Jamie Kent

It is now officially cold in Massachusetts. Do you know what that means? It means the leaves have already peaked, snow is on its way, and everyone’s about to get sick. As I am always the type of person who likes to lead the way into uncharted territories, I figured I would help my fellow friends and get sick first; that way I could let everyone know what it’s like this year! Needless to say, I’ve spent the last three or so days in bed baking with 102.3 fever and taking every cough medicine known to man. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t swine flu, though there were a few moments where I may have been convinced I had a tail (there could have been some NyQuil involved…). But alas, I made it through the worst of the storm, and now am ready to get back to business! And plus, a bit of raspy in the voice always adds a hint of badass to a show, right?

A new show! Western MA style…

As you know, I’ve spent the past couple of weeks playing various open mic nights in the western MA area. This past week I played one at a really cool place called the Black Moon Jazz Café in Belchertown. While the venue is debatably a trek from most cool places, I’ve noticed that it’s the places that are hardest to find that are always the best. Great vibes, great beer, and most notably, great people; that’s how I’d describe the Black Moon. I tested out a couple new tunes which none of you have heard yet called Love Pretend and Bonofasitch, then finished with Isabella. The mini-set felt great; I really dug the vibe of the people, and I think that really showed in my performance. A few days later I got an email from their booking agent offering a gig this Saturday opening for a great local musician named Heather Maloney! I’m still waiting on some details for the show, but as soon as I have them, I’ll post it on my gig calendar. Did I mention that I’m starting to like these open mic nights…?

The Print is pressing

So the five songs you see/hear up on the site right now are going to part of my upcoming full-length album “Neoteny”. However, for promotional purposes, I decided to get them printed now as a separate EP. Though I was able to do very little while sick, I managed to wrap up the final stages of getting this EP printed, and I should have 300 EPs in hand by Oct. 23rd! I’ve uploaded the album artwork below for you all to check out…

Pretty cool, ey? The idea was to keep this EP as simple as possible, and I wanted that to be reflected in the artwork as well. I want to toss some love to Robbie Tilton, the graphic guru who designed this EP and the upcoming “Neoteny”. His work fuckin rocks. Also, huge props to ELS Productions for pulling it all together and getting them out so quick and at such a good price ($200 cheaper than Discmakers).

After checking out the cool EP artwork, you might be asking yourself, why the name “The Collective EP”? Well I can’t tell you quite yet, but I will give you a hint: it has something to do with that oh so secret idea that should be complete in the next few weeks…

Said again with a shit eating grin,
till next time,
Jamie