$8 Jess Klein
Over a career that spans more than a decade and a half and has won her a devoted worldwide fan base, Klein�who possesses what Mojo magazine calls �one of those voices you want to crawl up close to the speakers to listen to� and a knack for writing songs that the Cape Cod Times has described as �fully realized, finely observed and deeply felt��has pursued a remarkable creative evolution that�s seen her dig ever deeper for resonant emotional insights, while continuing to refine her eloquently melodic, effortlessly accessible songcraft. As the New York Times noted, Klein is an artist who �has country roots, but who pushes her songs toward philosophical thoughts.�

Learning Faith �which marks Klein�s third collaboration with veteran producer Mark �Professor Feathers� Addison�boasts ten personally-charged new originals that rank with her most compelling and illuminating work. Such bracing tunes as �Surrender,� �So Fucking Cool,� �Wish,� �Long Way Down� and �If There�s A God� (which she was inspired to write after protesting in support of State Senator Wendy Davis� pro-choice 2013 filibuster at the Texas state capitol building) embody the complementary mix of personal fearlessness and musical craftsmanship that define Klein�s music.

�It felt a little different this time,� the artist notes. �It was the first time that I ever went into a record really feeling that I�d paid my dues, and that now I�m just gonna do and say whatever I want. I finally feel like I really don�t care what anybody thinks. That felt huge, and it felt really empowering. I felt comfortable going as dark as I could, and not feeling like I had to pull back from that.

�It�s also the first time I�ve started a record with a concept and tried to follow it through,� she explains. �After I wrote the song �Learning Faith,� that started me thinking about writing a whole album of songs about the process of developing faith�faith in people, faith in the universe, faith in a higher power.
I wanted each song to be about some kind of struggle with faith, and asking what faith really means to me.�

�Another thing that�s different for me on this record,� Klein continues, �is that I�m willing to admit that I don�t have the answer. When you�re starting out as a younger artist, you can getaway without being forced to look at yourself or ask why you�re doing this, and what you can really offer. As you get older, it starts to feel more urgent, like �OK, if I�m gonna drag myself all over the world singing these songs, I�ve got to get out of this what I came here to get.��

Learning Faith�s rich emotional and musical palette is consistent with the level of commitment that Jess Klein has always brought to her music. The Rochester, NY native taught herself to play her father�s acoustic guitar in her teens, and began writing songs as a college student in Kingston, Jamaica. After graduation, she relocated to Boston, where she began performing locally and won acclaim for her self-released debut album Wishes Well Disguised. The attention helped to win her a deal with the Rykodisc label, for which she recorded the albums Draw Them Near and Strawberry Lover, which were warmly received by critics as well as Klein�s growing audience. Klein�s growing notoriety led to such milestones as an appearance on TV�s Good Morning America, and a performance for an audience of 70,000 at Japan�s Fuji Rock Festival.

By 2008, when she relocated to the independent-minded musical mecca of Austin, TX, Klein had parted ways with Rykodisc and returned to her D.I.Y. recording roots. She continued to stake out brave new lyrical and musical territory on such albums as 2006�s City Garden, 2009�s Bound to Love and 2012�s Behind A Veil, while continuing to tour throughout North America, Europe and Japan. She also became a beloved presence on her adopted hometown�s music scene, while collaborating with such fellow troubadours as Jon Dee Graham, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jimmy LaFave, Slaid Cleaves, Will Sexton, Ray Bonneville, Radney Foster, Randy Weeks, Matt the Electrician and John Fullbright.

�This can be a hard job, and it does require a certain amount of faith to continue doing it,� Klein observes, adding, �There have been several points where I�ve questioned my career choice. But every time I�ve gotten close to feeling defeated, I�ve pulled myself back up and come out of it stronger. And the more times I choose to keep doing it, the stronger I feel about it, and the stronger I feel about reaching a little deeper and putting everything out on the table.

�When you�re younger, you don�t totally know who you are yet, and you�re still trying to figure things out. Now I feel more at ease with who I am and why I do this. My motivation now for playing music is to connect with people, and to do that by connecting with myself, which is the hardest and scariest part.

�The reward,� she concludes, �is those moments where all the other bullshit subsides and you have a total, pure connection with the audience, or with just one person. I feel so blessed to be able to have this connection with people that�s based on something real. That�s what I look for now.�

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Singer-songwriter Mike June has been touring constantly. In the past three years, he has played close to 600 shows, visiting 48 States, Canada and the UK. This breakneck pace, he says, is necessary for an artist like himself to survive in today's ever-changing music business . �I don't have much of a choice,� says June when asked why he spends most of his year on the road, driving six to eight hours a day, sometime only to play in front of a handful of listeners. "I'm doing this without a record label or radio promotion , so in order to connect with my fans, I have to go town to town and play my songs for people to hear them." With typical self-deprecating humor, he adds "I'm like a door-to-door song salesman."

A door to door salesman is an apt description for a man who has worked countless jobs in his time, including a stint as a vacuum cleaner salesman, to support his musical ambitions. �I've worked in landscape, construction, cooking, advertising and just about everywhere else. I worked as a garbageman for a while. It made me appreciate hard work.� But the one job that informed June the most as a musician was his time working as a talent agent, representing acts such as Janis Ian, Celia Cruz and the late Richie Havens. �I learned two things working as an agent. The first is that the music business has very little to do with music. Second, you don't need to be part of the 'music industry' to have a successful music career. There are tons of independent artists who have blazed their own path toward successful careers. I was able to see that at a relatively young age and it inspires me all these years later.�

A native of New Jersey, June started a his first band in 1999 and began playing in clubs in and around New York City. In 2002, he released his debut record, �Crooked� and followed it up with �Lovesick� in 2007. Both records were well-received, but he wasn't able to capitalize on the acclaim due to a heroin habit that landed June in jail several times. 2008, seeking a fresh start, June moved from New Jersey to Austin, TX, where he spent several years away from the stage and concentrated on his job as a music teacher in a local pre-school. When the school cut funding for the music program, the now-sober June found himself out of work. It was then that he committed himself to carving out his own path in music.

Since then, June has released two records: string-band stomper �Exile on Wilson Street� and the socio-political roots rocker �Talkin' Revolution Blues.� Both critically acclaimed records draw on June's experiences as a working-class American as well as his battles with addiction, depression and heartbreak. The songs on those records have found an audience not only in America, but across the Atlantic as well, "My story is the story of the everyday, average person: You work your ass off. You don't get paid enough. You don't get enough respect . You struggle to break even. And at the end of most days, you're left wondering if it's worth it. People everywhere connect with that. And more so these days.�

Despite the hard-hitting social commentary in certain songs like �Hard Times� and �Talkin' Revolution Blues�, June sees a light at the end of the tunnel: �I've travelled to every corner of this country, played in small-town bars in Iowa, living rooms in Pecos, Texas and art galleries in San Francisco. I've talked to a lot people, made a lot of friends, sat at a lot of kitchen tables and shared a lot of meals with a lot of different people from different backgrounds and it has given me a lot of hope for the future. I think the differences we have, like being left-wing or right-wing, are minor compared to our similarities. Basically, we all want the same things: a decent paying job, security and a little respect. We just have different ideas about how to achieve those goals. And I want people to see that�

June plans to keep on spreading his message, "All I have is a belief in what I do and faith that someone in the audience will connect with what I'm singing about. And hopefully that person will buy a CD and share it with their friends and spread the word. that's pretty much is how it's been working for me these last few years. Door to door!