Hayes began playing at the age of eight and pursued his dream through high school and college, studying both contemporary and classical guitar techniques. In 1980 he attended the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) in Hollywood, California, where he was influenced by musicians from a variety of styles and backgrounds. After attending GIT he took on many students in the St. Louis area, one of his students was Richard Fortus, now with Guns N’ Roses. 

Playing both live and studio dates for over two decades, J. has had the chance to play along side of some of the greats in the industry, as well as being involved in commercial and film work for Honda, The Discovery Channel, Anheuser-Busch, ESPN, McDonald's, McDonnell-Douglas, Monsanto, and many other prominent corporations in America. In addition, his album credits as a studio musician number well over a hundred. He recently released a CD project entitled Open Skies featuring his compositions and the Budapest Symphony for the Sonoton label of Germany and also has a new indie CD, Dreaming Out Loud, in the making.