Today (June 30, 2022) marks eleven years since I began writing my own music under the name Blue Navy. To celebrate, I am releasing a new(ish) ambient piece entitled "The Past Dictates the Future". 

This composition was originally worked on during the recording sessions of "The Silent Diaries". However, this song was abandoned. Four years later, I rediscovered the original synth track, and was so moved that I knew I had to finish the song.

For the foreseeable future, this will more than likely be the last piece of music I will release as Blue Navy. Thanks to everyone who has listened to and supported my under the name. And don't worry - I'm not done with music. More stuff will be coming your way... hopefully soon. Take care.

Jake

Blue Navy - The Past Dictates the Future

Cover of "Don't Follow" by Alice in Chains, off their EP Jar of Flies. Taken from "The Unwoven LP" out September 23.

Alice in Chains - Don't Follow (Jake Dryzal cover)

The début single by Great American Racer, off their self-titled album, out on March 24 on Prodigious Productions.

Primarily known for his work under the dream pop alias Blue Navy, Jake Dryzal rebrands his music under the pseudonym Great American Racer, a project inspired by the sounds of folk rock, heartland rock, and singer-songwriter music. The project's self-titled début is a concept album about the heroin and opioid epidemic that currently plagues Rust Belt communities across the United States. The track "Isn't Bright..." is told from the perspective of a sober individual who longs for a world free of decay - both from drugs and economic decline.

LYRICS
In the sunniest rain, you will find another why
Another reason to make sense of the state that you're in
And it might juxtapose all the feelings stored inside
Bottled in, buried deep, dark and captured within
And though I've never crossed this burden
I can feel a little heartbeat that just is not stable anymore
And you said, "This is troublesome."
"I wanted to be free."
"I wanted to be somebody - me."

And so you see your family
What will they do without you?
Can you see the conflict brought upon your soul?
We said that this foundation is running through
Like all of the empty buildings in this hollow town
They're caving in upon themselves, and they're all alone
They're all deserted, they're far too gone
And this is where we'll all end up
You wanted to be free, but you went to live a life in misery

So then you close yourself off from the rest of the world
Forfeiting this comfort for a sharper edge
A distant sign, a breath to hold
And sure enough, you let go of everything that you were close to prior
You just wrote your name in cursive
Punctured in the softest layer of skin, right onto your arm
And there, it spreads like fire
But you wanted to be free
You wanted to be somebody

Great American Racer - Isn't Bright...

The second single by Great American Racer, off their self-titled album, out on March 24 on Prodigious Productions.

Primarily known for his work under the dream pop alias Blue Navy, Jake Dryzal rebrands his music under the pseudonym Great American Racer, a project inspired by the sounds of folk rock, heartland rock, and singer-songwriter music. The project's self-titled début is a concept album about the heroin and opioid epidemic that currently plagues Rust Belt communities across the United States. The track "Porches" sees the narrator reminisce about a childhood friend who died from substance abuse.

LYRICS:
What in the hell ever happened to our shared warmth?
It was the Fourth of July and the fireworks lit up the skyline onto a street
And you, my old friend, I was sitting right by on your porch
And the red against black penetrated the white of your skin like a reflective angel
And now you're welcomed to a world unknown
Trapped inside a dream that won't end while this world turns around us

Drove past your house for the millionth time this week
With the memorabilia of youth and the longing for answers
The struggle for truth
And I swear that I saw your old bicycle under the steps
Took that baby for miles and I'd follow
Through D and through E and through crumbling homes
And like spirit, it's so tragic, you faded, too
Lost and apart like a boat out to sea
With no hope to find a harbor

Grass in our hair, the sounds of trains miles away
It was 71 with the sun down
The sky a deep red like the shirt you had on
And that very night, when the Patriot dimmed, I just thought
"What would happen to us down the road?"
A child at heart becomes china in white
And I'll sing to the air that I breathe, like you did
These strings are the pulse to a distorted memory
"Wipe away the tears" I say when I play on my porch

Great American Racer - Porches

I'm slowly but surely getting songs written for a second Great American Racer album. I recorded this demo a month ago, and I'm so pleased with it that I'm releasing it publicly. Hope you enjoy.

