Jay Malinowski bought his first guitar at a vintage store for $20. He was 13 years old and had to hide it from his parents because he wasn’t allowed to have one.

“I have a way of picking things up and throwing them away immediately,” the lead singer of Bedouin Soundclash told andPOP. “Maybe [my parents] were testing me.”

Still, he knew the guitar was different. He credits his love for the instrument to an old Bob Dylan tape that his mom gave him. And lucky for 28-year-old Malinowski, the guitar suits him well.

Since the release of their first album in 2004, Canada’s own Bedouin Soundclash has been met with success. And now they have one more thing to add to their resume: their own record label, Pirates Blend. The name, Malinowski said, comes from pirate radio and its idea of people “finding their own music by whatever means possible.”

He said their goal is to sign a wide variety of artists, particularly international musicians who wouldn’t otherwise be heard in Canada.

And Malinowski has special reason to be excited about the label, because it’s about to release his first solo album, Bright Lights and Bruises, on Feb. 16.

“It’s just such a new thing for me right now,” Malinowski said of working as a solo artist. “The whole recording process was quite different.”

“I’ve caught myself using the word ‘we’ a lot,” he added with a laugh. “But there’s no one but me.”

The self-produced folk/acoustic album was trivial for Malinowski, who used his song writing as a form of therapy to deal with the tough place he was at in his life. Between a difficult personal breakup and the decision that he and fellow Bedouin Soundclash member Eon Sinclair could no longer work with then-drummer Pat Pengelly, Malinowski had a lot to write about.

The result is a from-the-heart album that Malinowski is both excited and nervous to release.

“There is a bit of hesitation because it’s about a lot of personal things that happened to me,” he said. “There’s a little bit of, ‘I just made a private thing public,’ but ultimately that’s what you do as an artist.”

“And if people can relate,” he added, “then it’s worth it.”

And ultimately, the album helped his healing process.

“I was writing it in a state of mourning and loss,” he said. “It was necessary for me to do it … otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get to a better place.”

Bedouin Soundclash is in a better place too, with the addition of new drummer Sekou Lumumba. A new record is in the works that they hope to have out this summer. Lumumba is also set to join Malinowski and Sinclair in Vancouver, where they will be playing three shows as part of the Winter Olympics. And Malinowski, a Vancouver native, will be running in the torch relay on Feb. 12.

“I’m just really excited to see what the Olympics are like,” he said. “It’s an honour to be part of it.”

Bedouin Soundclash was born when Malinowski was living in a dorm at Queen’s University. He met and bonded with Sinclair through a love of The Clash and the guitar. And the rest, as they say, is history. Malinowski, who went to Queen’s to study fine arts and art history, still has a strong love of painting.

“It’s one of those things that I think when I’m all done with [music], it seems like a nicer life,” he said.

But Malinowski isn’t stopping music anytime soon.

“I love that it’s so democratic,” Malinowski said when asked what he loves about music. “It’s cheap to reproduce, anyone can have it, and it speaks to everyone. That communicative power is what’s inspiring; it helps people make sense of life.”

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Bedouin Soundclash, The Trews and Patrick Watson are turning Japanese.

The three acts are among the Canadian indie musicians performing in Tokyo next week as part of an annual music showcase to reach the Asian market.

Industry representatives from a number of Asian countries will attend the shows and meet with artists.

Bedouin Soundclash, Watson, Saint Alvia and Woodhands are set to play the Duo Music Exchange, a music venue in the city’s Shibuya entertainment district, on Nov. 12.

That gig will be followed by a Nov. 14 showcase performance at the Canadian Embassy featuring the Trews, Alex Cuba, The Russian Futurists and Sofia de Medeiros.

The showcase, now in its second year, is spearheaded by the Canadian Independent Record Association. The organization also promotes homegrown acts at such events as South by Southwest in Austin, TX and CMJ in New York.

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Bedouin Soundclash are bringing their reggae-rock sound back home.

After spending a good part of the past year touring the U.S., Europe and Japan, the Toronto-via-Kingston trio will embark on an eight-date Canadian tour beginning this month.

They kick things off Sept. 12 in Toronto, accompanied by special guests H.R. of Bad Brains and Hamilton rockers Arkells.

The tour resumes Oct. 15 in Ottawa, the first of four dates supported by Toronto soul/hip-hop artist Zaki Ibrahim and reggae act Mishka. Vancouver pop band Hey Ocean! will replace Ibrahim for the last three dates of the tour, which ends Oct. 25 in Edmonton.

Bedouin Soundclash released their third album, “Street Gospels,” last year. It was the follow-up to 2004′s “Sounding A Mosaic,” which was certified platinum and earned the band a 2006 Juno Award for best new group.

Here are the dates for Bedouin Soundclash’s Canadian tour:

Sept. 12 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy (w/H.R. and Arkells)
Oct. 15 – Ottawa, ON @ Capital Music Hall (w/Zaki Ibrahim and Mishka)
Oct. 16 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis (w/Zaki Ibrahim and Mishka)
Oct. 18 – Halifax, NS @ The Grawood (Dalhousie University) (w/Zaki Ibrahim and Mishka)
Oct. 21 – London, ON @ Cowboys Ranch (w/Zaki Ibrahim and Mishka)
Oct. 23 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom (w/Hey Ocean! and Mishka)
Oct. 24 – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall (w/Hey Ocean! and Mishka)
Oct. 25 – Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Event Centre (w/Hey Ocean! and Mishka)

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance