We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jakob Takos a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jakob, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Audio In 2019, I released 5 singles and 5 music video under the album title called “Create to Connect.” The two key components in my life are the ability to create and connect with others. Each track I worked with different musicians in the area which was all documented to capture the creative process. This was my time releasing any type of original music. I have been so insecure and over critical about my work and let alone myself that I knew the only way to get over that is by simply putting myself out there. That project taught me a lot early on that done is better than perfect since perfect will never be done. I use to look back and cringe at some of the videos and songs, but confident in who I am now I see all of it as growth and development as an artist.
Fast forward to today, I took the same mentality and found a core group of guys with a similar mindset and started “Jakob Takos & The Connection.” We have a three track EP out now called “Sunshine Soul” that spotlights our eclectic sound ranging from indie folk rock to beach rhythm blues. We just finished recording Volume 2 to encapsulate the full sound which should be coming out soon.
Visual
In 2020, I was the photographer for an international tour guide series called, 111 places in Palm Beach That You Must Not Miss” This illustrated guidebook series presents cities, regions and even whole countries from a different and personal perspective. This was created by locals for locals and experienced travelers. The book is written by Cristyle Wood Egitto a Palm Beach local and I took the photos to represent her writing. Hard work went into this and I learned so much during the whole process in the mist of a global pandemic. You can find it at any major book store or all online. This is something I did not know I could do nor had in me, but I had the support from others that saw something in my work I could not see myself.
Fast forward to today, the book is doing so well that it is on its 3rd edition soon to be released. As for me, my love for photography and visual work has led me to start his own creative company called Nothing Negative where a small team and I work on creative concepts and branding strategies for businesses and entrepreneurs
Jakob, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am an audio and visual creator born and raised in Jupiter Florida. Music has been the forefront of my creativity. I have been a working creator since the early days of what I can remember. I’ve had music in my life forever, but my passion was sparked in the 5th grade the moment a guitar touched my hands. I immediately knew I could never let go from this in my life. There I started to emerge myself into everything music and more. As I became inspired by what are now some of my favorite artists, I was infatuated by the process and the final product along the way. Being able to hold a physical CD and looking at the tracklist on the back gave me an ability to connect with the artist. Shortly after YouTube came out. This opened my mind to a whole new world of I could reach. I could watch videos of people play guitar, pause and rewind them to see how they were playing the song was a game-changer. What I really took notice more in was the people who would upload their own videos of them playing. I enjoyed watching a weekly cover video done in a unique way plus any behind the scenes footage of any creative process was captivating to me. Later to realize that I was watching the pioneers of today’s culture and taking mental notes along the way.
By late high school, I had played with different people and small performances. I had a band senior year that later carried over to my early college years. We would do all types of gigs around locally and across the state. Through the years, I have been in a couple of other projects and bands, but the biggest common factor they all had was the strong online presence created. I used social media as a driving factor for any musical endeavor I was in. I wanted what was in front of me to be captured in the most authentic and aesthetic way possible. The ability to promote a gig by posting and sharing it online to a place where people were giving all their undivided attention was significant to a working musician. My father has engraved in me the importance of the devil being in the details. This mantra sculpted my creative thoughts and actions. Along the way of running my musical projects on social media, I got the attention of some local business owners asking me for advice and help. While playing in different bands, I was also a full-time student studying Public Relations. The academic understanding of what I was learning I would implement into my current work overtime. The more I spoke with different business owners, the more I started to realize the value in creative content that accurately represents a business. Their content was either outdated, noticeably poor quality, or really out of touch with what was currently represented. From there, it clicked for me to take another step further in a creative direction and pick up the camera and chase the ideas that were always in my head. All of my creative ventures and relationships have lead me to my business which is called Nothing Negative. Nothing Negative Co. is a creative company dedicated to serving others through the principles of communication, creativity, and connection. We do a variety of creative concepts and branding strategies. Today, NNC comprises a team aiming to create consistent content that communicates authenticity within a brand with the intention of storytelling through digital content.
The two key elements in my life are creating and connection with others. I just try to keep that close to music.
Today, I play guitar and sing in my band, Jakob Takos and The Connection, but also play freelance for other bands or any opportunity such as recording and writing. I have had the same resilient work ethic since I started working with my hands and ideas. Even with it being out right now, I am extremely proud of the book I was a part of creating the photography for, 111 Places in Palm Beach That You Must Not Miss. I have another project coming out hopefully sometime this summer or early fall that I completely went out of my comfort zone for. I got to work with a team of amazing talent that I hope to get another opportunity like again soon. Unfortunately, I can’t say much about yet!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
There is no particular time or story I have in mind that involves a drastic pivot in my business. I believe being 100% authentic with yourself and accountable will drive you in the right direction. For a long time I struggled taking criticism, constructive or not, way to personally. This was only crippling me from my ability to grow in business and as a person. I had to learn about my boundaries and bandwidth by getting really uncomfortable at times with myself. Although this was hard and still is at times, making certain lifestyle changes has only benefited me in my personal life which bleeds into my business. I am so grateful for the people I have on my team and my wife for always being there to celebrate the good times and not leaving during the bad times.
Relating to business, I always try to overdeliver to the best of my ability and push for more. Whether it’s taking an hour out of the day to research efficient ways to improve my services or deliver the best end result product. There is always room to grow and educate yourself. I believe my clients and the people I surround myself with deserve the best version of myself always. This means taking the time to educate and learn how to sharpen the skills and tricks to the trade. This is not really considered a pivot, but more of an awareness to always put your best foot forward in any direction you decide to go.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Just like many, we all have ideas that live in our head. Whether some are good or bad to pursue, that’s up to the creative to decipher. I do think everyone have the ability to be creative if they allow themselves to be. All I am trying to do is clearly communicate my creativity from my head to this world.
In my opinion, creative freedom is earned not given when it comes to representing someones ideas. That is why strong open communication will develop a rock solid foundation to build on. I tell my clients m
y goal is to not to changing anything, but to build a bridge between them and the general public/end goal. How that bridge is built is through my creative perceptive. I truly believe my purpose on this earth is to create and connect with others.
Contact Info:
- Website: nothingnegativeco.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jakobtakos
- Facebook: instagram.com/jakobtakosandtheconnection
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7i8LcvEwQiy84DKmgsz0TA
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4xuVEGpNBty6JKNmP2aHWY
Image Credits
Geo Lehn Media Alchemical Photo Hunter Hutch Photo Nothing Negative
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