History Lesson, History Lesson

The history of Oz and Jaynes is impressive to some, maybe not so much to others.

In the mid to late 90's, Oz and Jaynes met at the Delta Theta chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. One late night at what used to be the house at 901 Oak Street, Jaynes sat in what used to be referred to as the TV room, and strummed Jimmy Buffett tunes on his guitar. Oz was a new edition to the chapter and happened in on the acoustic stylings of the very talented Jaynes. As Jaynes played songs that only the most weathered Parrothead would know, Oz began to sing along. To the surprise of Jaynes, Oz knew almost every song that he played. Before the night was over, the two new friends realized they knew almost 30 Buffett songs together having never even met.

To the surprise of Oz, Jaynes had never been to the famous Flora-Bama Lounge, a place that is mentioned in numerous Jimmy Buffett selections. The two planned a trip to the Gulf Coast to go to one of the most famous roadhouses in existence. The particular night they arrived, the bar traffic was somewhat "slow" in comparison with normal nights at the Flora-Bama. On the outside deck stage, there was a performer who was entertaining a crowd of around 60-70 people. After he finished a song, the crowd was yelling requests for songs by JB, among others. When the paid performer did not know "The Wino and I Know," half-drunk Oz approached the stage and offered the temporary service of Oz and Jaynes. He surprisingly agreed, and before Oz and Jaynes knew what was going on, they were performing at the Flora-Bama. The crowd response was deafening with applause, and the paid performer encouraged them to play another, which they gladly took advantage of.

Upon exiting the stage, Oz and Jaynes were approached by a local bar and restaurant owner whose first comments were "You guys are great. How much do you charge?" The blank look on their faces probably told the story better than their response, which was something to the effect of "we have no idea."

On the long ride back to Chattanooga, Oz and Jaynes discussed strategy and what they would need to get started in the music business. After arriving home, they called the bar owner in Florida and booked their first show. The Oz and Jaynes Acoustic Band was born.

The first show was part of a two night promotion. They had such a good time, the duo did not know when to quit. The first night, they played for 5 and 1/2 hours, and the second night went over the six hour mark. From then, bookings came fast, and Oz and Jaynes played almost everything that was offered. The part time college job had turned into a full time responsible position, which they may not have been ready for.

The first major screw up was a scheduled appearance on the Chattanooga Morning Show called "Good Morning, Chattanooga" hosted by Don Welch. Oz and Jaynes played a regularly scheduled show the night before that ran until 3:00 a.m. They were suppose to arrive at the studio for a live broadcast at 5:15. The mistake was going to bed. They are not sure if the alarm clock went off or not, but at 7:30 am, when Oz and Jaynes woke up and realized they had missed a great opportunity and let a lot of people down, they were devastated; and that innocent alarm clock was subsequently destroyed by Jaynes' foot. The morning show was left to take calls from the public in order to fill air time, and Oz and Jaynes were quickly on the "shit" list.

It took about a month of phone calls, voice mails, producers calling producers, friends calling the show, and ultimately a professionally typed and certified letter that would get their apology accepted by Don Welch and the morning show. Oz and Jaynes were rescheduled to appear on the show, but with the stipulation that they would come and tape the show late in the day to be shown the following morning.

Shortly after, Oz and Jaynes got booked on the Budweiser stage at Riverbend; a huge waterfront musical festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Other good bookings followed including the Flora-Bama, Buckhead Ga, Bourbon Street in New Orleans, and numerous other venues.

After college, Oz and Jaynes decided to take a break to avoid burnout and make different life altering decisions. Jaynes stayed in Chattanooga and decided to further his education, and Oz moved back to his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and quickly went to work. Although they live in different places, they remain the best of friends and play live shows often. They are currently working in their chosen career field, as well as collaborating on a new studio album to follow up their successful original CD, "Calm Before The Storm."

You can catch them playing live at T-Bones in Chattanooga, or the Copper Top in Tuscaloosa, as well as different private shows and special appearances. Check the "Updated Schedule" section of the site.