The story of Sergio Ortega's debut album "Long Way From Anywhere" is a classic one. Hailing from the Midwest. Learning to play guitar while poring over records by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Warren Haynes, Danny Gatton, Hendrix, Clapton. Ortega immersed himself even more attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

A move to New York City continued the dream, and those guitar skills served him well on the road with artists such as Lesley Roy (Jive Records) and The Pretty Reckless (Interscope) featuring Taylor Momsen (of Gossip Girl fame). Touring was the perfect place to try his own hand at songwriting. As that notebook filled up with song after song it became clear that he should do a record of his own.

Drawing comparisons to Jason Mraz and and a more-rockin Jack Johnson, Ortega assembled some of NYC's best musicians to accompany him and producing the project was Robert L. Smith (Neil Young, Rickie Lee Jones, David Bowie, U2) of Defy Recordings in New York.