I write you this time with some really awesome news. Over the past month or so you might have noticed my not so subtle hints that a mischievous event of epic proportions was in store. In today’s music industry I truly believe you need to do crazy and creative things to stand out from the rest, and so that’s just what we did this last week.

There are a 171 Starbucks carrying music in Manhattan alone. This past weekend, myself and a group of amazing fans/friends took NYC by storm and secretly planted my CDs in every one of those locations. We then filmed the process, the reaction, and the little bits of mischief throughout the day, and turned it into a kick-ass music video! We also introduced NYC to it’s newest super-hero, “The Mischief Man”. So much hard work and preparation went into this event, and I must say that I’m really proud of how it turned out. Want to see it??? Drum roll please….

Fast Tube by Casper

Now I’m still crossing my fingers that Starbucks doesn’t sue me, but I suppose if they did, it might generate some real nice press.

Either way, I truly believe this has the potential to take off virally; both because it’s pretty darn funny, and because we totally pulled of a huge prank on one of the biggest corporations in the world. That said, it’s only going to go viral with your help. So if you dig it, if it made you laugh, PLEASE share it with all your friends through email, facebook, twitter, etc…I can’t tell you how much of a help that would be. Seriously.

Thanks again for all your help and support so far. I wouldn’t be able to pull off any of this without you all.

With love, mischief, and hopes of seeing you real soon,

Jamie

How is everyone handling this wild summer heat? I actually kind of like it…Seems to make everyone move a bit slower, and I think that’s always a good thing.

In the case that you need to take a break from the Air Conditioned life and hear some rockin live music, I thought I’d update you all on my summer tour! I’ve added some awesome dates to the lineup, so definitely check out this list and come get your dance on with us:

7.08.2010, Surfside 5, Salisbury Beach MA, 9pm (duo w/ Jules Belmont)

7.13.2010, Side Street Cafe, Florence MA, 6pm (duo w/ Zack Danziger)

7.16.2010, Empire BrewFest, Syracuse NY, 7:00pm

7.22.2010, The Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge MA, 8pm

7.30.2010, The Elevens, Northampton MA, 7pm (duo opening for Storybox!)

7.31.2010-8.2.2010, Mischief Mania, NYC (email mischief@jamiekent.com to get involved!)

8.05.2010, The Living Room, NYC, 8:30pm

8.12.2010, Up or Down the Rocks, Hartford CT, 10:30pm

8.20.2010, Tommy Doyle’s, Hyannis MA, 10pm

8.27.2010, Topside Grill, Gloucester MA, 9pm (solo show)

8.28.2010, The Academy of Music, Northampton MA, TBA (solo show opening for Roger Salloom!)

8.31.2010, From Day One Festival (Babson College), TBA

9.03.2010, Finz Seafood, Salem MA, 9pm (solo show)

9.04.2010, The People’s Pint, Greenfield MA, 10pm

Also, as I’ve hinted at in the last couple of emails, I’ve got some mischief a brewin in NYC over the last weekend in July. I can’t let the cat out of the bag quite yet, but if you email me, I might be easily persuaded to give you the rundown …Also, if you happen to know of anyone that works/writes for any newspapers, magazines, etc…definitely let me know. And if you were willing to connect us, well, I would probably give you a Partnership in The Collective…

Well folks, I’ll keep this one short and sweet. And I’ll leave you with a link to Part I of the Brownie Whoopie Pie Experience. There might be three parts. And this might have happened during our trip to Harry’s Hoe Down (our first music festival!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZXaibJJTKc

With love, gratitude, and thoughts of jumping in cool bodies of water,

Jamie

A lot of great stuff is happening, and I felt like I just had to share it with you.

First off, in case you’ve forgotten, THIS Saturday April 17th is my NYC CD Release party at the legendary Bitter End (147 Bleecker St). We hit the stage at 8pm, and it’s seriously going to rock. I don’t have a huge presence in NYC yet, so if any of you are living in the area or need an excuse to visit the city for the weekend, I could really use the support! I promise it will be worth it.

