With a haunting muse that at times recalls Jay Farrar or Jon Dee Graham, upstate New York native Jeff Klein made his way to Austin, TX, to make his mark. The singer/songwriter's critically acclaimed 2000 debut You'll Never Get to Heaven if You Break My Heart prompted CMJ Magazine to list him as one of five "Must-See Austin Acts." Born and raised in Newburgh, NY, Klein found early inspiration in his older brothers' Replacements, Nick Drake, Clash, and Dinosaur Jr. records. By 15, he was writing his own songs and at 18, he moved to Boston to attend the prestigious Berklee School of Music. After his abbreviated stay at Berklee, he moved to New Paltz, NY, a college town near Woodstock, where he developed a strong regional fan base and sold more than 3,000 copies of a self-released EP. In 1999, he made the move to the songwriters' mecca of Austin, TX, finding friends and allies in such local vets as Jon Dee Graham, Will Sexton, and Alejandro Escovedo. After the critical acclaim of his 2000 album, Klein set to work on Everybody Loves a Winner, which was produced by Nashville songwriter and alternative country star Matthew Ryan. The effort featured guest appearances by Jon Dee Graham and Patty Griffin, the latter of which happened to be Klein's landlord at the time. He followed it up with Hustler in 2005. ~ Erik Hage