Singer-songwriter, producer and musician Jake Scott uses the term “crockpot songwriter” to describe his creative process. “I always have four or five ideas that are moving along at the same time and I will spend some time every day with each one,” he says.
As 2019 unfolds, the Arkansas native (now based in Los Angeles) certainly has a whole lot cooking in the creative kitchen. His own trajectory as a singer-songwriter is his primary focus, while collaborative sessions in Los Angeles and Nashville generate a catalog of coverable songs for other artists to record. Having concluded a three-year deal with Kobalt Music, he recently signed to Angry Mob Music. “It was time to find a different home as I was shifting into being an artist myself. What I like about Angry Mob is that they see me first as a recording artist who is also able to write songs for other artists, rather than the other way around.”
Instead of releasing a full-length collection, in 2018 Scott opted to release one song per month. “Nobody in my genre––which is singer-songwriter pop––has done it,” he explains. “It’s more common in hip-hop where they don’t look at albums so much as they look at songs. In my world it’s albums, so I was a little nervous, but it went way better than I could have hoped. I’m going to keep it going in 2019.”
When he launched his career as a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Scott envisioned that he would eventually form a band. For that reason, his initial EP Of Life and Longing was under the name Tossing Copper. “That EP hit the Billboard Heatseeker chart, and went Number Four on the iTunes chart, and became the body of work that thrust me into the music business full time,” he recalls. It also attracted the attention of hit songwriter David Hodges, known for the band Evanescence, and a writer for artists from Kelly Clarkson to Keith Urban. Hodges enlisted Scott as a collaborator, and his second release, Silhouettes and Sand, hit Number Two on the iTunes singer-songwriter charts.
Among Scott’s notable covers are “Words” recorded by Sara Evans, and Aloe Blacc’s “Brooklyn in the Summer,” originally written with and for the artist Stolar (née’ Jay Stolar.) “We didn’t really think much of it. We were writing a lot of songs at the time. Then a friend of ours, Jordan Palmer, helped put some of the production together for the demo for the Stolar project. Jordan’s manager sent it to Aloe’s manager and Aloe fell in love with the song. Aloe wrote a new bridge and sent a version with his voice on it and we were ‘Wait a minute––is Aloe going to release the song?’”
Moving forward, Scott shares that he has a number of songs co-written with Jason Mraz, and he is enthusiastic about his work with rising singer-songwriter Cody Lovaas. In Nashville, he collaborates with Josh Kerr, known for his work with Kelsea Ballerini and Keith Urban.
Unlike many songwriters, who seem to draw power from misery, Scott says many of his songs are inspired by the romantic bond he shares with his significant other. His song “Tuesdays” observes how a mundane week day fits into the scenario of a relationship. The haunting image, “the ghost of before” appears in his song “Old Wounds.” Scott gives credit to his partner for this line. “She’s a screenwriter, and a poet, and writing has always been part of her life. She wrote a poem and said, “You might be able to make this into a song.’”
Having recently moved into a new home, Scott is configuring his home studio in a back house on the property. He envisions amping up his touring schedule in this new year while continuing his monthly song releases. “My goal is to put unique language to the human experience,” Scott says. “As a songwriter, I’m always trying to write music that is infectious and moving. My purpose in writing is to help people to find words for what they are experiencing. If they can find this through my songs, then I’ve achieved my goal.”
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