Between the laborious and demanding shifts of his early-morning day job, John Tiernan Jr. (Jay, for short), periodically found the time he needed to craft and develop his own original music, which he was quietly allowing to blossom at its own pace. A classically trained double-bassist with a sudden lack of a creative outlet and plenty of time on his hands, Tiernan, now aged 23, spent roughy two years piecing together any and all ideas and bits of inspiration that would eventually find their way onto 'Sunrise & an Empty Mind'. In 2017, after enlisting childhood friend and former bandmate, Nick Sabet, Jay was given the opportunity to record an EP of his music; the incorrectly titled, 'Sunrise and a Spotless Mind'. Having been writing music together since the age of 13, Jay and Nick quickly rekindled and reimplemented the same creative energy they once lived by. At this time, Jay decided to use his signature online username, "J4YB12D" as the artist name he would release music under. The EP was set to consist of a handful Jay's songs, to which Nick would contribute both his songwriting abilities, as well as his instrumental and production capabilities. The time for production was cut short, however, with Sabet's sudden departure to live in California and no definite plans to return. While, in essence, the two had accomplished their humble goal of completing the EP, they both agreed that the hurried and impromptu recording process of the album had left the end result with much to be desired. The songwriting and musicality was there, but was being masked by the lackluster fidelity of the audio.

Several months later, Jay enlists another long-time friend and former bandmate, Brady O'Keefe, to produce a second attempt of 'Sunrise' from the ground up. Having just completed and released a self recorded, mixed and mastered album of his own, Brady had gained enough technical experience to bring the sound quality up to par with the songs themselves. With a second life given to his pursuits and fresh air under his wings, Jay, with the help of Brady and Nick, began reconstructing 'Sunrise' with a newfound respect for both attention to detail and production value. Many long nights of recording and mixing sessions, though often tedious, led to an explosion of new ideas that now give the final incarnation the raw, quirky and humanistic album its unique personality. What 'Sunrise' may lack in its length, it makes up for ten-fold in the amount of musical content within its track-list. Beginning with the unabashed title track, which slides effortlessly between garage-rock style aggression and smooth, funky pop-rock, the album continuously winds through genres and styles. A strong folk and acoustic influence is introduced in "Regress" that continues to be heard in the two interlude tracks, and is brought to a serene and dreamlike plateau in "The Rush". The fourth track, "Fruit Junior" (arbitrarily named after 'Breaking Bad''s Walter Junior), was a song written by Jay and Brady's high school band in 2013. Brady had always felt very confident about the song's potential, and suggested the song be resurrected and fully fleshed-out to appear on 'Sunrise'. With a few key tweaks and additions to the original song, "Fruit Junior" was brought back to life, having never previously been released or properly recorded. Brady was able to use several audio stems, recorded in 2013, that he mixed into the new version, including a hastily recorded, 30-second saxophone track (played by Andrew Samson) that was carefully spliced and copy/pasted to fit in the final mix. The album's bombastic sonic transitions are epitomized in an abrupt climax with the blistering final minutes of "The Rush". The thundering drums, monstrous bass and screaming organ provide an almost apocalyptic backdrop for the screaming wails of the lead guitars; a profound instrumental eulogy to solidify both J4YB12D's sheer creative audacity as well as his broadened maturity.

'Sunrise & an Empty Mind' is truly a labor of love with the humblest of beginnings. It is the long-awaited passion-project of Jay Tiernan; a songwriter who's perseverance and uncompromising vision ultimately became the very core of his artistry. 'Sunrise' is an honest reflection of the fundamental spirit of J4YB12D. It is an album that represents a time and a place which saw a teenager become an adult, and stems from the tribulations of that transition.

J4YB12D has now become something bigger than Jay Tiernan. 'Sunrise & an Empty Mind' is a testament to the power of innate creativity when combined with a person's unrelenting ambition. With no real budget, deadlines or resources, a very real piece of art was born. For better or for worse, J4YB12D sought to create a little something from a lot of nothing, and he did just that.


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Please enjoy a copy of a digital booklet, containing some extra album artwork (included with download).