Lyrics:
I wake every morning, I
Hear the voice, I,
See the face.
A grin of ignorance.
A smile of arrogance,
And a head that's filled with lies.
Then I see your photograph.
And your pretty eyes.
And your velvet hair.
Yeah, you were someone that I could lean on.
And embrace.
And be thankful for.
That's when I was a boy.
Now I'm a man.
And I've learned through time,
Yeah, I made up my mind:
That's nothing left to earn.
Only to take.
Only to steal from.
And I've been stolen from.

CHORUS
Still I see you, standing over there.
With your arms reached high,
But your spirit’s so low.
Please, hold me.
Through this world of fear.
Guide me through
This sin to your love.

Now your past wasn't very bright.
You battled demons and you almost took your own life.
And I understand that this wasn't where you wanted to be.
And you have been torn apart.
You carry bruises and
You carry deep, red scars.
You’ve been neglected
By the men who don't know what’s right.
And don't know what's fair.
(CHORUS)

Rejecting sovereignty, this 
Unraveling poverty has 
Twisted our very dreams
Into some bleak regime, and
I don't know where to start, these
Vices have torn apart these
Upstanding histories and
Triumphant victories but
(CHORUS)

Great American Racer - Lady Liberty (demo)

This is a rip of the flexi-disc that comes included in the "There's a Dream I've Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966-1971" boxset. It consists of studio chatter and snippets of unreleased Lee Hazlewood material. To my knowledge, this audio has never been uploaded and released publicly until today.

LHI In Session 1966-1970

Cover of Matchbox 20's "Real World", taken from my upcoming covers album. "The Messenger LP".

Jake Dryzal - Real World (Matchbox 20 cover)

I Know It's Pathetic But That Was The Greatest Night of My Life (Sun Kil Moon cover)

You left me half-empty, but that doesn't mean you should brag about how you're feeling free
On the streets of East Rutherford, I see how the sunlight hits the paleness of your face
You don't even mention our days, to you it's all a haze
I don't care about the love you're making or the things you're saying

I saw you kiss him near the flashing lights, and I don't see the bonding or the understanding
You thought it was tough and you thought it was rough, but I'm not at fault; I know you spilled the salt
I don't see truth behind his smile, I know that your lover's just a liar
This pavement's a good place for me; to die for anyone but me is just unfair

But you don't care; I miss the scent of your hair
When we climbed that hill, you had to go back down
You opened a door I couldn't; your feet on the green, like your eyes
And in a thousand miles, I'll be lonely in East Rutherford

East Rutherford

Lead single for the new Blue Navy album "Mine," out January 8.

Blue Navy - Iris / Tropicana

This must be what I deserve for treating you like gold. I've given you so much with nothing in return. So, I'll be drowned in your lies and deception. Say no words of sorrow, I fell for your apathy.

Why must things be like this? Why must you be like this? We had everything and we were ready for this future symmetry and feel of fingers through hair. But you turned your back. The lights aren't gleaming anymore.

And now, all I have is a pin of leaves to remember what we were.

Blue Navy - A Pin of Leaves

Fifth track from my upcoming record, "Ours".

You swear you recognized that voice before. Remember, I was on your bedroom floor. I'd feel the sudden warmth emitting clear. I'd feel the energy that's rushing near. And then, you took away this opportunity. It's a goddamn shame that you will never see. And the truth be told, you made a sabotage, and both of us will regret just what we've lost.

You swear that you have heard that breath before. Remember, I was waiting by your door. And in between these nights and all the days, you'd always find a way to make me stay. And then, you took away this opportunity. You preferred the arms with a false embrace. Did you really care about the things I did? Was it a fallacy you won't accept, or was it a disgrace?

Blue Navy - Without

A cover of Heidi Berry's version of "Up in the Air", recorded for my fifth Music and Recording Technology class at Cal U. Drums by Jack Allen. Bass by Luke Riley. Flute by Emma Esterline.

Up in the Air (Heidi Berry cover)

Jake Dryzal is a Pennsylvania musician, best known for his work as Blue Navy, Great American Racer, and Pallor.

Jake Dryzal

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