"Everyone sings when they're little," says singer-songwriter Christopher Jak, on the phone from his home in Colorado. "Then the world conspires to stop you." In Jak's case, the world conspired to do the opposite: in fourth grade, his music teacher recommended him to the American Boychoir, based in his native New Jersey. The Boychoir is a boarding school whose students receive intense training in classical music and performance-and then give concerts all over the world. "I wanted to go home that first night, when my parents dropped me off, but by the second night I had decided I never wanted to go home." Although his musical style has changed- along with his voice- Jak remains grateful for the experience and remembers it fondly: "Life moved a lot like a processional around there a lot of the time: marching lines, uniforms.... But I had a wonderful musical education and I saw the world." After leaving the Boychoir, Jak turned his attention to the guitar and began to write his own songs. "You know those 'Singers and Songwriters of the 1970s compilations?" he laughs. "I learned the guitar from those guys, and they still influence the way I play." Residing for a time in Portland Oregon, with its diverse, committed songwriting community, helped to expand his horizons "Listening to the sounds that were out there inspired me: writers like Elliot Smith, Pete Droge, Craig Carothers" and any of the songwriters around. It was during this time that the fledgling artist formed his first real band: "I was really lucky; these guys were great musicians. The first song we played through was the first song I'd ever written, and I'd never heard it played by a full band. It was a huge thing. I admit it, I almost cried which was so lame. But I still feel like that a lot of the time when we finish producing a track. It's all I can do to keep myself from putting an orchestra on every song." Although Jak describes himself as a cynical, sarcastic intellectual-type, the motives behind his second album, The New Nostalgia, are earnest and close to the heart. "I think back to times that I'm nostalgic about, and it's the music that stands out the most." Taking cues from some early heroes like Elvis Costello, Cat Stevens, The Pretenders, Tom Waits and Elton John; The New Nostalgia blends a storyteller's lyricism with a pop singer's love of melody. "The New Nostalgia isn't about looking back though, it's about referencing the past to consider what you'll be looking back on in the future. I guess I'm saying I want people to have good memories of this music and still like these songs in 30 years. I suppose that's fairly optimistic." Optimism aside, Jak is a pretty happy guy: "I cook a lot. I walk my dogs. I get all domestic, and then I get to go away and play, meet people, hang out... hopefully make good memories for people. I'm really lucky because I live a dual life and they're both very cool." Jak smiles at his good fortune, and at his anticipation of his ultimate goal: a long career. While singing and performing come naturally, his focus as of late has been writing songs. "All of my heroes are great songwriters. I am working so hard on my writing right now, because that's what lasts. It sounds trite, but being a great singer-songwriter is entirely about the great singing of great songs. The goal is simple. I want to do good work, I want to be appreciated for my good work, and I want to continue to do that good work for a long time."