Jeffrey East possesses the kind of rough and tumble life story indicative of most high pedigree songwriters in Nashville. But if you met the man face to face, you would be hard pressed to trace the evidence of his heart-battered biography in his catching smile, relaxed demeanor and long red goatee– especially considering he’s only in his mid-twenties. Sure, the Texas-bred singer/songwriter has had his share of lucky strikes. There was that plane ride that forged a fateful friendship between East and an influential music industry pro, resulting in a record deal and his upcoming Indie-Americana debut, The Worktape Sessions (BedBug Records). And that Wyoming songwriting seminar where the burgeoning tunesmith received a personal blessing from Nashville legend Skip Ewing, cementing the musical confidence he needed to land a coveted publishing deal on Music Row.But life happens to us all. And for the young musician, the winding road out of the ashes of his past into the happy contentedness of his present has not been straightforward. In 2005, the devastating news of East’s father’s cancer diagnosis set off a chain of circumstances that left him depressed, directionless and alone. “On my twenty-second birthday everything was fine,” East recalls, tracking his footsteps poignantly. “On my twenty-third birthday, Dad’s gone. On my twenty-fourth birthday I’m married in a house in a cul-de-sac surrounded by friends and people that love me. But I am a depressed shell of a person,” he notes, remembering his downward spiral to rock bottom. “On my twenty-fifth birthday, I wake up alone in an apartment in Nashville. Three people called me that day – my mom, my sister and my brother. I went from everyone loving me to only three folks.”And as the story goes for many capable musicians, Jeffrey found solace in song. “My dad was my biggest musical influence,” he explains. Having introduced his son to music through self-penned folk tunes performed by his family’s roots band and catalogs of Country legends like Merle Haggard and Vern Gosdin, Mr. East became his son’s biggest musical cheerleader, and his greatest friend. “When Dad died, it wasn’t a hurdle, it was a mountain,” Jeffrey candidly discloses. “Anytime I needed anything, I asked Dad. After he was gone, I didn’t have anyone to turn to. So I wrote.” Ironically, East’s musical therapy was also his father’s dying request. Taking a holiday from his music studies at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green to spend time at home with his family after his dad’s diagnosis, East played a rough version of a song he had been working on for his parents. Once again recognizing his son’s gift for verse and chorus, Jeffrey’s father implored, “For God’s sake, Son, keep writing.” Phillip died a couple of weeks later. And by the following fall, Jeffrey had secured his first songwriting deal.Though the fruition of his musical dream and fulfillment of his father’s final request did not grant East absolution from the pending pain of his upcoming personal path, songwriting did initiate the one-day-at-a-time process of grieving and healing. “Even before things unraveled, I was writing painfully personal stuff. People started noticing, ‘Where’s he coming up with this stuff?’” East laughs, admitting in his lighthearted style, “There were red flags all over the place!” But each heartache refrain was a steppingstone for a new song on his guitar, and in his heart – an evolution of perspectives acoustically catalogued on his artist debut, The Worktape Sessions. Keeping the song – not production – central to the recording was key for East in accurately reflecting both his past, and his present. “Writing has always been about baring my soul. That’s not an original statement, but for me, that’s what it is,” he relates. An old soul by every definition, Jeffrey wanted to incorporate the original acoustic demos into the final tracks, maintaining the album’s laidback, stripped-down shine.But sonically layering each tune with beds of sweet acoustic guitars, mandolin tremolos and emotive dobro lines reveals more than subtle lyrical messages. It uncovers the honest heart behind an artist. “We made this record as a real as possible, just me and my guitar, then building around that. The idea of this record is to be who I am.” And through musical hindsight, he recognizes the storied journey that brought him to where he is – and made him who he is – today. “The road here was so hard, but I’m so thankful for all of it,” he says with a big grin best depicting his casual, happy-go-lucky disposition. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Jesus forgives me. The old folks forgive me. And I’m writing on a level I’ve never been before. It’s all good.”