We were lucky to catch up with Jacob James recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jacob, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
As of writing this, the most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my last full length record, “I Hope You’re Happy”. It’s a stranger entry to my catalogue, introducing harsher tones and more atmospheric elements than my usual approach to writing and recording. More so though, I feel the album has somewhat of a prophetic nature to it. Rather it’s a coincidence or something I wished into the universe by my own actions and revelations is still unclear to me, but it’s a record about the futility of revenge and cutting ties with the people that don’t serve you and your happiness. I’ve had a lot of people dragging me down in my personal life and I think that particular body of work was a premonition when I revisit a lot of the lyrical content in performing the songs and otherwise. The record opens with the lines; “Happy smoke pours from the bridge that I’m running from, I’m too “me” lately. Hate recorder racing.” I think that sums the record up pretty well, in a vacuum anyhow and a whole lot of bridge burning has gone down since, for better or worse. There’s a lot more specifics and I think each listener will get something different out of it, I try not to write particularly “pointed” songs but this record has a lot of calling specific people out on it, which is usually uncharacteristic of me but I’ve had a lot of toxicity in my life that this album was somewhat of an exorcism of. My next project that I’m fully in the throes of working on is more about mercy, reflection and self-forgiveness. I think it will prove to be my best work yet, but time and the fans of what I do can be the judge of that.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well, to tell a little bit about myself; I’m in my early thirties and have been an avid singer/songwriter since I was 16. I gravitated towards it when I began to be entranced by the mystery of songwriting. My earliest influence would probably be The Beatles, a pretty cliché answer but it’s true. Those melodies, harmonies and just the means in which a song is created and can exist as this intangible but “creatable” thing made me want to give it a try myself. As a much younger person, I didn’t have enough faith in myself to give it a real honest effort until I started getting into Bob Dylan. After hearing some of his early work; just his voice and an acoustic guitar, I thought that I could create my own version of that. It has required much discipline and failure after failure to achieve any kind of success, large or small. I continue to fail and I continue to succeed and I think that is just part of the process. I love making music and when I see people doing it for all the wrong reasons like attention or clout it really frustrates me; especially when they’re bad at it. I’ve worked with people like this, sometimes for far too long and I’m happy to say I have few people but myself to rely on lately, although I have been opening myself up to new collaborations which have been really inspiring. It’s up to me to pursue the unrealistic goal of succeeding in the music industry which anyone who has spent more than a few seconds in it can tell you how soul sucking it can be if you’re not doing it for love. Everything I do now, I try to be guided like a moth to the flame of love. Yes, you will get burnt but it is truly that pursuit of something greater and brighter than yourself that will keep the real people in this game for the long haul. I have some really loyal friends and fans who have kept me going, not to mention the venues and organizations that entrust me as a creative to pull events etc. together. I’m forever indebted to them. I’m most proud of myself for not giving up and truly giving myself to this craft even if it hurts, that’s what I think true love is and I truly love what I do. I’m a storyteller after all and if you’re into literature as much as I am, you’ll find that tragedies prove to be some of the most profound works of art out there. I don’t think anything that doesn’t hurt sometimes is even worth your time. A lot of my music is about those growing pains and just pain in general that seems to be all consuming until you step back and see that there is real beauty in life, you just have to put in the work to find it.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I’ve had to unlearn is expecting a physical reward for being a creative. Creating something should be the reward in and of itself. There is often little to no monetary gain being a musician; for example your songs now have to hit at least 1,000 streams on Spotify for them to even be monetized for fractions of pennies per stream. And yet, most of us continue to participate and expect music to be essentially free despite all of the time, effort and expenses that come with being a working musician rarely being considered. I’m no longer bitter about it, I’ve learned to accept the things I can’t change and try and navigate a merciless industry the best way I know how. Some people go the route of focusing their creativity on producing easily digestible “content” to get eyes on their work, which I completely understand and respect anyone’s hustle just so long as it’s coming from a place of love. My biggest lesson and way of working is more grass roots if you will, going out and performing as much as possible, trying to put on a great show and make meaningful connections with the people who truly value your work and see something in you. It goes both ways though, you must support the people in your community if you expect to receive the same treatment. Some people get easy breaks, and some have to claw their way up an un-scalable wall and fall time and time again. There is no “winning” in being an artist, some of the richest and most powerful people in the music industry seem to be the loneliest and most unhappy. And yet some seem like they’re positively thriving so who am I to say?
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Honestly, kindness goes a very long way in how I view the creative ecosystem. Wether it be buying someone’s work of art, coming out to a live performance or doing something as trivial as liking someone’s post online all help keep the gears moving. Words can be a huge supporting factor as well, like I said it’s hard to monetize your art and that’s not what I’m in this for. Some of the words and connections people have shared with me pertaining to my music are absolutely priceless and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I try and keep their words in my heart and help them get me out of a hole when I’m feeling discouraged. I do my best to help prop up and be there for artists I truly believe in within the small local network of creatives that I consider peers. When I see familiar faces at shows that spent their own free time, gas money or whatever means to make it out just to support what I make, It’s really mind blowing. I hope my gratitude for the real people in my ecosystem doesn’t go unnoticed. I truly appreciate and have nothing but love and respect for my fans, true friends and found family.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bandcamp.com/jacobjamesmusic
- Instagram: @jacobjamesmusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jacobjamesmusictube?si=GE8zw1bwIxMqSBE8
- Other: Find my music on all major streaming platforms
