Certain artists just have a prolific nature about them. Often their profuse creations are driven by an eclectic mix of mediums that they specialise in and Paul Jacobs is a case in point. The triangle between music, art and film is an equilateral one.
On the topic of inspiration and his latest record Pink Dogs on the Green Grass, it is fascinating to find out why the creative flame burns so brightly and how one summons the energy to constantly churn out such diverse and engaging music. “I’ve always used song writing and recording as almost a form of therapy, it helps me get things out and feel good I guess. I also just like to keep busy with hobbies and this is a great way to construct something and enjoy the end result, like playing with Lego.”
When music is quite simply your life and every thought and action in some way peculates into a tune, it is no surprise that the catalyst can be banality. The subject matter for this album “was mostly just focusing on day to day type stuff. It was before Covid so it was a lot of complaining about going to work and the daily grind (RIP). I was getting into a bit of religion and bible stories as well because I like looking back to my childhood when I write music, and I was forced to go to church and listen to that stuff as a kid. I always just try to write honestly about how I feel, because I’m sure a lot of people feel the same.”
Being in the creative zone can produce a lot of material, some worth keeping and elaborating on and some to be shelved indefinitely as Paul was “just writing and recording stuff that I wanted to hear at the time. By the end of the whole writing/recording period I was left with maybe 40 or so songs to go through. There were some for sure picks and difficult album cuts. The process of laying out the track listing is one of the hardest parts of the album, I just tried a bunch of options and went about it like I was putting together a 40 minute long song with a break in the middle. I just try to keep it entertaining right through, I love albums where if you put on one song, you need to hear the rest of the album. I was listening to the Notorious Byrd Brothers a bunch during this time, and that is one of those albums for me.”
As the majority of material produced by Paul is manufactured in a cramped little Montreal apartment, understanding how the fullness of sound is created is an endlessly fascinating one considering how much of the D.I.Y spirit he embodies. “I’ve been using pretty much all the same gear I’ve been using to record my previous two albums (Easy & Pictures, Movies & Apartments). I did buy a new microphone though, an SM7B which I used as my main mic. So I went from SM58 to SM7B. Also with this album, I was able to record acoustic drums. This is the first time in my life I live in an apartment where I’m able to play acoustic drums. That was a big game changer for me, I love playing the drums.”
It is the time spent, past and present, as a drummer that has in part shaped the way Paul approaches performing live. “I guess I just vibe with the audience, I can sometimes feel what the room needs at that time, or what we need to bring within the show line-up. I’ve spent my early years mainly as a drummer, I think you notice a lot of different things when you’re sitting behind a kit. You’re not the front person so you get to observe a bit more. Also I always trust when the drummer think’s things need to change or get loud/quiet. I guess I just go with the flow, just like when you’re having a conversation with a stranger.”
As a polymath Paul plays every instrument and with such a broad musical knowledge, having the compositional structures always running through your mind is an obvious explanation as to why he is such a prolific creator. Although at times the recruitment of external brains can be the finishing touch that is needed when looking to complete a project having exhausted your own creative know how. Enter Oliver Ackermann. Known for is his guitar destroying antics in A Place To Bury Strangers and described as “The Loudest Band in New York”, Oliver’s deft touch was employed to master the album and it is to be said that “Oliver is a sound wizard, he has a unique ear for noise. I knew he’d embrace the strange sounds he heard instead of trying to clean things up to some kind of industry standard. He helped me out big time on this and I owe him big time. If he thinks it sounds good then I’ll take his word on it.”
Producing a staggering amount of music, Paul’s back catalogue is hugely impressive. Yet not in isolation, all his work is accompanied by his artistic creations. The medium of art is one that runs throughout his work and is evident in the ways it features in cover art, merch design, one off art pieces, animations and videos. It begs the question of how do you fuse the constructs of music and art together when the two can be mutually exclusive yet symbiotic? “I just have an equal love for visual art and music. I remember hearing advice before saying you can’t succeed if you do everything you love, you need to focus on one thing and make it great. But then I saw the Devil and Daniel Jonston and decided that’s what I’ll do. I couldn’t put out a vibe and get someone else to try to create something visual that goes with it, I don’t know, maybe I’m a control freak. It’s all just very personal to me all around.”
In those instances where a concept, lyric or sound cannot completely encapsulate a sentiment where the visual medium can become the bridge but understanding how Paul interprets a visual and incorporates it into a given art work or film clip is enlightening “just like sound, when you like something then it’s good. It’s the same for visual, if I like how it looks then it works. I can’t lie to myself and put something out that’s half ass, I’ll only share something that I’m 100% stoked on at the time. Sometimes I see the visual in my head when I hear the music, other times I need to find it, it’s all part of the project for me.”
It is only fitting to conclude the interview with a positive message from Paul in that “just keep doing what you’re doing, and to do it for yourself, someday things will work out”. Truly that is the essence of what propels a creative artist and is the endless well from which inspiration and drive bubbles up from.
