Editing Jason Collett (section)

==Early life==
Collett was born in [[Bramalea, Ontario|Bramalea]], a [[Greater Toronto Area]] suburb.  He began writing songs at a young age to escape the boredom of his suburban life, and cites [[Bob Dylan]], [[Kris Kristofferson]] and [[Nick Lowe]] as influences. Eventually, Collett moved to downtown Toronto where he worked as a woodworker and carpenter, doing renovations and custom home building, while he pursued his music.

In the late 1980s, Collett co-founded the band Lazy Grace with Kathryn Rose and Kersti McLeod,<ref name=barclay>Michael Barclay, "A source of good sounds; Jason Collett, Michelle Shocked, Metric, Boy all have links to the Hillside stages". ''[[Guelph Mercury]]'', July 24, 2003.</ref> performing every Monday at Toronto’s [[Spadina Hotel]] at the popular indie music gathering, Radio Mondays, alongside [[The Weakerthans]] and artists on the record label [[Arts & Crafts (record label)|Arts & Crafts]], who would perform and write songs together. Collett has mentioned how Radio Mondays were great community-building events, with five or six artists on stage at a time.<ref>"Radio Mondays 'a kitchen party with an audience'". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', January 30, 2003.</ref>

Around 2000, he was a part of the short-lived [[alternative country]] group Bird, of which [[Andrew Cash]] and [[Hawksley Workman]] were also members. Bird released one album, 2000’s ''[[Chrome Reflection]]''.<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r593396|first=Jason|last=MacNeil}}</ref>