However, they took matters into their own hands with seeking additional crowd funded projects including acoustic EPs, writing and film production.
Jay officially formed Army of Freshmen at the end of 1997 with Owen Bucey, Aaron Goldberg, Dan Clark, One' Nielsen, Mike Rini and Jon Blackburn all of whom he met at a Ventura coffeehouse he performed at regularly.
[1] On the strength of a 3-song demo and a large Ventura area fan base, in 2000, the band was discovered by music manager, Rod Ensminger, who signed them to his label, Blue Hand Records.
This led to Army of Freshmen's first international attention when, despite being the least known act at the festival, their set received rave reviews in the Japanese music press.
A compilation by Brand New Hero Records featuring Army of Freshmen songs, entitled Casino Chips and Sunset Strips, was released in the UK to coincide with the tour.
In support of the tour, they released an EP, At the End Of the Day, which was recorded in Texas and produced by Jaret Reddick of Bowling for Soup.
The dodgeball themed video received moderate play on United Kingdom music channels like Kerrang and Scuzz TV.
Other bands that appeared alongside AOF and BFS on the various Get Happy Tours included The Bloodhound Gang, Zebrahead, Wheatus, Son of Dork, Punchline, Lucky Boys Confusion, Quiet Drive and Melee.
2007 proved to be Army of Freshmen busiest year with multiple tours in the United Kingdom, their first UK festival appearance at the Download Festival, their first trip to mainland Europe supporting Reel Big Fish and the previously mentioned Get Happy Tours which played to sold-out venues in the United Kingdom.
After years of touring independently and surviving primarily on merchandise sales, just as Army of Freshmen was set to sign to a major label, the global economic crisis hit.
During this time, band members engaged in a variety of side projects, including Jay and Goldberg writing, co-producing, and releasing the independent comedy film, The Bet.
In a surprise announcement on September 22, 2017, Army of Freshmen released the news that they would be celebrating their 20th Anniversary in February 2018 with the return of the Get Happy Tour in the United Kingdom.
Chris Jay and Dan Clark host the bi-weekly podcast, Fresh Talk which covers music, movies, TV and current events.
In Army of Freshmen's early days, Jay, Goldberg and Bucey performed in a parody hillbilly band, The Anal Retentive Mississippi Scavenger Hunt.
Army of Freshmen wrote and performed the original theme song for the children's film, Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer.
Army of Freshmen wrote and performed the original theme song for the indie comedy film, Beer Pong Saved My Life which Jay had a small cameo in.
Members of Army of Freshmen can be seen in the background of the opening sequence of the indie horror movie, The Telling as party goers at the Playboy Mansion.
Production Chris Jay and Aaron Goldberg have produced and co-written with several artists in different genres including Adam Mcdonough, Delaney Gibson, Tom Oconnor, Sarah Ashleigh, Michelle Dawn Mooney, Jeff Hershey and The Heartbeats, Narrowcast, Exit4, Lost, Ten Four and Out, New Liberty, Albright, AMFX, Plunket and more.
Beach Boys Lawsuit Chris Jay is a frequent contributor to the VC Reporter, a weekly newspaper in print and online in Ventura County and has interviewed hundreds of artists.