Diamond J & The Rough - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Songwriter Jay Russell (formerly bassist of Hot Rod Circuit) fronts the band, bringing piano-based pop songs into a more rock setting. The rest of the band is comprised of brothers Jim and Frank Aveni on guitar and drums, Keith Oko on Bass, Maya Rossi lays down the sweetest sounds on violin, and Katelyn Kazukynas adds vocals, percussion and guitar.
As for the sound of the band, I think that's something each and every person has to decide for themselves. If you're reading this bio and expecting to learn the immaculate conception of music, then I would probably take two steps back, and ask yourself if you can really understand what a band is trying to accomplish just by reading their bio.
For the time being you'll have to make it out to New Haven, CT to see Diamond J live, but we'll be coming soon to a theater near you.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 3/5/2005
Band Website: diamondjandtherough.com
Band Members: Jay Russell - vocals, guitar, piano
Jim Aveni - guitar
Keith Oko - bass
Frank Aveni - drums
Katelyn Kazukynas - vocals
Maya Rossi - violin
Rob Katz - keys
"Spacey" Casey Prestwood - pedal steel
Matt Wilson - pedal steel
Sounds Like:

6-Song CD
Hand-Stamped
$5.00

Type of Label: None

My Blog

New Demo Recordings

This past weekend, we began recording demo versions of eight new songs with Mike Poorman at his studio, Strangeways Recording, in Providence, Rhode Island. Mike has been totally awesome to work with, ...
Posted by Diamond J & The Rough on Wed, 07 May 2008 07:36:00 PST

Maya in Christina Aguilera Video

That's Maya from our band "playing" violin in this Christina Aguilera video. She answered an ad on craigslist for someone needing a violin player, and this is who needed it! We weren't s...
Posted by Diamond J & The Rough on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:07:00 PST

CDs Now Available Online

People have been writing to ask how to get a copy of our CD, but up until now, they were for sale only at our shows. So, we've set up a PayPal account to make them available online. Here they are:6-So...
Posted by Diamond J & The Rough on Mon, 24 Dec 2007 10:24:00 PST

Feature Article on The Rough in Play Magazine

This week's issue of Play Magazine has a feature article on Diamond J and The Rough, including an interview with Jay. You can find it on newsracks around New Haven, or on the Play website. Or, you can...
Posted by Diamond J & The Rough on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:34:00 PST

The Rough on Frontier Podcast

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of being guests on the This Frontier Needs Heroes Radio Hour, which is a podcast made by our friends Brad and Jessica Lauretti.It was a lot of fun hanging out in th...
Posted by Diamond J & The Rough on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 09:32:00 PST

Watch Jim on Letterman

Jim will be appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman, playing slide guitar for Dustin Kensrue.The Rough played some shows with Dustin back in July while he was on tour of the East Coast to prom...
Posted by Diamond J & The Rough on Thu, 25 Jan 2007 06:07:00 PST

Jay's Mix Tape

Last month, Jay was asked by the good people at the New Haven Register to make them a mixtape of 10 songs, and explain why he chose them. Here it is: 11/09/2006 - Making a Mix with Jay RussellWho: Sin...
Posted by Diamond J & The Rough on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:20:00 PST

Website Launched

Hello Dudes,Our new website has totally launched into cyberspace.Check it out here and download 3 songs from our latest recording for free.The site will be the best place to keep informed about curren...
Posted by Diamond J & The Rough on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 09:31:00 PST

What's Up With The Rough?

Hi everybody,So far, we haven't really put this blog section to much use, but it's not because there's been nothing going on. Quite the contrary, in fact. So, for those of you who are interested...her...
Posted by Diamond J & The Rough on Sat, 24 Jun 2006 11:24:00 PST