CLAYTON — Jay Nash has decided it's time to live a little closer to the river he rocks each summer.
For the past six years, the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and some of his musical friends from that city and elsewhere have headed east for the Rock for the River concert. Besides aiding the environmental watchdog group Save the River, it gave Mr. Nash a chance to see family and old friends.
Mr. Nash is a Syracuse-area native whose parents, Eric J. and Carol "Dede" Nash, moved to Clayton in 2005 where they operate RiverHouse, a bed-and-breakfast.
Mr. Nash spent nine years in Los Angeles, where's he's well-known in the city's clubs. His songs also have appeared in independent films and on network television shows, including MTV's "Exiled" and Lifetime's "Army Wives." He just put the finishing touches on his ninth studio album.
Mr. Nash recently "made a home in the woods" in Vermont with his wife. He said that after nine years in Los Angeles, where he originally headed with the intent of staying just a few months, he and his wife became homesick for the East Coast.
"Also, since my career is mostly based on touring and online record sales, I feel like I've finally gotten to a point where it's not dependent on me living in Los Angeles," Mr. Nash said last week in response to e-mailed questions sent to him in London, where he was as part of a European tour.
"I'll still be a regular in Los Angeles," he added. "So I really have no intention of letting go of any of my friendships there."
Those friendships will create the seventh version of Rock for the River on Saturday. The featured performers are all returnees to the benefit concert, which in its six years has raised $32,000. About $10,000 was raised in 2009.
"I definitely want to be more present in the river community," Mr. Nash said.
He said his musical associates look forward to the annual concert along the river.
"The only trouble I have is juggling all of the requests from my comrades to come and play," he said.
The featured musicians for the 2010 Rock for the River:
■ After three years of a full-time wood-sculpting apprenticeship,Amber Rubarth,while living in Nevada, traded in her chain saw for a guitar and taught herself to write and play songs. Her 2005 debut CD, "Something New," was named one of the top 10 albums of the year (alongside those by Kanye West and Alicia Keys) by Owl Magazine. Her songs have generated about 2 million plays on MySpace with no outside marketing or label. She's touring the U.S., Europe and Japan in support of her new release, "Good Mystery."
■ Chris Seefriedis best known as the founding member and producer of the bands God's Child, Joe 90 and Low Stars. In between touring as Rosanne Cash's guitar player, Mr. Seefried also scores numerous films and commercials. His solo album, "Denim Blue," was released last year. It includes the song "Drive," featured as an end title on the hit HBO series "Six Feet Under." Every song on the album has made it to television or film.
■ Eliza Mooreis a violinist and composer who has homes on Grindstone Island and in Montreal. She received her training at the Guildhall School for Music and Drama in London, where she developed a passion for world music and collaborative composition.
In 2008, she recorded "Beauty and Mystery" with Los Angeles producer and acclaimed jazz musician Deron Johnson.
■ Chris Pierce'smusic has been compared to the works of Al Green, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. He has opened for Seal, and his songs have made their way to big and small screens, including the soundtrack for the Oscar-winning film "Crash." He's working on a followup to his album "Walking the Earth," which KCRW, southern California's leading National Public Radio affiliate, picked as one of the top albums of 2008.
■ Singer/songwriterJoe Purdyreleased his 10th album, "Last Clock on the Wall," last year. Each of his albums acts as a "travel guide" of his experiences.
His song "Can't Get It Right Today" is featured on a Kia commercial. His song "Wash Away" has become synonymous with the first season of the ABC drama "Lost" in 2004. It's from an album he recorded in 2004 on an island in the St. Lawrence River.
■ Garrison Starrblends a pop/rock/alternative sound with her country vocal background. Her latest album is "The Girl That Killed September." Billboard magazine says she writes "affecting, emotion-bearing songs."
■ Joey Ryanhas toured Europe and the U.S. several times. His music has been featured on ABC's "Private Practice," the CW's "One Tree Hill," the iTunes Indie Spotlight, KCRW's "Weekend Becomes Eclectic" and various television commercials.
Rock for the River 7 is sponsored by the Duane and Dalia Stiller Family Foundation, Cerow Agency and Electronic Ink. Organizers say the three sponsors ensure that all concert proceeds will support Save the River advocacy, education and outreach work on the upper St. Lawrence River.
