Jon Troast Previews Living Room

To jump start the January 19th release of Jon's new album director Matt Mason has produced a new video for Jon's "Living Room Tour" song, which playfully recreates the fun, honest, down-home vibe of his recent 100 Concerts In 100 Days Tour. The video can be viewed more

The majority of Living Room was directly inspired by Jon's many experiences from his 100 Concerts in 100 Days Tour. As Jon states, "Some of it is personal reflection from being on the road, and some of it was inspired by the people I met. It was such a privilege to see little snapshots of people's lives all across the country."

These "little snapshots" are neatly arranged in this engaging album that successfully melds folk and pop rock with '70s singer/songwriter fare and just a touch of Americana music. Living Room marks Jon's fourth full-length effort recorded in Nashville and produced by Mitch Dane, who also handpicked the session players for the recordings. "There are a lot of talented people in Nashville," Jon reveals, "and the musicians I worked with are all extremely sharp and professional, but at the same time they're also pretty laid back... which is just my style."

One of the first things that's apparent on these 10 tracks is the warmth of the recordings and the honest spontaneity of both the performances and arrangements. "This was the first time we recorded on tape (analog)," Jon states. "I loved it because we tracked the drums, bass, acoustic guitar and vocal at the same time, using only two or three takes for each song and no pitch correction. It gives it a natural feel, very similar to a living room concert."

Never fully content on the old paradigms of how the 'music business' is supposed to operate, Jon continues to look for new paths and methods to get his music heard and appreciated. His latest idea will find him touring the nation absolutely free for the first six months of 2010. So whether booking a house concert or a much larger public show, Jon will not charge a cent for any of these performances - instead relying on the income from his recorded music as his sole income for the first half of the year. As he explains, "I want to make it very clear and simple that buying music supports artists. So, for the first six months of 2010, I'm breaking it down to the basics. Since I'll be playing my shows for free, all of my income will come from CD and digital music sales. If I'm going to spend $50 on groceries, I need to sell five CDs. It's as simple as that."

In addition to his new CD, Jon will also be releasing a concert DVD in February that features the 100th and final show of his 100 Concerts in 100 Days Tour, filmed in his current hometown of Lake Geneva, WI on June 27, 2009. Various video clips of Jon's adventures as part of his 100 day tour will also be interspersed with the concert footage making for a wonderful document of this very unique tour.