What Makes A Great Record

One thing I've learned over the past ten years is that what makes something truly personal and great is, of course, what goes into it. The projects I've done with people I barely knew have never meant nearly as much to me as the ones I've done with people I love and love working with. I'm making a new record and I want everybody to be a part of it. I want to put your name in the credits of this record. I've started an Indiegogo fundraiser and every contribution comes with a "perk" that I feel is worth as much as the contributions themselves. Everybody who contributes, no matter what level of investment, will be credited on the album. THE BEST PART IS... if all of my Facebook friends donate the minimum $5 amount, the price of a cup of coffee, you will all be listed in my album's credits and the project will be completely funded! If you can't contribute financially, you can help spread the word by sharing my Indiegogo page with anybody you think would be interested in supporting independent music. Please take a moment to visit the campaign page and look at all the perks available. I think you'll agree that you get your money's worth. INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN LINK: It has been a long journey to get to this point. Nearly ten years ago, The Capitals put out their first and only album. We were actually relatively successful for a band without a clue. We somehow managed to fumble our way into some great media exposure and land some key gigs. One of our songs was used in an episode of The L Word, and now ten years later, two songs from that same record are being used in an upcoming movie. We didn't have any idea of how to keep a band together. We had no idea how much work it would be. Despite my attempts to keep the band on life support, eventually The Capitals disbanded. Between then and now, most of my musical endeavours have been on bass with bands such as The Top Drawers, The Winlaws, Joel Battle, Danny Echo, The Luna Riot, SixBlockRadius, The Autumn Portrait, Lisa O'Neill, and so on. I've toured the country and experienced all the highs and lows that come along with being in a band. Best of all, I've experienced what works, what doesn't work, what draws fans in, what breaks bands up, what attracts media, what attracts negativity... all of it. Now I feel ready to revisit my own material with a renewed interest and maturity. At the end of the summer, I collected some of my favourite local musicians (Robert Watt, Adam Fink, and Steven Drake) and called up a producer who I've been wanting to work with for a long time (Winston Hauschild). We entered Afterlife Studios in Vancouver and recorded the bed tracks for five new songs. Several weeks later, we shuffled everything over to Little Mountain Studio on Bowen Island to record all the missing pieces and to fit it all together. The results were even better than I had anticipated. The songs are recorded, but I need the money to master them, press them to vinyl, get artwork designed, have professional photos done, setup digital downloads, and perhaps even add a couple more songs to the record. You can see the complete breakdown of the anticipated costs on my Indiegogo page. Every dollar raised will go to this project. My goal is to have an album release party on January 29th, 2015 - exactly ten years after The Capitals CD release party. It may seem like a long shot, but it is achievable. However, in order for that to happen I'll have to completely fund this project by the end of my Indiegogo campaign on December 18th. Want to help?

Back in the Saddle Again

It feels like it has been years since I've performed a show as a singer/guitarist. It hasn't, of course. I recently joined my bandmates Eric Lefebvre (from The Top Drawers) and Dan Newton (from Danny Echo) to perform a gig at Sorry Babushka in Vancouver. In June, I did a short solo tour with shows in Edmonton at The Haven Social Club, in Calgary at Broken City, and in Lethbridge at The Owl Acoustic Lounge. However, it wasn't so long ago that I was fronting my own rock band, The Capitals, and performing hundreds of shows playing songs that I had carefully crafted. I was very driven to make my mark on the Canadian music scene and I was certain I could do it. Unfortunately, like many independent bands, The Capitals eventually disbanded and we all went on to play with other projects. A few years later, one day I woke up realizing that I was now a bassist and not a guitarist. I had been recorded and touring as a bassist with probably a dozen different bands in as many provinces, territories and states and my own music had somehow got left behind. As much as I love playing bass, I've come to the realization that I really miss recording and performing my own songs. Now that I've had some time away from it and allowed all of my new influences to sink in, I feel ready to jump back on that horse and put something new out into the world. Over the next couple of months I intend to perform as often as possible while recording my new stripped-down acoustic solo CD, "meanwhile, back at the ranch...". This is all in preparation of doing a full-blown national tour in the new year which I intend to document on film. I also plan to record a second solo album next year that will be more of a full-band approach. I have big plans, my friends! It all starts today, October 21st, 2011. Yes, I know the blog says it's the 22nd, but I've been working hard all day and it's only just past midnight. Visit me at www.patrickjacobson.com and "like" me at www.facebook.com/patrickjacobsonmusic.

Let It Bleed

Over the past year, I have been reviewing albums for BC Musician Magazine. Unfortunately, the magazine has been on hiatus for the past few months and I've found myself craving a new outlet to rant about music. Welcome to "Extra! Extra! Bleed All About It." I plan to review CDs, talk about bands, rant about the industry, and chronicle my own musical exploits along the way. If you'd like me to review your band, please contact me for more information.

I'll start things off with a brief bit of background on me. I currently sell guitars at Mother's Music in Calgary, Alberta. I write and perform my own songs and I also play bass in a local band called The Dirty Fox. I only just recently moved here from Vancouver, BC for some new challenges and so far the move has been good for me. In BC, I was the vocalist/guitarist in The Capitals and I was the bassist for The Top Drawers, Joel Battle, Lisa O'Neill and The Luna Riot. I still play with Joel Battle and try to get back for gigs whenever possible. I graduated from Capilano University with a certificate in Advanced Arts & Entertainment Management in the middle of a recession and found that nobody was hiring in that field. For now, I'm quite happy to continue to work with bands, sell guitars, and write about music. I'm currently working on new material for a new band that I plan to debut in the spring.

Thanks for stopping in.