Jake Moffat: Overcoming The Odds
Stillwater, Okla. - Jake Moffat has had a long and winding road so far in his musical career. He’s had some serious obstacles in his path, but has managed to overcome the odds and come out swinging. Moffat is a regular in the Stillwater music scene. His music career started in 2002 at the age of nineteen at his first show at The Copper Penny.
“I have been an avid writer of poetry and short stories since I can remember, so songs just seem to want to come as well once I could start laying down melodies and arranging them,” explained Moffat.
Moffat also became fast friends with all the other regular players on the scene at the time; Cody Canada, Jason Boland, Stoney LaRue, Steve Rice and Jerry Payne.
“No one had left town yet and we all played on the strip every week. A big friendship I made at the time was with Jerry Payne, who saw something in me and helped book more shows for me as well as opening spots for No Justice all over Oklahoma and into Texas,” said Moffat
Moffat seemed to be on an upward swing for his career at the time, working gigs alongside many of the other talented Stillwater musicians. He was even voted OklahomaRock.Com’s Best Singer/Songwriter in 2003.
“I actually beat out Brandon Jenkins and Mike McClure on that. I’ll never forget that one,” Moffat mused.
But as it turns out, Moffat’s path would become riddled with obstacles, and he was left tripping over many of them.
“I felt like I was on a path bound for discovery from audiences and the music world in 2003, however I let myself get the best of me… I started dabbling in Methamphetamines when I was fifteen,” Moffat explained. “No one else in my family even dabbled in anything… nothing. For some reason it was something that drew me in, there was no gateway drug- it was straight into that world. Growing up all my idols or musicians I looked up to had met their untimely demise with drug overdoses. I guess in some twisted way I saw the ‘glamour’ in it and how that ‘must have made them be so good’. Regardless, I wasn’t thinking at all probably. Long story short, I got strung out, went to jail, moved along and on and disappeared from the music world in 2003 until 2012,” said Moffat.
Those years were definitely a bleak time for the talented singer, and his once promising music career was now nowhere in sight. Not only that, but Moffat came very close to losing his wife and family as well.
“During that time it was nothing but a series of jobless and strung out craziness, and also a couple years of hope in there. I am thirty three and have been using since I was fifteen. There may be a total of three years clean in there until this last go round. In 2009 I had escalated pretty heavily into cooking dope. Which life was crazy. I had gotten so far out of my mind, I ended up leaving my wife and my then two year old daughter Isabella for like four months. Finally after being pulled out of the home I was crashing in by the Sherriff’s Deputy and being served divorce papers, I realized I was busted and homeless and had no one. But instead of ‘finishing’ the job off, I sucked it up and made the move to start coming home. I’ve been clean now for five years, and have also added another daughter to the family,” said Moffat.
Not only did Moffat get clean, but he got much healthier too. This year Moffat went from weighing about 280 pounds to 160.
“I’ve always been a husky boy, even from grade school. I had lost some weight six or seven years back and then was laid off and it didn’t last too long. This time it was around New Years of 2015, I had kind of decided I was really tired of where I was weight wise, probably weighing in around 280 give or take maybe 285. So I slowly decided to do something about it buth then fizzled out. But then around Memorial Day I made the decision to get off the couch and I went and walked four miles, and had decided chicken breast and vegetables would be my lunch and dinner jams- no more pop, candy, chips, sweets, or carbs in general.,” said Moffat.
But it didn’t stop with just a change in diet, Moffat jumped right into getting more physical as well.
“I quickly got hooked on the walking and trying to jog, some days going up to six miles, every day seven days a week. I went from walking three miles in about an hour and twenty minutes to now running the three in twenty nine minutes. I stuck to it like a hard-nosed stubborn mule and it paid off greatly. I had just had enough of trying to find clothes, or clothes that looked cool, and of course because of all the health risks. Keeping up with my daughters is damn sure easier now,” mused Moffat.
Now Moffat is back on track with his life, health and music. He just finished recording a new LP that he hopes to have out by February.
“This album is huge for me, in fact it’s the rock record I have always wanted to make since I started playing acoustic music right here on the strip in Stillwater, Oklahoma. I am beyond excited, it was fun to record and work through, the songs are fun to play, and I have been getting such great feedback from those who have been able to sneak a listen,” said Moffat.
I have gotten the chance to preview the album, and it’s a great mix of rock songs. Moffat definitely didn’t lose any of this talented singing and songwriting abilities during those dark bleak years of not playing music. There are not many people that are able to pull themselves out of the depths of addiction the likes that Moffat was in, and it’s a testament of his motivation and determination that he was able to do it. Those are also essential qualities needed to overcome weight issues, which he conquered as well. I’m pretty sure that those qualities, along with this new album, are going to put Moffat right back on track with his music career. It may have taken a pretty lengthy detour, but if Moffat can fight his way back from those obstacles that held him down for so long, I’m pretty sure nothing can stop him now.
You can check out Moffat’s music on Itunes, Spotify, Amazon and CD baby. More information about Moffat and his shows can be found at www.JakeMoffat.com as well as his social media pages.