Christian Kane, Country Music Artist

Christian Kane has delighted fans for years with his acting, but many viewers may not know about his musical talent, glimpsed in episodes of Angel (where he performed LA Song) and Leverage (where he sang Thinking of You). In 2010, the actor revived his musical career, releasing a 5-song EP and a full album of rock-infused country music with great crossover appeal.

In 2011, he released two singles (The House Rules and Let Me Go), both with official music videos airing on Country Music Television. He continued to play shows in Portland while filming Leverage and toured nationwide after the season wrapped. Clearly, this man is a talent to watch.

Here's my unofficial tribute to the musical talent of Christian Kane.

I first heard Christian Kane sing on Angel, where he did LA Song. I remember doing some research back then and learning that he was writing and performing his own songs, but I wasn't ready to give country music a try at that point. (I remember seeing a photo of him in a huge cowboy hat and thinking something like, "I don't think I can deal with this." Luckily, I've become more open-minded since then!)

There aren't any videos available of the scene from Angel where the song is performed, but there are some YouTube videos of LA Song played over Christian Kane photos. This one isn't perfect, but I liked the photos used.

This video shows Christian's singing debut on Leverage, where he performs Thinking of You. The fact that the music is his own makes it all the more impressive. (This song is included on his album.)

The House Rules is Christian Kane's first single, one that he traveled throughout the U.S. to promote on country music radio. His video to support the single was shot at Dante's in Portland under the direction of Leverage co-star Timothy Hutton. (It also contains a cameo by Leverage co-star Aldis Hodge.) Rather than hire extras, Christian invited his fans to participate: anyone holding tickets to the show at Dante's later that night was invited to come early and participate in the video shoot.

The video premiered on CMT in October 2010.

This fan-made video (by YouTube user badgirl2bad4u) combines footage from a live concert performance with scenes from Leverage, all to the tune of The House Rules. It's totally fun and definitely worth watching!

Christian Kane's second single, "Let Me Go," was released in July 2011, along with another official music video.

The full-length album was released on December 7, 2010, and it's appropriately named The House Rules after the amazing debut single. Unfortunately, only used copies are available at this point, and they're fairly expensive.

Here's a list of what's included on The House Rules:

• The House Rules
• Something's Gotta Give
• Thinking of You
• Whiskey in Mind
• Let's Take a Drive
• Callin' All Country Women
• American Made
• Let Me Go
• Seven Days
• Making Circles
• Fast Car

There was also a bonus track, "A Different Kind of Knight," when you purchased the full album from iTunes. Sadly, it's no longer in the iTunes store.

When I saw "Fast Car" on the track list for Christian's album, I immediately thought of the haunting, emotional song by Tracy Chapman that was released when I was in my late teens. It resonated deeply with me at the time and that feeling has stayed with me over the years. So I was more than surprised to discover that the song on the album was, in fact, the song that had moved me so much. He does a great job with it, treating the material as reverently and passionately as if it were his own. This track is a great closer for a wonderful album and shouldn't be missed.

Christian Kane takes you into the recording studio.

In January 2013, Christian appeared on the new web series Taste of Music. In this episode, he demonstrates how to cook Jalapeno & Goat Cheese stuffed sirloin sandwiches with caramelized onions.

It's no secret that he loves to cook. His Leverage character, Eliot, demonstrated cooking skills in one of the show's first episodes, and Christian has hinted that he'd like to do some kind of cooking project on YouTube. I'm eager to see what he does next!

In this video, Christian thanked fans for giving his music over a million plays on his MySpace page. His continued gratitude for the support of his fans makes him all the more endearing as an entertainer and a person.

Artist photos provided on his official website and approved for fan use. "Fast Car" photo used under license from FreeImages.com.