Guitar Magazine

“Even in a place like Texas, where fabulously talented guitarists are as common as dead armadillos alongside lonely highways, Jake Andrews has always been somewhat of a curiosity. His elementary school classmates knew he was ahead of his time as a guitarist, but even then, few could grasp the significance of an eight-year-old sitting in with Albert King. That was back in the “old days,” if you will. Today. The 19-year old Andrews, a relatively grizzled veteran of the club scene in his hometown of Austin has graduated from child guitar prodigy to accomplished songwriter, vocalist and bandleader. The results are clearly evident on Time to Burn, a fiery debut that reflects a wide range of influences from a trio of Kinds (B.B, Albert and Freddie), a pair of Vaughans (Stevie Ray and Jimmie), and even a Buddy (Holly). The sound is undeniably bluesy, but Andrews hasn’t sold his soul to a single genre.”

“That’s just the music that I’ve grown up doing,” he says in a slow Texas drawl. “It’s my own take on what I’ve gotten from my influences. I’m not trying to play the role of just doing blues, although that’s certainly what I’m doing inside. I think the inherent difference between blues [and other music] is the emotion behind it.”

Andrews began practicing regularly around age five. He sat in at the old Antone’s with Albert King at eight, got serious about singing at 12, and began working in a trio format with a bassist and drummer around 15. The youngster’s talent was nurtured largely by this father, former Mother Earth guitarist John “Toad” Andrews, who has always maintained a healthy collection of guitars and amplifiers around the house.”