People often romanticize the life of a creative person. Artists, writers, musicians. It doesn’t matter the medium, people love to think that people who create have the epitome of a great life because they’re living their dream. Which, yes – it’s great to wake up and write daily but like Jake Bracey of Jake Bracey & The Mountain Laurels, it’s been well over a decade of some major struggles. He captures years on the road playing away from loved ones, long nights in hole in the walls, and more in his band’s latest, “Synapse.”
It doesn’t take long after play has been pressed for listeners to know the headspace of the person who penned this song. “Synapse” is easily recognizable as a personal musical moment because if this came from a universal perspective, I don’t think Jake would be able to deliver it as earnestly as he does. His performance is that of a musician who has traveled more miles than he’d like to admit over the years. He even admits that this is the most personal he’s ever managed to get.
Something that came through after a lot of time off the road due to the ongoing pandemic, which left Jake Bracey & The Mountain Laurels, as well as their peers without regularly scheduled touring for more than a year. He went from being a nonstop bar musician to sitting, scrolling the news, waiting, wondering when he could return. However, while waiting, he was able to reflect on all those long drives, and from that came this in-depth look at the mind and heart of a musician that has seen the highs and many lows of that reality.
Jake Bracey is not alone in this endeavor. After years of being on his own, he connected on a variety of levels with the owners and engineers of Everloft Studios, Joe Venango and Fred Keller who play the drums and bass alongside this veteran bar musician. All three are thrilled for fans to hear what they’ve been cooking up over the past year. While audiences wait for the record, “Synapse” is available on all major music and streaming sites.
Written by Kendra Beltran
