J.J. Essen Biography
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J.J. Essen has just released his debut album " Full Circle", much to the excitement of his already sizable army of fans. With the album expected to be a success, the exciting country sound that he has made his own is certain to gain interest from those across the world.
The development of his unique style is the result of a lifetime of musical influence. Growing up in a talented musical family meant that J.J. was always surrounded by different forms of music. His mother was a music teacher, and his parents exposed him to a wealth of music as a child, all of which influenced his development. Growing up in Katy Tx, his first foray into performing live was at the ripe young age of 5 when he got the lead part in a play that The West Houston Children's Choir was putting on. Learning an instrument came when he started to learn to play the guitar in high school after being named one of KILT's Country Stars of Tomorrow. |
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Essen's musical journey did not begin in Nashville, L.A., or New York. Born in Texas , it was here that he developed his musical tastes and interests, and it wasn’t long after picking up a guitar that he was stepping on stage and wowing audiences with his talent.
After graduating from Katy High School, he attended Belmont University in Nashville TN and studied Music Business.In college J.J.'s musical tastes expanded and he was exposed to new sound and songwriting styles. He continued to hone his songwriting and performance skills.
After graduating from Belmont, he headed down to Austin Tx and began performing 3-4 times a week in "The Live Music Capital of the World." Despite the vast array of talented musicians and bands in Austin, J.J. had no problem standing out amongst the crowd. He was quickly noted for the unique style that he brought to the traditional music scene, and his popularity began to grow.
As his confidence grew and his style developed, he soon saw a loyal following begin to grow and he became a popular local hit in the Austin music scene. His talent with a variety of musical genres only added to his appeal, and his unique sound with a twist started to find an appreciative audience.
He is keen to point out that everything he listens to directs his musical development in some way. Essen personally can play over 350 cover songs as well, spanning almost every genre there is…His nick name is the "Juke Box."
After graduating from Katy High School, he attended Belmont University in Nashville TN and studied Music Business.In college J.J.'s musical tastes expanded and he was exposed to new sound and songwriting styles. He continued to hone his songwriting and performance skills.
After graduating from Belmont, he headed down to Austin Tx and began performing 3-4 times a week in "The Live Music Capital of the World." Despite the vast array of talented musicians and bands in Austin, J.J. had no problem standing out amongst the crowd. He was quickly noted for the unique style that he brought to the traditional music scene, and his popularity began to grow.
As his confidence grew and his style developed, he soon saw a loyal following begin to grow and he became a popular local hit in the Austin music scene. His talent with a variety of musical genres only added to his appeal, and his unique sound with a twist started to find an appreciative audience.
He is keen to point out that everything he listens to directs his musical development in some way. Essen personally can play over 350 cover songs as well, spanning almost every genre there is…His nick name is the "Juke Box."
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But although his name was continuing to grow in Austin , it was not here that he was destined to be. It wasn't until he moved to Houston when Even Break Records called him out of the blue and wanted to put an album together.
Finally, after honing his unique sound over recent years, he has now released his debut country album, 'Full Circle’, which underlies the changes that J.J. has gone through. The biggest of these was the development of his country songwriting skills, which has allowed him to develop as a person, and has in turn profoundly aided his musical growth. The songs provide a combination of his songwriting and strong unique vocals, with a modern and traditional country sound that will have the listener enthralled. Other changes that have affected and influenced his song-writing over recent years have been his daughter Taylor. Everything he does is for her and that has allowed him to focus on being successful in this industry, playing over 3000 gigs in over 30 states thus far and making sure that his name and music are being heard by as many people as possible. |