Secondly, I was recently interviewed by “The Get It Done Guy” and it has just aired on his hugely popular podcast and website! It’s all about starting a movement and focuses on The Collective and what I’m trying to do to create such a movement around my music and performances. Check out the podcast and full interview below and let me know what you think!

The Get-it-Done Guy podcast based on me:
http://getitdone.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-start-a-project.aspx
The Jamie Kent full interview page:
http://www.steverrobbins.com/getitdoneguy/128-jamie-kent/

Thirdly, I’ve added some really fantastic shows to the lineup for the coming weeks/months. Two of the best ones for you to keep on the radar are:
1. Monday May 3rd, The Middle East (upstairs), Cambridge MA, 9:30pm
2. Saturday May 15th, The Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton MA, 7:00pm (opening for Raul Midon, protégé of Stevie Wonder)

If you’re interested in tickets for the May 15th show, I’ve got them cheaper than online (no service fees and such), so just shoot me an email!

As always, keep checking around my website for new shows, blog posts, pictures, etc…and if you want to pick up a digital copy of the album, it’s now available on iTunes!! Wohoooo (you can’t see right now, but I’m doing the digital dance).

Lastly, and most importantly, thank you again for all of your love and support; I couldn’t be doing this without you.

Your friendly neighborhood mischief man,
Jamie

So as you know, my Northampton CD show is scheduled for Friday April 2nd at the APE Gallery in Northampton (7pm). As you might also know, it’s going to be crazy. I am collaborating with local artists Chris Millette, Perry Huntoon, and many others to not only transform the gallery space into your “childhood home on acid”, but to paint the night of in response to the music! In order to paint the night of, the artists needed to build the foundation of the mural first and lay down the foundation of mural (2 hours just isn’t enough time to paint a 4′x8′ mural!). As I type this, the artists are in the studio at my house painting away! Want to see how it’s lookin? Check it out…

Notice how there are a ton of wild shapes in the mural? Well Chris, Perry, and Jamie (yes, there are two Jamies involved, definitely a sign) cut all of those pieces from plywood and screwed them onto the frame to create that canvas. At the end of the night on April 2nd these pieces will then be given away to all you sexy concert goers as a memento of the night and the experience! There may not be enough for everyone though, so we’re still trying to figure out how to fix that problem. Perhaps everyone who buys a CD gets a piece? Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas!

Alright, back to work!

Over and out,
Jamie

So I thought I’d make a quick post with some pics for you all which I’ve been slacking on posting! So about a month ago, I played an acoustic set at Babson College and there were some really cool shots taken by Samuel Johns there. Check em out…

A few weeks later I played an acoustic set at the famed Webster Hall in NYC! It was an awesome show, and fortunately my friend Veronique Lee grabbed a couple cool photos and a video or two. I’ve posted one of the videos under the “Videos” tab, so check that out and let me know what you think. I thought I’d just toss the photos here…

Anyway, that’s it for now! Let me know what you think of these shots and feel free to tag them on facebook or any of those crazy sites

Lots of love,
Jamie

So I know it’s been a while since I’ve written. Bad Jamie, bad bad bad. I promise to be better in the next few weeks/months. Anyway, I’ve got tons of great news/updates, but the most important of all involves the release of my debut album Neoteny. It’s going to be in my hands on March 4th, just in time for the first of three awesome CD Release shows! “Wait, CD Release shows you say?” Why yes, they’ve all been confirmed, and here they are…

Saturday March 6th, The Midway Café, Boston MA, 9:30pm
Friday April 2nd, A.P.E. Gallery, Northampton MA, 8pm
Saturday April 17th, The Bitter End, NYC, 8pm

These three shows are basically set to be the three most important shows I’ve ever played. With that in mind, I could truly use every bit of support from you all. I.e. if there was ever a show you were going to come to, please please make it one (or all) of these! The Boston show will be with another local band called Melodeego (they actually got me the gig). The Northampton show will involve live visual art in response to the band, and will also be a benefit show for the Northampton Education Foundation. Lastly, The Bitter End, well, is The Bitter End. One of NYC’s best clubs gave me a Saturday for this release, so let’s make it rock. All in all, each venue is giving me a huge opportunity and taking a (theoretical) risk on me, so let’s pack each place and show them we mean business.

