A Little Bit about my Name

Hi I'm Jake Emanuel. My birth name is Jake Emanuel Siff Exkorn (yeah it's a mouthful). If you're wondering where the name Exkorn came from, so am I. We think the name became Exkorn at Ellis Island when my ancestors came to the US. We suspect that it was possibly Eikhorn from Germany or Ikorn from Sweden. There's a lot of mystery in my family history.

So How Did I Get Here?

I was born in New York City, lived there the first two years of my life, and then moved 30 minutes north of the city to a place called Rockland County. I lived right on the Hudson River, and then my world changed. I was diagnosed with Autism, received ABA (applied behavioral analysis) therapy for two years, and then I FULLY RECOVERED! Yeah you heard that right, I FULLY RECOVERED! Experts who interacted with me thought that there's no way I could have ever had autism to begin with. That's when I knew I had to share my story with the world to give others hope and spread knowledge that OVERCOMING AUTISM IS REAL. I went on ABC Good Morning America, NBC Nightline, and The View. If you're interested in learning more about my recovery story, here's a video of me done by ABC.

"https://abcnews.go.com/video/embed?id=34293080"

Michigan!

In September, I start my senior year at the University of Michigan. I study Cognitive Science and Philosophy, and my passion is music! I've known since freshman year in college that I have my academic interests, and then the thing that I am doing as a career… music! The question was what will I do in music? Going into sophomore year, I did a summer internship with Cumulus Media, where I worked with four different radio stations, getting a feel for what radio is like. Sophomore year, I joined a club called MUSIC Matters, where I worked artist hospitality, which is basically customer service for the performing artists. Going into junior year, I interned at Hangout Music Festival and learned the ins and outs of how to construct a music festival, and the jobs/careers within it. I am very grateful for all of these experiences because I learned a lot about the music industry, met some life-long friends and realized that I need to continue my search to figuring out what I will do with my life.

Finding my Rhythm!

Going into junior year, I make it a goal of mine to really reflect and figure out what I want to do. I start writing more, both journaling and writing music. I write mostly compositional pieces on my keyboard. Whenever I put my hands on the keyboard, I feel at home. I feel I am in the right place at the right time. In philosophy class one day, I delve into a music conversation with a guy named Mark Bosch. You know when you find someone who shares the same passion as you and you have a wonderful conversation? Yeah that's what happened. Very soon after our initial conversation we start hanging out and writing music together.

Stop Watch is Born!

A few months later, we form a band called Stop Watch with Austin Broda on bass and "the real" Duane Chelmsford on drums. Our goal is to spread love and positivity through music. Let's pursue our dreams, love ourselves and everyone around us! Let's change the world and take care of Mother Earth, picking up trash if we see it below our feet, reusing bags/bottles, walking/biking to places, and always thinking of ways to help the world!

Dancing in the Groove!

This summer I am launching my band! This is the first time in my life where I know exactly what I am doing day to day, and it feels amazing! I found my rhythm and now I'm flowing in the groove of it! When I'm not writing/playing music, I'm working as a barista, and supporting other creators, whether it is going to live shows, open mics, or encouraging friends to create their dreams and make them reality! Stop Watch's birthday is on May 26th, 2018. We hosted a house show, where we invited friends/everyone we knew in the music scene. After our debut, word gets out and we receive a message on our Facebook band page. We are invited to play at LUTHERFEST!!--which is a huge music festival hosted by the Luther coop with hundreds of people!

LUTHERFEST!

We play LUTHERFEST on July 14th (on my birthday!), then get invited to play in Detroit on July 21st, and then get asked if we would host a house show with three other bands, including some traveling from New York! On July 19th, we release our first demo on Bandcamp, which if you're curious to listen to, I have the link in my bio and on the Stop Watch band Facebook page! We have gigs lined up on August 3rd and the 11th, and plan to tour the last week of August, hitting East Lansing, Grand Rapids, and the greater Midwest area. If you're reading this and want to put on a show together, message us on our Stop Watch band page on Facebook and let's do it!

Thanks a Ton!

I want to conclude this introduction by saying thank you to everyone who has read this far! And even if you didn't and just skipped to the end, I appreciate you too! The purpose of my blog is to--

1. Start a conversation-- EVERYONE IS WELCOME and encouraged to comment, whether we know each other or not! What is your story? What do you love to do? How can we create the best possible world to live in? What are some of the ways we can take care of Mother Earth? What book/artist/movie/TV show/album/song/painting/celebrity/creation has changed your life?
2. Share my story/how it continues to unravel-- I'm 22 years old and have a lot of life to live! I plan to do my best with the time that I have here!
3. Further the goal of spreading love and positivity into the world, one moment at a time. We are worthy of this opportunity! LET'S DO THIS!

Orange Hat, Positive Vibes!

If you're in Ann Arbor and see some dude wearing an orange hat that says "positive vibes," feel free to say hello. It's probably me, and if it's not, I'm sure the dude wearing a positive vibes hat is friendly. Keep creating, loving, and doing your thing! I'll see ya around!

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/child-autism-man-treatment/story?id=34290629
Thank you Allen Zheng for taking the LUTHERFEST photo!