the name was taken from the chuck palahniuk book "choke", and chosen from a list of some others that were either really bad or already taken by a swedish death metal band. or both. basically i just needed something to call myself other than “zac clark” or “tall goofy looking kid with piano” so that i could put the songs online.

i'm currently recruiting for an 8 piece orchestra of people who can snap their fingers, clap their hands and stomp their feet with the precision of a well-oiled machine... actually a band is in the works, featuring the bass talents of another local multi-instrumentalist, matthew carroll aka matty c, the drum abilities of a relative newcomer to the area rock scene, michael desmarais aka md, and the additional keyboard/guitar and background vocal slot taken by a guitarist we all know too well.. benjamin roque aka the roque. we'll keep you updated.

downloading music is stealing! ....phh f*** it, it's been nothing but help for most up and coming artists, it just screws bands with only one good song on their album. just promise fans a naked picture of lindsay lohan inside your cd jacket, and trust me, i'll buy it.

if they offered me enough money i would change my sound to be just what they wanted and perfect my image in order to be more marketable to teenage girls... no

i'm influenced by almost everything i hear (note to every radio station ever: stop playing that ashlee simpson song or listeners of faking amnesia will pay dearly), so this list could be ridiculously long... ben folds, death cab, taking back sunday, anything matt pryor touches (new amsterdams, get up kids), say anything, armor for sleep, bright eyes, outkast, northstar, ben kweller, third eye blind, jawbreaker, the early november, counting crows, cursive, something corporate, midtown, jimmy eat world, coldplay, saves the day, spitalfield, mae, straylight run, foo fighters, copeland... anything and everything basically influences me at one time or another