Bio
Jay was born J. Brian O’Connell to Irish and German parents. That probably explains the drinking. He grew up during the 60’s and 70’s in Wilmington, Delaware riding sting ray bikes and listening to top 40 music while tormenting his 3 siblings. His goal was to become a black soul singer in a group like the Stylistics or the Chi-lites. Only two things stood in his way, he was (and still is) white and he couldn’t sing.
Jay loved to make people laugh, so he started playing sports. Upon returning from a Phillies’ game he decided to emulate his new-found hero. He grabbed an empty Nehi soda case and walked around the neighborhood shouting “Beeer Heeere.” Upon graduating (read, asked to leave) a catholic high school Jay moved to California to begin what would come to be known as his “Decade of Decadence”. Jay is now on the other side of the generation gap and is married to a Latina. He is now an old white man immersed in the Hispanic culture. The father of a son and daughter, Jay is the only one in his family that does not speak Spanish. This leads to bouts with paranoia, especially when they point and laugh. After living in Delaware, California, Georgia, and Wisconsin (courtesy of the witness protection plan), he has settled down in Ohio. Prior to his mid-life crisis, he has worked as a plumber, bartender, repo-man, stuntman, banker, and appraiser. His clean style of humor comes from his observations of the world he has been exposed to. It is rare to find a comic that can draw from his experiences in both the blue collar and white collar work environments, day-to-day living in the Midwest and on both coasts, a family environment, and the unique perspective of a white man in a Latino world. Jay’s humor transitions nicely from comedy clubs to colleges, to cruises to corporate shows.