I’ve also just been booking a ton of shows on top of these, so to get the whole rundown (or get directions to any venue), check out my Shows page.

After the Boston CD Release show on March 6th, the album will become available on iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, and well, all those good places. Pretty exciting, ey???

Lastly, I just got in some amazing hand silk screened t-shirts; if you’re in the Collective, expect one in the mail shortly, if not, let me know if you want one and we’ll make it happen (email is a great way to contact me)!

Thanks again to everyone for your support so far. It’s about to get really awesome. Ready?

Love,
Jamie

p.s. I’m not convinced that anyone actually reads my blog. so if you do, show some love and leave a comment. Prove your existence!!

I must first start with a hearty happy New Year to you all. I hope that your holidays were as awesome and stress free as possible and that your New Year’s celebration was full of wondrous debauchery! Mine may have involved streaking of some sort, but I know that’s nothing anyone wants to think about.

Anyways, on the music front there has been some great progress over the last few weeks. As I mentioned before, there are 9 more tunes on their way, and now they should be ready in the next couple of weeks! Pretty exciting, ey? And I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, these next 9 are hot. And not like Phoenix in the summer hot; more like Kate Hudson hot. That said, keep your eyes peeled in the next week or so; as Wes sends them my way I’ll toss them up on the site as a sneak preview for you all!

On top of the songs, the foundation of The Options has been solidified for upcoming shows over the coming months. The Options are as follows:

Lead Guitar- Joe Boyle
Drums- Sturgis Cunningham
Bass- John O’Boyle

These guys are all amazing, and I can’t wait to rock the stage with them. Speaking of rocking the stage, have you checked out some of the shows I just booked this past week? Take a look at the left hand side of the page, there’s 3-4 shows just added a few days ago! And keep checking there, as I’m in the booking process right now and will add them as they become confirmed.

Anyway, thanks for checkin in; things are really progressing fast and I can’t wait to see where it all leads in the coming weeks!

Lots of love and positive energy at the start of a great New Year,
Jamie

I’ve waited a while to tell you this. I’ve danced around the subject in just about every blog post, teased and tantalized, hinted and flirted; yet finally, the time has come for me to unleash the idea that I’ve been working on for the last 3-4 months! Are you ready…?

Drum roll please…The Collective launches December 1st!

Two days ago, December 1st, I launched The Collective, my solution to an evolving music industry and the constantly asked question, “how does one support themselves as an independent musician?” In essence, The Collective will be an active community of my most loyal fans, friends, and advisors who will support my career from day one, and reap the greatest returns from its growth. Partners in The Collective provide financial support and creative consultation in return for free access to exclusive cuts of my music, live performances, the coolest merchandise, and even private Collective parties, shows and events.

There are all different levels of partnership, but say for example, you decided to buy a “Savvy Partnership” in The Collective for $100. You would get free access to all my music, free access to any shows of mine, an awesome “Founding Partner” t-shirt, and a signed limited edition of “The Collective EP”. Sounds pretty cool, right? Furthermore, you’d get access to a protected part of my website where I ask you all questions such as “Where should I tour?” “What should the order of my songs be on this album?”, “Which artwork do you like better” and so on. This is also the part of my website where I’ll post the music, videos, etc…exclusively for you, the Partner. In fact, there are two exclusive videos and a questions waiting for you right now…

As a somewhat random aside, I toyed with the idea of “profit sharing” for a while, but after getting the advice of many a lawyer, it became clear that the SEC would not be down with that idea, and would cause many expensive problems. Furthermore, I investigated the practices of various Co-ops and a site called sellaband.com, and found out that most of the customers of these places actually preferred receiving something tangible (i.e. a cool shirt or signed CD), as opposed to a check for $4.35 once a year. With both of those things in mind, I dropped the profit sharing and increased the tangible benefits of becoming a Partner. What do you think of that? Does that ring true with and make sense to you? I’d really like to hear your thoughts.

