Jefferson Jay

Jefferson Jay is getting a master's degree in history from San Diego State (he says his thesis will be on "mass media interpretations of Haight-Ashbury during 1967"), but he'll be singing songs and playing the guitar at the Synergy Art Foundation's "Second Annual Art Extravaganza" this Saturday at the Fire House Museum in Little Italy.

There will be an exhibition and sale by fire artist survivors (from last year's fires) and from Baja Norte artists. A live auction is at 3:30 p.m.

Jay will sing songs from his new CD, Great Story, the first release from Sweet Information Records, which came out in July of this year, and includes local singer Jane Lui (formerly of Jason and Jane) and drummer Carlos Vasquez (who, according to Jay, played with Frank Sinatra from 1961 to 1965).

Lyrics from Great Story include these from "Running Out of Time" (perhaps too applicable for fire victims, no?):

I was swimming down the barrel of a fish, of a throat,

of a circus, of a highway.

I was searching through the stream, for some dinner,

for a lady, for a respite, for a way to get to you.

You were flailing, you were dangling, you were

waiting, you were hanging, and then I came.

Now we're walking and we're running and we're singing and we're sunning, all in the name of some forgotten blame.

Admission is $10, and the event starts at 2 p.m. at the corner of Columbia and Cedar. For more information, or to preview the art, visit www.synergyartfoundation.org.