California-based Gruv Gear, designer and manufacturer of innovative utility gear and accessories for musicians, proudly welcomes Singer & Songwriter Jake London to its growing list of world-class artist endorsers.
Singer/songwriter Jake London’s musicianship is not the product of weekly childhood lessons or hours of adolescent band practice in a garage. Instead, the first time Jake touched a guitar was when he was loaned a friends beat up Fender Acoustic before embarking on a one-way road trip out of his hometown Portland, OR. Perhaps somewhere in the back of his mind he knew the shoddy instrument would at best be therapeutic and at worst serve as nothing more than a pleasant distraction once he got to his next destination: Los Angeles.
The guitar made it to LA but went largely unused at first. Tragedy struck Jake and his family within months of their arrival. A call came in the early hours of a winter morning bringing news that his older brother had passed away from a heart attack. His brother was 30. Jake was left devastated and lost. In order to cope with such a loss, Jake developed into a surf bum. The long hours in the ocean often helped him forget reality. After several months Jake had adopted a “Live for Today” mantra, igniting a fire that ultimately started his career. He felt the need to do and try everything. The borrowed, beat up guitar he brought with him was soon dusted off and it took him to his first open mic night. His performance was not great, as you might expect, but the adrenaline rush of playing on stage in front of people truly spiked his interest level from hobbyist to becoming a professional musician. Since then Jake has poured countless hours of blood, sweat and most notably heart into the trade. He has acquired the skills necessary to accomplish his goals and is now an adept guitarist with an effortless rasp and a bevy of songwriting talent in his back pocket. It doesn’t take much analysis to see why Jake wins crowds over on a nightly basis in LA’s competitive residency scene.
These traits intersect amicably on Runaway Heart, Jake’s stunning debut album that embodies the musical excursion he started on a whim years ago. That journey’s highs and lows are well represented on Runaway Heart, a collection of 10 complex & nuanced modern folk/ country songs ranging from slight twang to acoustic rock. Runaway Heart is simply put, a collection of stories running the gamut of relatable human emotion. Jake celebrated the album’s release with a packed performance at the House of Blues in Anaheim on December 2013. Jake and his traveling band hope to continue riding the newfound momentum with tour dates from San Diego to Seattle in Summer 2014.
About Gruv Gear:
Gruv Gear exists to bring innovative and well-thought out products to creative professionals and beyond, including career musicians, DJs, photographers, filmmakers, mobile producers and more. The company is on- track not only to become a premium lifestyle accessories brand in the Music/DJ and Photo Industries, which is a small fraction of its potential market, but also expand to a broader range of industries that will increase its global footprint exponentially. To date, Gruv Gear products are sold in 5 continents and shipped directly to adoring fans worldwide.