Meet Jake Bennett: Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jake Bennett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jake, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born in London, England and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa before moving to the United States. My background, or in some ways lack thereof, I believe is what shapes everything I create and everything I obsess over.

Growing up and moving countries I found myself trying to be different: If I was in South Africa, I would say I was English; and if I was in England I would say I was South African. But when I moved to LA I was different no matter which identity I chose, so the identity I chose was one of someone who writes music and words about the things that connect us as people, rather than the things that sets us apart. My life spent on the road has given me a fascination in people, and all that we have in common. I found that to be that no matter who or where we are in the world, we all feel the same things, and a life trying to find words that describe those things is the life I now live.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am an English/South African singer and songwriter with a love of stories. I cut my teeth in my high-school band Early Hours which took me around the world after a song I wrote with my best friend went viral just before we wrote our final exams. Now though, I am most excited about my first two solo EPs, which I have been working on for the best part of 2 years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Coffee comes first. Alfred Coffee is is a classic, and if it’s between Wednesday-Saturday we’ll be hitting the one in Studio City so we can pick up breakfast at Yeastie Boys Bagel truck as well. You can’t eat the best bagel on the west coast without a view though, so we’d best go looking for one. A walk up Fryman Canyon in Studio City, or Canyon Back Trail in Encino should do the trick. Canyonback is my favourite because it overlooks the LA reservoir. There’s no better place than that to tuck into our Reubenstein Bagels, which we’ll have added scallion schmear to and asked for them on egg bagels rather than everything bagels (these are modifications I have spent months perfecting.)

After the walk down from our late breakfast, we’ll need hydrating. Melrose Umbrella Company perhaps? Some cocktails and a walk up Melrose Avenue is the perfect way to waste away the afternoon, whilst checking twitter to find out where the Kogi food truck is that day. You have to have Mexican while you’re in LA, but the massive Korean demographic of the city can’t be overlooked either and the Korean/Mexican fusion from Kogi (made by Chef Roy Choi) is the perfect way to soak up those Melrose cocktails. The pacman quesadilla is my favourite, but everything bangs pretty hard so I won’t be forcing any hard orders on my friends.

The best part of Kogi is how well it keeps, so we’ll take it with us in our Uber to Santa Monica Pier where we’ll watch the sunset on the beach. I like to be outside at sunset every day in LA. Sunset reminds me that even the worst days come to an end, but the best ones do too, so we have to make the most of them. Until tomorrow that is, when we can do it all again. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Alex Turner, lead singer of Arctic Monkeys and the greatest lyricist of all time (although I hear Bob Dylan was rather good as well..

Website: www.jakebennettsays.com

Instagram: @jakebennettsays

Twitter: @jakebennettsays

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jakebennettsays

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw26mhUq2iOg9BzMpGWFhGQ

Image Credits
Whitney Otte Tom Vidal