Why are you recording an album?

People look at you suspiciously when, seemingly out of the blue, you announce one day that you're working on your own album. After all, when you've spent your life performing on other people's recordings, doing hundreds upon hundreds of live shows, or handing your music over to others for their albums, why bother doing your own?

Don't ask Zak; he doesn't know. He knows he's not seeking fame, or fortune. "I woke up one day, and had songs in my head," he says, seemingly reluctant to bother explaining these things. "It was a case of great circumstances that aligned at the right time. I had songs; I had access to a great recording facility; I had friends who wanted to help me realize this vision. So I did."

So he did. The Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist started work on his self-titled debut in Spring 2008, and in between a regular guy's life of triumphs and tragedies, he managed to get 11 songs recorded by summer 2009. The result is his self-titled debut album which has a release date of December 11 of this year.

Music was never absent from Zak's life. He started on piano as a toddler, picked up the guitar when he was seven, and has been immersed in music ever since. With both formal training at places like Berklee College and Musicians Institute, and years at the school of hard knocks playing as a session and live musician, Zak also developed the love of great songwriting. He's the first to acknowledge the influence of his songwriting idols, including Neil Young, Tom Petty, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, Pete Townshend, and many others.

The result is a group of tunes that somehow meld the organic with the ethereal. High tech meets roots rock. And the song is always the king, though he had plenty of help polishing his ideas from co-producer Phil O'Keefe, and fellow multi-instrumentalists Bunny Knutson and Ken Lee.

With a loyal, enthusiastic fan following, Zak always jumps at opportunities to perform his songs live, most frequently in the 3D Internet environment of Second Life. In any case, the real story of Zak Claxton is in the music... listen now!