The following article was written by Ryan T. Jacobs:

Dear You, Oh Dear Me – Ryan T Jacobs Dear You, Oh Dear Me – Ryan T Jacobs

A new blog certainly calls for an introduction. My name’s Ryan T Jacobs and I’m a singer/songwriter from the United States, who’s been living as an expat in Europe for the majority of the last 7 years, the last 3 of those in Berlin, Germany. I’m relatively new to the music scene, a bit more than 2 years into the writing and performing aspect of it, and though I’ve always been an appreciator, I’d never been a direct contributor in the sense of songwriting/creation. It’s amazing what boredom will do to drive you in one direction or another, for me in this case, for the better.

In the span of the last couple years, I’ve been prolifically writing songs, playing shows, looking for someone to finance a follow up to my debut EP, and just plain “paying my dues” as they say in the music industry. What this means exactly and when it stops, I don’t pretend to know. After about a year of playing shows without having a record to sell, I went into a studio and put together an EP called The Places You Might Have Gone.  Now I’m satisfied with my record, that is to say, not happy, but I also don’t hate it. This is not a case of artistic self-deprecation as can sometimes be the case. The album is simply not an accurate representation of what it is I wanted to make at the time (this is due to a yes man producer, in the sense he would just nod his head and say yes, as if he was paying attention to what I suggested/wanted, and then wouldn’t do it), nor is it an accurate representation of what it is that I’m creating/doing now, which I believe is definitely one of the most frustrating things for an artist, or just in life in general: being misrepresented/misunderstood.

Whether conscientiously or not, art is an attempt at the sublime. It’s meant to transcend language, transcend the normal way that we would interact with other people. it says something when nothing particular is being said, and speaks directly to people to whom it never had a specific intention to do so. When art is done well, it achieves a certain abscence of self/self-perception for the observer (or listener as is the case in of music), as well as the artist, and achieves an unspoken intersubjectivity that brings people together, if even only for a 3 minute period.

This explains, at least in part, the difficulty of finding a person (producer and/or bandmate, collaborator) who completely understands your idea for your songs.  This is something that is based on emotion or the aforementioned abstract, unspoken intersubjectivity. Perhaps that’s why someone who understands your vision is worth their weight in gold, because they know what it is you’re trying to express without you needing to articulate it constantly and/or needing to explain it to death. It’s these same kind of people who are the ones not trying to squeeze in a scorching, virtuosic solo when all the song needs is a simple bit that adds a layer to enhance the song. it’s the guy that’s willing to tap the tambourine once every 4 beats of a song, or lay down a shaker, or do the minimalist hit of the snare or kick drum, who will inherit the musical kingdom of heaven so to speak. the person who, is capable of, but doesn’t need to unpack the mal apropos, superfluous solo for his ego. I mean, Neil Young’s Helpless is three chords. Three. The whole song through for Christ-sakes and it’s a classic! Neil Young could play the guitar really well too.

In short, it’s difficult to find contentedness in musicians; contentedness with the small things, the details if you will. “Don’t play your instrument. Play the song.” That’s a quote that reportedly came from David Crosby, indeed mine, and I suspect many others, least favorite member of that fab foursome we refer to simply as CSNY, but a hell of a quote nevertheless. Now, this touches upon what could be a-whole-nother can of worms, namely: virtuosity vs. the craft of songwriting, which seem to butt up against each other quite often, and at times even seem mutually exclusive. I will most likely get around to expressing my opinion on this subject at some point during the course of this blog, but, at the risk of being the guy who corners you at a party and talks your ear off after having just met you for the first time only minutes previous, I’m gonna put this blog in the can for now and save the other things floating around my head for another time. Until then…

-r-

www.myspace.com/ryantjacobs

Dear You, Oh Dear Me featured on a german television show, from my debut EP entitled The Places You Might Have Gone.