Continued

"Unlike the other instruments, I was instantly hooked. One major difference was I could picture myself onstage with a guitar. I had a harder time picturing myself onstage behind keyboards, for some reason," Foucher says. "There also weren't a lot of women rock guitar players -- in fact, very few at the time I started. And the ones out there weren't that great. I've always been fueled by challenge."

Foucher enrolled at GIT in Los Angeles in 1988, what she terms "a very intense vocational school for guitar." She often is asked why she didn't attend the prestigious Berklee School of Music in her native Massachusetts instead. The choice to her was obvious at the time. "Back then, GIT was really known for rock music and Berklee was more of a jazz school," she explains. "GIT was also more concentrated on playing technique where Berklee was more academic, more into theory, songwriting and classical composing."

"Today, GIT teaches more of the stuff Berklee teaches, and Berklee has more rock classes, so they're evening out. But my main reason at the time was that GIT was known for producing really good players, and I mainly wanted to improve my playing technique."

Frank Gambale, Paul Gilbert and Jennifer Batten are three Foucher contemporaries who also graduated from GIT. Gambale is a highly regarded fusion player, Gilbert worked with Mr. Big, and Batten has toured with both Michael Jackson and Jeff Beck.

Similarly high-profile gigs have eluded Foucher, but she keeps trying. Her last collaborations occurred with local heavy progressive groups Lord Bane and Plaid Dragon. She also had a preliminary audition to replace Batten in Michael Jackson's touring band, but was beaten out by Guns 'n' Roses axemeister Slash.

For now, Foucher is intent on developing her solo career and keeping an eye out for other lucrative gigs. Her current band consists of drummer John Kerr and bassist John Vittori. Though she is an accomplished keyboardist -- a distinction Foucher shares with the likes of Mike Kenneally and Tony McAlpine -- performing keyboards live is not an option. "I have enough to do already," she says. "Actually, I'd love to have a keyboard player, but they're hard to find. I also might look for a rhythm guitar player. We'll see what happens."

In the past year, live shows have been few and far between for Foucher and her band. The Boston-area music scene is in a constant state of flux, but is dictated largely by the whims of college students who dominate the region's nightlife. Dance music and pop-rock prevail in most well-known clubs. "It's not even really 'alternative' music anymore," Foucher observes. "We plan to perform live more often this coming year, but it remains awfully hard to book shows for instrumental guitar acts, especially around Boston."

But as she noted earlier, Foucher thrives on challenge. And inherent to meeting challenges head-on is a willingness to sacrifice, to do whatever it takes to make one's self heard. This brings us back to the issue of a woman carving her own musical niche in a male-dominated scene.

"My theory about why there are so few women trying to do what I'm doing is it requires a very large commitment. I've given up a lot of things that most women tend to go after, like getting married, having kids, etc." reflects Foucher. "I gave up a lot of social life early on. I gave up a lot of trips to the mall when I was a teenager so I could stay at home and practice."

"It's not that women don't have a sense of commitment per se, but back when I started this it was kind of tough explaining to a lot of my girlfriends why I wanted to stay in. Another aspect of this is a lot of people would try to discourage me, saying I would never be able to do it because I was a girl, or would not be able to do it as well as a guy did."

"I think that what enabled me to overcome this was that playing was something I wanted so badly to do that I just refused to listen. I have the type of personality that if someone tells me I can't do something, it pisses me off and makes me want even more to prove they're wrong. I guess you could call that my rebellious nature."

Slowly but surely, the recognition is coming. It started back in 1989 when Foucher was profiled by guitar guru Mike Varney in his "Spotlight" column for Guitar Player magazine. It took another leap forward in February, when she appeared at the annual NAMM convention in a showcase gig with fellow guitarists Carl Verheyen (Supertramp), Brett Garsted (Nelson, Derek Sherinian), and Scott McGill (Hand Farm).

And of course, sales of Contagious Grooves are expected to eclipse those of its predecessor via improved promotion and distribution.

"There are always going to be comparisons between guitar players; the key to it all is finding an original voice and developing it," Foucher says. "I've been told by a lot of people that I sound like myself now, which is good."

As far as Jaye Foucher is concerned, that should give the image factor a genuine shot in the arm.