Jay Della Valle

Jay Della Valle (born August 19, 1979) best known for his documentary The Glorious Mustache Challenge,[1] and for his role as Sue in the Independent Feature Film, "Mount Joy"- is an American filmmaker, recording artist, singer and songwriter.[2]

Jay Della Valle
Jay Della Valle playing at The Middle East (Cambridge, MA) in 2009
Background information
Birth nameJason Christopher Della Valle
Also known asJay Della Valle
Born (1979-08-19) August 19, 1979
Hackensack, New Jersey, United States
GenresAlternative rock, pop rock, blues, Indie Folk, Folk Rock
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, singer-songwriter, musician, Actor, Event Host/MC, DJ
InstrumentsVocals, Guitar, Harmonica
Years active2003–present
LabelsRock-A-Stache Records
Websitewww.dellavallemusic.com

Early life and Current

Della Valle was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. He is of Italian, Irish, and Czech ancestry.[3] He grew up in Wayne, New Jersey and attended Wayne Valley High School.[4]

Musical career

While attending New York University, Della Valle played with various bands including The Offbeats.[5] After graduating from NYU in 2001 with a degree from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, Della Valle recorded an independent EP called Best Years with bandmate Jon Crane and producer Chris "Gibby" Gibson (Quicksand, Rival Schools).[6] He followed this with 2 other independent EPs before starting to record his first full-length debut album, Pink Elephants, in 2005 with producer Jon Berman (Ours, The Dandy Warhols, Avril Lavigne, Duncan Sheik).[7] He then returned to Chris Gibson in 2008 to record Stay Gold with his band. In 2009, Della Valle toured the east coast with Stache Bash, Della Valle's own invention: a "mustache party rock n'roll tour" he cultivated from his films burgeoning following.[8] A video for his single, Legs So Long It's Crazy, was made in early 2009. Della Valle's 2nd full-length album, The Terminology of the Situation Is.... was released in May 2011.[9] In 2012, Jay joined up with former Della Valle keyboardist/violinist & singer Nicole DeLoi to form the Indie Folk Duo "Owls & Lions" who got their start performing at weddings. Jay's song "Head Above Water" can be heard in the 2014 Lionsgate film "My Man Is A Loser" starring John Stamos & Michael Rapaport. Jay was recently cast in the Independent Feature Film, Mount Joy- about a punk rock band from Pennsylvania his character fronts called Living Daylights. Jay Della Valle wrote all the songs for the band Living Daylights.

Film career

Della Valle started acting in 1995 while still in high school. After graduating high school in 1997, he attended New York University to further pursue theatre and film opportunities. He worked on a number of independent films and theatre productions while still in college.[10] After graduating NYU in 2001, Della Valle enrolled in the Maggie Flanigan Studio to study the Meisner technique of acting under the mentorship of Maggie Flanigan.[11]

In 2006, Della Valle started to film his acclaimed documentary, The Glorious Mustache Challenge,[12] which received press and attention from The Today Show, Good Morning America, Geraldo at Large, CNN, and The New York Times.[13] "The Glorious Mustache" started when he dared a handful of friends to grow a mustache and not shave for one month.[14] This experiment led him to have the idea to chronicle the experiences of men under 30 in their conquest to revive the "ill-fated" mustache trend.[15] The making of the film quickly gained traction and press- garnering featured articles in Time Out New York and on the front page of The New York Times.[16] and AM New York Upon its completion, film screenings took the form of "mustache parties" where the film would play, costumes and staches would be required, and inevitably, a mustache contest would be judged by Della Valle.[17] Press from The New York Times caught the eye of Dr. Aaron Perlut and Dr. Dan Callahan, the leaders of the American Mustache Institute, who would later indoctrinate Della Valle as "Chairman Emeritus".[18]

In 2007, Della Valle appeared on the reality show Miami Ink.[19] While getting tattooed by tattoo artist Chris Garver, he discusses plans for his band's album in progress.

Discography
Year Title
2003 Best Years
2004 Della Valle
2005 Pink Elephants
2007 Stay Gold
2009 Legs So Long It's Crazy (Single)
2011 The Terminology of the Situation Is…
2013 Living Daylights- Roll with the Punches EP (Songs From Mount Joy)
2019 Owls & Lions- There’s a Light EP

Activism & Charity Work

As of 2016, Jay Della Valle is Events Director on the Executive Board of The Ukulele Kids Club, a (501-C-3) nationally recognized advocacy foundation for Music Therapists. Under the defining premise that Music Heals, the organization donates ukuleles to hospitalized children and raises money in various ways to support music therapy programs in the US and around the world. As of 2018, they have helped give the gift of music by donating over 6,000 ukuleles to hospitalized children. Jay's band Owls & Lions started their "private house concert series" in the NorthEast USA (NJ, NY, Montreal) to raise awareness, support, and money for UKC.

Della Valle was the official MC[20] and Host for Movember's annual "Mustache Gala" which takes place every November in New York City. Movember is an interactive charity that allows men to raise money for Men's Prostate Cancer Foundation & Lance Armstrong Foundation by getting sponsors to pledge money for them to rock mustaches throughout the month of MOvember.[21] Jay has hosted and participated in various Mustache Challenges for Charity including "Mustaches for Cancer", "Mustaches For Kids" & "The Glorius Mustache Challenge."

gollark: *install potatOS*
gollark: Improved performance, fewer backdoors, extra features, working autoupdate, etc.
gollark: https://pastebin.com/RM13UGFa
gollark: I made a new and improved version.
gollark: <@202992030685724675> Yes.

References
  1. https://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/finalword/2007-07-31-final-word_n.htm
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. https://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/04/07/rock_with_a_twist/
  4. Winters, Debra. "Indie film continues production" Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Wayne Today, February 4, 2010. Accessed February 21, 2011. "Both Della Valle and Beatty are graduates from Wayne Valley High School just a year apart in classes of 1996 and 1997."
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 7, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. http://www.youlicense.com/Artist/ArtistStore.aspx?ID=43665
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. http://www.northjersey.com/community/83223562_Lakeland_grad_returns_to_make_indie_film_.html
  11. http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/movies/83518437_Indie_film_continues_production_.html
  12. http://skopemag.com/2009/03/26/jay-della-valle-forces-stoli-to-grow-a-mustache
  13. http://www.nypress.com/article-16970-i-didnt-inhale.html
  14. http://www.gloriusmustache.com/filmmakers.html
  15. http://www.7dvt.com/stache-bash-2009-della-valle-flavor-savers-mustache
  16. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/02/fashion/02skin.html
  17. http://www.nysun.com/style/mustache-love/24391/
  18. http://skopemag.com/2009/03/26/jay-della-valle-forces-stoli-to-grow-a-mustache
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 11, 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. http://www.manpaper.com/ViewCelebInfo_19551.html
  21. http://www.movember.com
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