Meet Pi Jacobs | Singer-Songwriter, Vocalist, Guitarist and Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pi Jacobs and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pi, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I was a pretty shy and fearful child. And as I was beginning in music, that trend continued. When I was about 17, I was playing bass in my college Big Band, and one day the drummer called me at home to tell me that I was playing so timidly, that he hated playing with me. I was so offended that he confronted me like that, that the next rehearsal I played super angrily and loudly, and it was awesome! Everyone noticed and was happy that I had started to assert myself.
You can’t be a performer without putting yourself out there. It’s very scary, and as I’ve become a singer-songwriter, even more so, because I’m usually writing about my deepest feelings or the people closest to me.
So I’ve learned to say f!@#$ it!
And I’ve found that really taking risks is the only way people are going to connect to you on a deeper level.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a Singer-Songwriter, but starting out, my first role as a professional musician was as a bassist / backing vocalist for hire. I was reasonably successful at that, and I learned so much about professionalism in music by being a “hired gun”. Somewhere along the way though, I realized that I wanted to sing lead (I have been singing lead / solos since I was 3 years old). I also really wanted to tell the story of my life, which has been a little unusual.
Switching roles wasn’t all that easy, though – I had to overcome my intense shyness, but I’ve been a professional singer-songwriter now since 2001, and I wouldn’t choose to do anything else.
If there’s anything that sets me apart from others (very important in the arts!) it’s that I try to be unflinchingly honest in my work. I really believe that my job as a singer-songwriter is to reach people’s inner feelings – to let them know that they are understood and not alone. So to that end, I try to be as brutally honest about my own feelings and experiences, and then tell them in song.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to Chiba Sushi in the valley, then for a chill – pool day,. I’d then want to do a great hike (there’s so many in LA). Lastly I’d take them to the Sunday show at the Grand Ole Echo – a weekly Americana music show at the Echoplex. All of my friends go, and its always a great hang.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout the Hapa page on Facebook. For those of you who don’t know, Hapa is slang (Hawaiian in origin) for anyone who is mixed race, with one of the races being Asian. My Dad is Filipino, and my Mom is Caucasian (Mostly Irish/ English). Because I don’t look very Filipino, I used to think that it was just easier to not talk about that side of me, but connecting with folks on the Facebook Hapa page has been very healing and cathartic for me. It’s inspired me to own all of myself, and to quit hiding that part of me.

Website: https://pijacobs.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pijacobs/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/pijacobsmusic

Image Credits
Shots by Morrisson Adrienne Cohen Isom Alex Loftus