Wednesday, May 23, 2012 62° - Binghamton, NY

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Artist to look out for: Jer Coons

Jer Coons is not your average 20-year-old. While most people his age are heavily preoccupied with figuring out their majors, Coons is trying to figure out what will be the next move in his music career.

Despite the fact that he is already on his second full-length album, set to drop in late September, and his first single “Legs” will be playing in all Hollister stores beginning this month, Coons, who has never been in a Hollister before, is surprisingly modest.

“I don’t have a crazy list of accomplishments,” Coons said.

His wide-eyed naivete, which can be seen most clearly through his poignant lyrics, can also be seen merely by his anecdotes; he admitted to sitting on a comfy chair outside of Hollister in his hometown of Burlington, Vt. reading a magazine and waiting for his song to come on.

But for someone who received his first guitar when he was six years old, he doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously, as seen on his website’s ridiculous and tongue-in-cheek bio page.

“A lot of independent artists add so much fluff (in their bios) and you can just tell that they’ve embellished a lot,” he explained.

Frequently compared to other acoustic artists such as Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson, Coons has also been compared to 16-year-old Nick Jonas, of the Jonas Brothers, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

“Not to bash any of the JoBros, but I’d much rather be associated with Nick than Kevin,” Coons joked.

Although his musical style is acoustic pop/rock, Coons’ personal music tastes are varied. A self-proclaimed “hip-hop head,” the last thing he listened to on his iPod was Notorious B.I.G., though Coons also lists Dave Matthews and recent American Idol winner Kris Allen as favorites. However, don’t expect see Jer on American Idol anytime soon.

“I think American Idol is a great platform,” Coons said. “You can’t deny that it’s the No. 1 show in America, but for my trajectory I’d want to be a little more independent.”

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