Jon Itkin was planning to practice his guitar in Washburne Park in Eugene last Saturday.
Instead, he was playing in his home wearing a hooded sweat shirt thanks to the wet, cloudy weather that day.
And his acoustic guitar hates getting wet, he said.
The 23-year-old University senior has adapted to the weather since moving from upstate New York.
“I like the weather. My whole family was giving me shit, but the weather is great,” Itkin said.
The Northwest lifestyle – weather included – played a big part in the making of his recently released debut album, “Oregon.”
“(Location) was a big inspiration. All the songs were written after I moved to Oregon,” Itkin said. He said he is a visual writer and often tries to tell a story through imagery in his lyrics.
The imagery on the record comes from his first impressions of the Northwest.
“I was really inspired by the landscape,” he said of the state’s scenery. “It made me want to get off my ass and go do things (outside).”
His inspiration often came while working jobs outside, including building decks, landscaping and house painting.
Itkin also finds inspiration in other artists such as Bob Dylan, The Band, the Rolling Stones, Gillian Welch and Wilco. He grew up with music and traded in his clarinet for a guitar when he was 13. He would listen to his father’s records, including Dylan and the Beatles.
“He had some amazing records,” Itkin recalled.
On the differences between New York and Oregon: “It’s night and day. The trees are bigger. It’s greener. It’s just prettier – more open spaces, rivers and mountains.”
Before moving to Oregon, Itkin went to school in Pittsburgh. He was born and raised in Rochester, N.Y. Originally, he set out for Washington state, but moved to Portland and then to Eugene last September.
“To make a long story short, (I moved here) because I like it,” Itkin explained. The School of Journalism and Communication also drew him to Eugene.
Since moving to Eugene, his favorite places to hang out include the Eugene Public Library for their CD collection, Sam Bond’s Garage and various outdoor places. “I love going to Goodwill to find old records,” Itkin said.
On the Eugene music scene he said, “I think it’s really cool. There are a lot of talented people here.”
He says Eugeneans – whom he describes as “socially conscious” people – have had a positive reaction to his music.
His favorite local bands include Saltlick, Dan Jones and the Squids, The Conjugal Visitors and The Quick and Easy Boys. He also enjoys Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags, who he used to play with in Portland.
Although he digs the Eugene music scene, he sometimes finds trouble collecting his dues. “It’s sort of easy to get gigs here, but hard to get compensation. I’ll be lucky to get a sandwich,” he said.
Itkin also battles finding time between class and the guitar. “Finding time is extremely difficult,” he said. The journalism major just landed a radio news position, but continues to make playing the guitar a priority.
Instead of going out on the weekend, he plays his guitar at home. “It costs a lot of money to drink in a bar,” Itkin said.
All that practice resulted in a first album with an intimate, mellow feel. “(It’s) kind of a car ride album, not a party album,” Itkin stated.
The CD, produced by Jason Robbins, was recorded with a simple setup instead of a full band.
Itkin found the process time consuming, spending up to eight hours on one song.
“Recording (the album) is a lot harder than writing,” Itkin said. For him, writing is a compulsive habit no matter where he is.
“I write a lot of music in class. I wrote a song in a graphic communications class,” Itkin said.
During the class, he saw a photo of Dorothea Dix in a class sideshow that inspired him to write “All The Way To California,” the first track on the album.
He writes so much that he has a box filled with lyrics. He said he sometimes loses the papers and gets frustrated, but finds that if he later remembers the lyrics, it stands as a quality test.
“If I can remember (the lyrics), it works well,” he said.
Itkin isn’t sure where he will be in the coming years. He said that he could become a journalist or a musician.
“Maybe both; either or,” he said.
He would like to put more effort into becoming a full-time musician and is considering going on tour after graduation. “It’d be great to kick it up a notch,” he said.
However, he admitted that success would depend somewhat on luck.
“It’s kind of a pipe dream. Hell, I’ll take whatever I can get,” he said.
Itkin will be playing songs off his new album this Saturday at John Henry’s with his band The Admonitions.
“I think it will be rockin’ with the full band,” he said.
To purchase Itkin’s CD or find out more information, visit www.jonitkin.com.

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