Today we’d like to introduce you to Highschool Jacob.
Highschool Jacob, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I have been playing music since my parents made me take piano lessons when I was around four. From that point on, it was a part of my identity, whether I knew it or not. Though I never wrote too much music in high school, I continually took lessons, performed at events, and took any music theory class that was offered. At Wesleyan (where I went to college) I was a music major (and a history major ~woohoo~), and I focused on classical composition and conducting while wishing I was in a band playing my music at shows. Instead, I played in other people’s bands and looked to other writing opportunities such as writing a musical. I started Highschool Jacob (originally Tiny Hands) after school when I realized that as an aspiring performer and songwriter, I had yet to really put together a cohesive group of my own songs. With the help of my friend Sean Eads I took a serious dive into the world of production and electronic music-making and had been trying to figure out what my sound is since then.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I would describe my sound as alternative pop music. I will be the first to admit that my music is not up the middle in terms of being completely of the mainstream, but as I said I want to make music that at the end of the day can speak to many different kinds of people. I mainly write and produce by myself to start a song and will sometimes reach out to other producers and songwriters to make sure it gets another set of eyes. While I enjoy working by myself, collaborating with other people has always been my favorite thing to do in music. Some of my favorite collaborators are Matan Koplin-Green (Paper Idol), Nick Sena, Sean Eads (Triangle Park) and Micah Gordon (courtship).
The message of my sound is focused on intimate and personal storytelling. I want people to listen to my music and feel connected with the emotions I am conveying while at the same time getting lost in the music overall (whether that is dancing and having a good time or doing the complete opposite). I believe there is no wrong way to listen to my music, and I want listeners to have distinct responses to all of my songs.
To be honest I often wish my voice or production could sound cleaner or more high end, but as I’ve kept making music I’ve grown to enjoy those imperfections as a way of saying “Hey here it is and if you don’t like it, I’m sorry, but this is what I made.”
Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
Being a pop musician in today’s world is an unusual position to be in. At the end of the day, I am a white guy from LA focused on putting myself out there and asking for people’s attention at a time when there are so many other things that need that attention.
National and global issues affect everyone’s art whether they like it or not because it affects the art they are making and how it is viewed by their audience. Because of this, while I tend not to write about specific events in my music, I try to look at how external factors are affecting the subject that I am writing about from outside of the vacuum of that specific moment. For example, if its a love song, I do not enjoy writing from one perspective as I think there are too many examples where all sides of the story need to be heard.
I think the role of artists has always been to build on the art that came before while highlighting the emotions and thoughts of the current audience as a whole. As a result, of that dynamic a lot of the time, the consumers of that art can end up deciding which artists come to the forefront. Today so many people have the ability to bring out which artists they identify with and believe in which has resulted in a rapidly changing and exciting landscape.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My music is available on all streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc.) and on SoundCloud. Also, I have videos up on my Youtube page as well. People can support my work by listening and reaching out to me on Instagram if they like what I am doing!
Performing is where I feel the most artistically present, so coming to live shows is about the greatest thing a listener can do!
Contact Info:
- Phone: 3108044636
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highschooljacob/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hsjacob/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/hsjacobmusic
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/highschooljacob
Image Credit:
Jack Herzog (Artwork) and Grace Pickering (photograph)
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