a professional style was Remember Jones. He did his Amy Winehouse Back to Black show. I only have two of those videos because I lost a lot of great videos from my old phone. But those two are on my site and I still find myself watching them. I not only have those two videos on my site, but I also have a great video on my site of Remember Jones at Springwood Park in Asbury Park before Covid. It was the end of a day of music, and he was last to perform. It was getting dark, and the video is so funny of him dancing. I’m glad I was able to salvage that one. I have that on the site combined with the two Amy Winehouse videos.
But it was Low Cut Connie where it really developed into more professional style videotaping. At the beginning of the Unofficial Connie Club website, I provided a ton of videos. Low Cut Connie is my favorite band, and I would go all over to see them. As a live band, I think they are the best to video tape, and Adam Weiner by himself is total entertainment. My friends started saying Jay is a Bruce fan that has a man crush on Adam Weiner. And Adam Weiner is how we met. You sat right down next to me at that conference in Cape May. We struck up a conversation and I found out how long you’ve known Adam and how much you love his music too. There was an instant connection between us.
Why do you feel live local content is SO important?
I feel it is so important because music is the one thing in life that brings so much joy to people and asks for nothing in return. Music has brought so much joy to my life that I could never repay it. And whenever something bad happens or we need help raising money, it’s always the musicians that step up. And people don’t realize the struggles that they go through to provide this music. And they go through those struggles for the love of music. And the love of performing live and creating music. When they perform live, you can see that is where they get their joy. And they get joy out of people appreciating their music.
You can have the worst day of your life. Then walk into a bar and see great live music. Within 5 minutes, you forget about your day. It’s happened to me so many times in my life.
And people really respond to live music. I try to make my videos that makes it feel like the viewer is there live. My most viewed post so far is for Gab Cinque Band. When I videotaped that show, there was no one in the place. But the videos rock. The band rocked. And the viewers loved it.
When did you begin Jersey Shore Music?
The official start date of my Facebook page was 3/24/25. I started an Instagram account on 4/16. My YouTube page started on 4/19. That is where ALL my videos are. There are already over 270 great videos on YouTube and it’s going to be updated daily.
YouTube will make it easier to view content. It’s organized by Playlists. So, you don’t have to search for anything.
In a given week how many live shows do you attend and video, when you started out vs. now?
In the beginning, it would be Friday-Sunday. Sometimes Thursday as well. When I first decided that I was going to do this full-time I realized I needed a lot of content. So, the first few weekends, I went to three different events sometimes in one day. I was also taping now on Mondays and Wednesdays. And I was lucky enough to see some great shows. I have had friends give me heads up about shows too, which I appreciate.
Do you have a favorite venue and why?
Right now, my favorite venue is the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park. I do a lot of taping there. Sandy Mack has his Sunday Wonder Jam, and I have videotaped rock icons, like James Maddock and Slick Aguilar. I also like McLoone’s Supper Club in Asbury Park. They have some really great shows, and it is a really great venue. That was also where this kind of started. I taped Sharon Lasher’s Bonnie Raitt/Linda Ronstadt show there. That was a really special night. The next week I taped Johnny Kasun’s 3rd Night of Guitars. That was probably the first real show I put on my site.
I also really like Danny Clinch’s Transparent Clinch Gallery in Asbury Park. The atmosphere is great for acoustic style shows. The pictures on the wall and the fireproofing on the ceiling makes for a great setting (especially for videotaping). One of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen was Adam Weiner there. But I have seen two great shows there in a matter of a few weeks. Billy Hector (a rock legend) on a Saturday afternoon, and Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling. That show was really special. Danny Clinch was a guest on harmonica.
What would you like to accomplish with Jersey Shore Music?
That’s a good question. It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster ride the first 3 weeks. I wasn’t even sure what I had. I would like to accomplish several things. And it keeps evolving. And to be honest, I think that there are bigger things to come.
But I want to make sure that it is a company that gives back. Like I said I can never repay the joy that the Jersey shore music has given me.
I want to be the site that provides the best and most unique content. I want to help the musicians get exposure. If it’ is their live performances or original music. I do love original music. I get a lot of joy putting original music on my site. There are so many great singer songwriters that don’t get their music shown. And when I can do it, they are always so appreciative. And that makes me feel good.
I also would like to establish a huge presence on YouTube. I have an enormous amount of content. I think as this grows; Jersey Shore Music can be one of the top YouTube content providers.
One other thing that I want to do is to build a big enough audience that loves this live music and start live-streaming. You can be anywhere and experience the live music from the Jersey Shore. But the musicians will be paid. This is another thing from the Marc Ribler and Sandy Mack shows. These musicians do this for pennies. They do it for the love of music. And they put a tip jar in front and at the end of the night, the musicians split a few hundred dollars. I told Marc and Sandy. We can live-stream and you can get rid of the tip jar.
How have local musicians been feeling about you videoing their live shows?
The local musicians really love it. I’ve gotten some good advice from some on how to videotape and etiquette. They come up to me and thank me for videotaping them and putting it online. I get the feeling that they seem to jam a little more and get into it. And sometimes they see me smiling and they smile at me. Sometimes, I videotape something that is so good that I say to myself “I can’t believe what I am taping”. And I get a big smile on my face so that people must look at me like I’m a mental patient.
You told me you were most intrigued by musicians that perform their original music, why is this?
I do love original music. There is so much talent and so many great songwriters that don’t get their music exposed. The music industry is so hard these days. I’m not sure if anyone has figured it out or is able to navigate it right now.
I enjoy showing original music. And it’s been getting a good response. And the musicians love it. Maybe that is my little way of giving back.
Where do you see Jersey Shore Music going into the future?
Another good question. I see Jersey Shore Music becoming a big presence on socials. It’s gotten a great response so far not only from followers but the musicians as well. Which also tells me we are on the right track.
I do see it growing into other areas. Video production, radio shows, etc. But I have a vision that we grow a huge presence in Asbury Park. Someday maybe have a bar/restaurant and have live music of our own, Jersey Shore Music Club.
Please share the Goals of the service that you provide.
1. Provider of the best and most unique musical content on socials
2. Be a top YouTube provider
3. Promote originals music
4. Provide live streaming (where the musicians are paid)
There you have it. It is not often you meet a person who is selflessly promoting musicians at the Jersey Shore and beyond. Sharing and capturing the electrifying vibes that only happen at a live show. Bringing artists and bands, you may not be familiar with right into your home, as you view their live performances.
Jay is extremely approachable and when he first started his total hits to his videos were 975 followers in the very first week. In just about 3 and a half weeks, he has almost 500 likes and over 110,000 views. Currently, with over 2,100 followers. His goal is to hit 100K followers (and beyond).
Like I always say, "Music is meant to be shared", and with Jay Headden, Jersey Shore Music will continue to grow and expand. Keep an eye out for Jay. Reach out to him if you have interest in having your next gig taped. If you see him at a gig, introduce yourself.
Jay is the real deal, and I am fortunate to have met him. I applaud the professional promotion he is offering to artists who appear live at the Jersey Shore and beyond. Taking him into New York City, Philadelphia and even Washington, D.C.
Jay has a Goal to open his very own music venue in Asbury Park. Somehow I feel he will succeed and is headed in that direction. Sometimes it is best to have HUGE Goals that keep you focused, not only on where you are, most importantly where you are headed.
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.
