Christopher Jak

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Christopher Jak's latest release, Leadfoot Lover, is his first in nearly five years. The follow up to 2002's Applause of the Rain and 2004's The New Nostalgia, Leadfoot Lover was recorded in Jak's longtime hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado at the renown Blasting Room Studios, where Jak is also a producer.



He began production work for other artists while touring in support of The New Nostalgia. Despite living in the west, most of his live dates where played throughout the east coast, leaving the downtime at home available to venture over to the other side of the console. Jak says of the move to production, "It's the most rewarding and exhilarating musical experience I've had since i first stepped on a stage with a guitar. I don't engineer, so my process is purely about listening. I listen to where an artist is and where i think they are trying to go and whether it's the best direction for them and what they believe in and what they fear. In the end my goal is always the same; make a record that gives an artist something to hold up and say, "this is the best possible version of me". It takes guts on all sides, we take a leap of faith together and I never take the process for granted."



As for the return to recording and performing his own music, Jak acknowledges a different relationship to the process. "It's not the same when you're working with your own material", Jak say's bluntly. "It's so easy to get caught in all of the traps I try to steer other artists away from. Try sticking your fingers in your ears and talking, that's a good metaphor for how we perceive ourselves from inside our own heads. It's the same sound, same words, but it comes across completely different to someone standing in the room with us. I'm a brutal self critic and I have tried extremely hard on Leadfoot Lover and The FolK EP to get out of my head and just let the music be what it wants to be. Consequently, these are some of my favorite vocals I have ever recorded and Leadfoot Lover feels entirely uncontrived to me. Anti-pop, or something like that."



Jak plan's to make a return to playing live as well, a place where he is permanently comfortable despite being away from the stage for most of the last three years. "Last year I was having my best iTunes year ever and hadn't played a show in two years. Then iTunes made a technical change and things came crashing down, The New Nostalgia was no longer available and still isn't recognized properly by many iTunes libraries. I have tried for many many months to fix it from all sides and finally realized, this is karma, i should have been touring for all those people who bought my songs. If "genius" is what's driving my sales and not a touring schedule and new music, well, that's my fault isn't it. Besides which, I've always liked playing out and I've never doubted my ability to connect with an audience. I'm not sure what kept me from it in the past, but I'm ready to get back in the game. I miss meeting audiences and seeing other songwriters play."



Look for Christopher Jak on the road beginning this spring and summer, but meanwhile you can pick up the latest EP, Leadfoot Lover on iTunes and most other digital retailers. The FolK EP will be released for free in April, 2010 before being offered for sale later in the spring.