Feed the Monster
My friend, Stephanie Ehrlich, is debuting her one-woman show titled ‘Feed the Monster’ this Saturday at LA MAMA. It promises to be a rousing affair. Here’s some additional details:
What if Grace Slick grew up an Orthodox Jew in Brooklyn? She’d hit the road and morph into mock-rock-goddess Rita Emerson! Sing along on Rita’s journey to stardom and back. It’s a musical tale of sex, jugs and rock-n-roll.
Even better is that after the show, The Flying Change is hosting the official after-party at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 1. I’ll be playing some new tunes with Rob DiPietro on drums, Rob Jost on bass, and Matt Ray on piano. Our show starts late so get there around 1AM after you’ve seen Stephanie debut Feed the Monster.
Click here to buy tickets from Ticketweb
Singer/Songwriter Reviews
The new EP Singer/Songwriter is at press right now and reviews are coming in. My two favorites come from Magnet and Fensepost. Magnet posted the first track, Singer, on their website and had this little gem of wisdom to impart:
Jacobs shuns the acoustic strumming and anguish-laden lyrics in favor of a more upbeat change of pace with funky, electronic beats a la LCD Soundsystem and the repeated line “I quit my job” on “Singer,” which you can download below. Last year, our hearts were aching; this year, we just wanna dance.
And then Ron Tremblath from Fensepost came in with some great words today.
But, let’s call it as it is folks: A poet, a true artist at that, is in love with defiance, dancing, and pop culture. And he found an absolutely splendid way to make this happen. The songs rock, and can be enjoyed by a wide audience. That is all that really matters here. You just can’t find originality like Jacob’s The Flying Change anymore.
Good vibrations abound.
Singer/Songwriter Promo Video
(courtesy of Monte Krause)
The Mercury Lounge!
So we finally locked down a date at The Mercury Lounge. Tuesday, May 25th, 7pm. Going to be a big show. It’ll feature an advance sneak peek (not possible I know, or redundant or something) of the song “Singer”, the first single off our new two song EP titled ‘Singer/Songwriter’ and coming out June 29th across the web. The band will be at least 12 people and could even go as high as 13 if the 13th person says yes.
So please put it on your calendar. And expect big things from the show. I’ll be thinking of how to make it as great as possible.
The Flying Change
The Mercury Lounge
Tuesday, May 25th, 7pm
237 Houston Street
New York, NY
Yes, we hope to see you there, my friends.
Music Is A Bummer
A lot of people have come up to me and said, “Bro, I dig your tunage but why do all your songs have to be so darn sad?” And I listen attentively. And sometimes I try to write happier tunes and more upbeat things. And I try to write the “Hey Ya” for the ages (okay not really).
But I’ve been thinking about this to a certain extent and I think where I end up is that I think, and for me, music is itself a kind of bummer and that fact seems so intertwined with how I make and write music that I find it inescapable.
Because, you see, music is something that moves through time. Music is, by definition, a transient art form. There are many caveats and qualifications you can make. You can say that everything moves through time and so I’m being axiomatic by singling out music. But I think time is a more integral part of music than it is for visual art, even though, yes I admit, we experience visual art or any art through time.
But walk with me here. Music is more inescapably about movement through time. Time is the central component of music, in a sense.
And that transience. And the awareness of that transience is what makes music so sad or melancholy or poignant for me. Because it’s not just that it’s beautiful. But that we are so aware that that beauty cannot and must not last.
All songs must end.
And in that sense music, and especially pop music, and especially choruses and those magic parts of pop songs that surface every now and again, they are so beautiful precisely because we know they are fleeting and will evaporate into the atmosphere.
That’s sad. I’m sorry. It just is.
“Someone Great” on the InterWeb
After Frank, Train and the gang at The AudioMuffin posted the exclusive of our cover of ‘Someone Great’, I sent it out to the mailing list and to the broader blog audience. Since that time, we’ve seen a lot of great traction.
The biggest blog besides AudioMuffin is probably Largehearted Boy. We also got some coverage on a covers blog called Cover Me. We also got some nice coverage on The Music Slut and Surviving the Golden Age.
And I think there might be more forthcoming. Thanks to everyone for getting the word out.
