(Lead Guitar)
Jacob Lee Koivisto grew up in Schaller and Galva, Iowa. He’s been surrounded by blues music and musicians his entire life. At a young age, Jake would travel with his father to different blues festivals, which started his passion for the blues. His first guitar was an acoustic guitar bought at a local shop in Storm Lake, Iowa. Lacking the patience for formal music lessons and no interest in learning to read sheet music, he would steal his dad’s blues CDs and learn guitar licks from blues legends like Buddy Guy, Albert King, BB King, Johnny Winter, and the Vaughan Brothers note-for-note by ear. At age 12, his uncle taught him some basics chords of the guitar, and Jake started working for a local mechanic to earn money for his first electric guitar, a Squire Stratocaster. Jake would frequently visit  Duluth, Minnesota, to watch blues bands and get inspiration and advice from friends and relatives in the area who were also musicians. At age 16, one of Jake’s uncles sold him a 1979 Les Paul Standard, which still today, is his guitar of choice for all live performances. Jake is a Sophomore at Buena Vista University where he is majoring in Business Management with a minor in Music Production. In the fall of 2008, he met BVU student Russell Weller, and they started recording music together with Jake on guitar. In January of 2009, they took their music to another level by starting The Jacob Lee Band. Jake’s three most influential blues guitar players are: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, and Johnny Winter.