VIDEO: Songwriter Jamie Kent Pranks Starbucks, Listen to Neoteny

Jamie Kent, is fearlessly taking his music career down an alternate path. A close friend since high school, I've had the pleasure of watching his music grow from silly songs we wrote at 2 in the morning to a full-blown LP (Neoteny) released this past April, under the watchful eye and careful ear of Wes Talbot (Music Media).

Based out of our hometown, Northampton, MA, Kent has worked together "The Collective", a group of friends, family, and fans who have given some of their hard-earned capital and love over in trust to this young, gregarious songwriter. Providing "partners" in The Collective with exclusive media and web content, he's attempted to circumvent the usual waiting-in-limbo period that often plague artists who are on the move to get noticed. He gives them an incentive to invest in his career, beyond just buying a record or a t-shirt. In fact, Kent has guest-listed partners at shows, and even asked for input on the ordering of his LP.

Subsequently, he's dreamt up another innovative way to get noticed: a big honkin' media stunt. As seen in the music video above, Kent and crew, working under his alter ego the "Mischief Man", visited every single Starbucks location in Manhattan. They then quickly snuck a few of his CDs over the usual house blends of Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, and more. "The means of distirbuting music are changing and this is just another of getting creative," says Kent.

He's right.

Neoteny by JamieSKent

For full access to Jamie's music and the rundown on his story, see JamieKent.com for details.

WHAT'S YOUR MUSE: Jamie Kent

Ladies and Gentlemen. Meine Damen und Herren. Boys and Girls (in America),

Welcome to "What's Your Muse?, a new feature on Mixtape Muse. The concept is simple: We ask a band/artist to choose a song that means a lot/the most to them. Then, they record and send us a video of themselves describing why they chose the song. Think of it like a collaborative video mixtape project.

This week, we bring you the premier of What's Your Muse, featuring up and coming artist Jamie Kent. (Kent's graced MM's pages before, here.) We asked Kent to do a little soul-searching and tell us to describe himself...with someone else's song.

In light of his debut album Neoteny, Kent's taken the time to expand on his playful personality with a throwback to one of the best movies SNL has ever given us (not to mention a classic when it comes to any film about music). While Kent isn't quite John Belushi and the Options aren't quite The Blues Brothers, Cab Calloway's "Mini the Moocher" is surprisingly fitting for Kent's vocal versatility combined with his playful and at times mischievous songwriting.

Check out Kent's inspiration, here.

Now, for those of you in the NYC area, Jamie Kent and the Options will release Neoteny @ Manhattan's infamous club, The Bitter End, tomorrow, Saturday April 17 at 8:00pm.

Neoteny is available through JamieKent.com on his own label The Collective

Of course, you can always pick it up on iTunes in digital format.

Jamie Kent on MySpace & Facebook.

Thanks for playing What's Your Muse this week, make sure to send us an email with your thoughts, be you band or fan.