I have this weird thing with time. I have to chronicle every phase I'm in for some reason - musically and non-musically. As I was about to dive into playing with new bands, writing for bigger ensembles and things like that, I saw that I had a lot of really delicate, acoustic material that I had nothing to do with. I don't like it when songs that are recorded or worthy of being recorded just sit there in a notebook, so here's a free acoustic EP.

This is my first release of any kind since being at Berklee College of Music. It's called February for the obvious reason that it's being released in said month, but also cause the title song carries a message that I think sums up the whole thing. It's this depressed state of mind that has a lot of hopefulness to it. In other words, things might suck, but you know they'll get better, or at least you're confident they will. It's not easy to feel that way all the time, but that's I guess why there's only five songs... I covered Gregory Alan Isakov's "Big Black Car" in the spirit of it being a free download. The song has a lot of personal significance to me, and I thought that a slower, more acoustic take on the tune would really relate it to the rest of the album well.

Most of these songs are new - "The Way Things Used To Be" is the oldest song on here. I wrote it in the summer of 2009 and I felt that it spoke to the content of the rest of the songs well enough to lead of the record. The rest of the songs go through a lot of feelings one might feel living in a new place, doing new things, and stuff like that. "It Hurts To Be Back" is about being home, but home not meaning the same thing it did before. "The Artist" is about being stuck with your passion, and being proud of it, and "Free As The Rain" is about that moment when darkness turns to dawn.

Please don't feel obligated to pay for this record. Musicians, especially young musicians, will not refuse money, but I would most like it for whoever listens to the album to enjoy it and to HAVE it, by whatever means they need.

Thanks for listening,
Jake Ohlbaum