Anyway, for a complete rundown on The Collective, simply scroll up and click “The Collective” (or just click it here:p). From this page you’ll get a clear and concise breakdown of the benefits/costs of each partnership level, my long term vision for The Collective, and an awesome FAQ page with even more info!

So what do ya say?

Now that I’ve put that all on the table, I guess it’s time to ask that question you’re all probably expecting by now anyway. Would you be willing to Partner with me to turn this dream into a reality? You are all my closest friends, family, and fans, and I would love to share in this journey with you. I know times are tough, and so I totally understand if you’d prefer to just buy the CD when it comes out, or come to an occasional show. But if you can, and if you believe in what I’m doing and in my ability to rock the world with my music, I would love so much for you to become a Partner in The Collective and share in the dream.

Thanks so much to all of you for your support so far. It’s been a truly awesome ride, and I can’t wait to see where the journey takes us. Should you happen to share this email/my music with all of your friends, parents, colleagues, pets, etc…I would love you forever (though I probably will anyway). That said, I will conclude with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

With lots of love,
Jamie

I forgot to link to this in my last post, but Simon Pollock, a good friend, student at Goucher College, and writer for MixTapeMuse just so happened to write an awesome review of my show at Goucher a couple weeks ago! Definitely something you all should totally check out…

http://mixtapemuse.blogspot.com/2009/11/getting-down-with-getting-started-jamie.html

Let me know what you think!

Lots more to come soon,
-J

At approximately the hour of 9pm this past Sunday, I rocked the Lyon’s Den at Wheaton College. And by rocked, I mean played an acoustic set, sang my heart out, and exposed the students at Wheaton to my rather large portfolio of awkward jokes/stories…so basically, it was awesome.

The Lyon’s Den is an awesome coffeehouse/lounge venue that has seen the likes of Matt Nathanson, Stephen Kellogg, Crooked Still, and now Jamie Kent. My biggest enemy throughout the night was easily the espresso machine; though once I decided to invite the machine into the band, its solos added a nice touch to the set However, the house was pretty close to full, and everyone was really receptive to my tunes.  I was also able to test out a couple new tunes, and particularly one that I just wrote on ukulele called “Games” (which was received really well).  Oh, and we filmed the whole thing! The footage turned out great, so keep you eyes peeled for a couple more videos in the coming weeks! Lastly, I was invited to come back in the spring, which is always a great thing. All in all, it was a great show and I can’t wait to rock The Den again soon. Thanks to Liza and Caitie for making it happen, and Jessie for filming!

From the depths of the studio…

Today Wes and I took to the studio with lead guitarist Joe Boyle to further develop five of the nine tunes that we’re working on to complete my first full length release “Neoteny”. Let me just tell you, these tunes are hot. I’m honestly twitching with excitement to play them for you. There’s a ton of work ahead, but it’s all coming together so well that I really can’t wait to go to work every day. So stay tuned, there’s a pretty good chance that I  may post a tune or two in the next couple of weeks (before they’re all complete)…

The real countdown begins…

So I know I’ve talked a lot of talk about this “Big Idea” of mine, but it’s actually about to happen. I can finally say that within a week, the idea will be launched. Prepare yourselves for the The Collective, it’s going to change the way you view being a fan, and change the way we musicians pursue our dreams.

Talk soon,

Jamie