An explosive feast for the eyes and ears, Jakey Lee is a trendsetting power-pop/rock fashion plate who brings it all to the stage with every performance. The Northern California born and raised, Los Angeles based singer-songwriter dons horn-rimmed glasses, screaming red bow tie, bright pants to match, gold shoes -any combination that adds up to red, white, blue, black and gold. With all eyes fixed on him, he gets to it, blazing fresh trails with his blistering guitar, electronic beats and powerhouse vocals. Just months after leaving his last band - the renowned L.A. based duo Word - Lee, flush with hope and positive energy, marks his emergence as a solo artist with his soaring and infectious debut EP Move. For years, I played in different bands as the backing guitarist, and had no original plans to sing, says the multi-talented 25-year-old performer. Then I was in groups where I did all the writing and became the frontman. So it came to the point where doing my own thing was just the next logical step. My main message is hope and love and my future songs will be about more socially conscious issues like equality as well. As a person and artist, I am all about simply embracing and enjoying the time we have. I wrote three of these new songs just before I went into the studio, and the ideas flowed very freely. I think these five tracks show a strong variety of styles that draw from pop, rock and soul. The songs on Move are a perfect expression of Lee's skills as a high impact composer and lyricist, as well as his unique new sound which finds him blending bass and guitar into a single instrument backed by electronic drum beats. Setting the tone for the sonic intensity to come, the high octane opening track Bringing the Love is a soaring anthem of hope, ethereal yet grounded in the reality of holding things together despite life's sometimes crushing problems. Whether one personalizes evil or not, Killing The Devil is a raging, spiritual minded rocker about eliminating darkness, fear and despair. Inspired by Lee's surreal and very personal experience with the supernatural, it's about the battles we all face with the dark side. Taking a lighter tone thematically, the hooky pop-rocker Playing With Fire finds the singer trying to outsmart a woman he suspects is a gold digger. Move also includes the playful, youthful power-popper Sugar Baby and The Moment, a sweeping, edgy burst of joyful exuberance about seizing the day and believing in the magic possibilities of love. Though the concept of the perfectly titled 5-track set is about overcoming the past and moving forward optimistically, Lee brings a colorful array of influences and a rich history of playing in an eclectic series of bands to his current vibe. First, there are the legends he heard as a kid who have inspired him as an artist and wild onstage performer: Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, Elvis, James Brown and Chuck Berry. When he was 12, Lee discovered hard rock and heavy metal. Inspired by the band Korn, he traded in his acoustic guitar for an electric Squier, marking the beginning of a long fixation with Fender guitars. I also connected with the guys from Korn because they're from Bakersfield and I'm from a little town up north that no one has ever heard of, says Lee, who hails from American Canyon in Southern Napa County. I found their raw power and energy enthralling, and I loved the fact that they made up their own tunings. That's where I got my guitar style from. To this day, I use the same open tuning they did. While he joined his first band, The Freaks, in his early teens and self-released a CD, he didn't get serious about making music a career till the day after his high school graduation, when he joined the punk band GCC on the road; playing seven string guitar, Lee jammed everywhere from Portland and Seattle to Texas and Arizona. Over the next few years, he crisscrossed much of the U.S. performing in underground venues catering to the DIY and hardcore movements. Eventually drawn back to R&B and pop, he formed the punk
