Jeff Jacobs Band, the band and the self-titled studio album EP, was always about getting the right ingredients together, from the beginning, to lay down roots for great things. The band did that with Grammy nominated producer Mack Damon and established the San Antonio, Texas-based lineup with singer-songwriter Jeff Jacobs, and the founding members of the Jeff Jacobs Band in bassist Nathan Schmidt, drummer CJ Gore, and the passionate lead guitar work of Jeffery Paul Cox.
Leading off the October 2015 release with the anthem on Jeff Jacobs Band is “Feels Alright To Me,” which is getting traction on Internet radio stations, and syndicated on terrestrial radio. The song has been getting attention with fans singing along from the first listen. “When we debuted the song at the Ranger Creek Brewery open house event,” Jeff recalls, “we literally had hundreds of people gathered around the stage singing along with us, we knew this song meant something.” The rest of the four corners of the album are in the powerful ballad of “Break His Heart Tonight”, the modern country pop of “Spend Some Time”, and the soulful roots redux of “Far Away”. Rounding out and complementing the four corners are the toe-tapping, head-bobbing beat of “Living Life Free” and a taste of what’s to come on a third release with the acoustic rendition of “Think About A Day”.
“I am the Middle-Class Working Man. I’ll always know where I came from,” explains Jeff about the autobiographical nature of his songs. “My music is about hope and sharing my experiences,” he continues. “My father used to write and record his music, and that inspired me. I wasn’t one of the kids taking apart the radio…I was taking apart the songs playing on the radio. Writing songs was where I was inspired to go, in a different way, when my mother had the courage to get out of a bad relationship and we struggled, sometimes eating a sandwich of only french fries. Writing songs helped me through working for 18-hours straight and then worrying if I had enough gas, or the money to buy gas, to get back home.” It’s these roots in his experience, and the empathy of others, that give Jeff his passion for pursuing music. “I was never going to sit around and wallow in the fact that I went through hard times in my life and I try to raise the spirits of those around me. I am going to enjoy life and I want to share that with everyone.”
“I have always wanted to play my own songs. I never wanted to do covers, because it felt empty being really great at sounding like King George or Zac Brown Band, having people dancing and clapping for songs that weren’t mine.” So it comes with little question why Jeff sought the formation of Jeff Jacobs Band, “Look around,” he says. “None of the named acts, Garth Brooks, Wade Bowen, Willie Nelson, Gary Allen….none of those guys really go it alone. They are surrounded by great musicians and friends, just like me. I prefer the camaraderie of a band, the feedback and the constructive criticism, and having a core of artists that define the sound than going it alone and looking for just anyone to deliver the music. No one questions the strength of a live oak,” says Jeff about the formation of Jeff Jacobs Band, “But it takes a lot of the right things to make it grow. The right place, the right ingredients, at the right time, and that oak can be a great thing for everyone to enjoy. That’s where we are.”
Speaking to fans with their music, the Jeff Jacobs Band has doubled their Likes on Facebook and more and more follow them on social media since the release of the new album. Jeff adds, “We really love the ‘Super Fans’ that share us with their friends and family!” Though, not depending solely on the backs of others, Jeff Jacobs Band is setting up a busy schedule for 2016, to hit the pavement hard, and get the music in front of as many people as possible. Actively engaged with festival organizers all over the country, aligning with booking agents, they seriously anticipate opening for large acts over the next year, and gaining more radio play, really catapulting the band to a new level.
“Shortly after I graduated high school, I had two kids,” Jeff explains. “It put things on hold from a professional musician standpoint, for me. But I always kept playing. Always playing. I would play for my kids, my family, and my friends.” Jeff expands on the point, “I didn’t start playing professionally until 2000, and that’s when the intersection of reality in the love of music and success in music set in. I really feel all of the things I’ve been through have brought me to this point. Success is about never giving up. Now is the time,” Jeff says with a toothy grin on his face, “because if a singer sings in the woods and there is no one to hear it, does it matter?”