Jake Owen photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Wednesday marks exactly a year since Jake Owen released his sophomore album, Easy Does It, and it’s been a winner for him. Thanks to the hits “Eight Second Ride” and “Don’t Think I Can’t Love You,” his profile has risen within country music, and he’s clearly staking his claim to fame.

He’s not above playing around with that fame, either, like when he tweeted “Let’s get naked” to fans back in October. A short bit later, he noted that he’d “never had so many responses in my life.”

But even though Jake plays around with the celebrity he’s created, he insists that it’s not his primary motivation as an artist.

“You have to love what you do,” Jake told The Zanesville Times Recorder. “A lot of people put more emphasis on how big of a star you can become, how much money they have in their bank account.”

But, he added, in his view “it’s about the music and being creative and entertaining people, that’s what I really enjoy. Other things like fame and money, that comes along with it, but I don’t think you can strive for that.”

Underscoring that attitude, when he’s not touring, Jake is pretty much a home body, hanging out with his bulldog, Vern.

“I don’t get out too much,” he said. “If I do, that’s a feat in itself. There’s places on the road I look forward to, but when I’m home it’s usually only for a couple days, two or three days at a time, [so] I like to spend time at my house and with my dog. I like being home.”

Jake will be making his home in Ohio this upcoming weekend. He plays Zanesville on Friday and Lima on Saturday.

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