ABOUT Jacobthewilliam

"OK NOW WHO THE F#❦K IS   THIS JACOB ...THEE...UHH... WILLIAM GUY" ??!??!??

HONESTLY WHAT AM I DOING? I NEED TO GET MOVING, I GOTTA STOP THINKING AND GOTTA START DOING. THE WORLD DOESN’T FOR NOBODY AND NEITHER DOES TIME, WITH EVERYTHING I'VE INVESTED IM STILL WAITING FOR MINE. I'M WATCHING OTHER MUSICIANS SUCCEEDING - GOOD FOR THEM, THATS FINE. WHILE I'VE BEEN AT IT FOR TWICE AS LONG SO WHY AREN'T I? AM I JUST NOT AS CHARISMATIC, OR AS PERSONABLE AS THE OTHERS I SEE? WHO IS MY AUDIENCE? WHO AM I? WHAT IS MY BRAND ? IS IT  ME? THE TRUTH IS, ITS SO DISCOURAGING BEING A MUSICIAN ON TODAYS CROWDED EARTH, BECAUSE EVEN THE GREATEST MUSICIAN ALIVE CAN LIVE HIS WHOLE LIFE UNHEARD.

-jacobthewilliam

2019 PORTLAND, OR:

         An established music producer, audio engineer, beat maker, mixing & mastering engineer with over 15 years experience and about 5,000 recordings under his belt - Jacobthewilliam has been there/done that, but still manages to maintain a uniquely mysterious ability to stay "off the grid" and out of the limelight. Which, according to him, requires an immense amount of effort [No kidding]. With an already lengthy, well endowed music career going for him, in 2016 everything changed. After a series of life altering events in his personal life, Jacob made the decision to forfeit his career as a record producer, and quit music altogether. Literally, by cutting all ties within the industry while even getting rid of all his instruments and pawning his gear and giving away his recording equipment and anything else that reminded him of his “previous life” as he considers it. But why? What for? This is the difficult thing for me to understand: Because, well, as a music journalist having interviewed hundreds of independent artists who all struggle to have a life dictated by their music - to see someone who has it all just one day up and leave it behind? Or to everyone who’s given everything they have toward working in a studio…As a career… To be producing acts like The Shins, Modest Mouse, Explorers Of The Dreamworld, Everclear, The Dandy Warhols - whoever - & Just to give up and throw it all away?

-Koncepts, 2019

By the time I graduated high school I had over 1,000 songs (and probably 500  beats) completely written, performed, recorded, edited/mixed, and released as 3 CD's. I had put together a recording studio since i was 13 from hand-me-down gear from my father and older-brothers. Whatever kind of equipment I saw collecting dust - i put to use. It never mattered exactly the ideal approach or how i did things, it only mattered that i did. I never looked at manuals. I learn any & all machines/instruments in a functional way that worked for me. That was all i did. Music was my life starting in Jr. High and all through high school & college then eventually my degree in Music Technology. I didn't do those traditional things you're supposed to do while growing up. Things like school parties and prom, i disregarded. In fact, I didn’t even attend my own High School graduation ceremony because I was in the studio! Lol.  I wouldn’t say i was a loner because i had quite a lot of friends, but there was some burning desire inside me at the time to create music and make an impression on people that i just felt like i was... already past all that. This may sound egotistical but in reality my peers respected me, my parents & teachers supported me. They always had my back and encouraged me to keep growing. My growth was always measured by results - or how my friends and family reacted to the most up to date creation. I’m not sure if my father being a musician has anything to do with all the positive support behind me, but looking back I can say that I really felt it. I felt everyone believed in me... and in turn this all helped me to believe in myself as well.

-jacobthewilliam

                                                                                                                                                      Studio owner & Label founder, producer Jacobthewilliam has been working with sound since childhood for his father’s rock’n roll band. Today, the 30yr old has established himself as a talented songwriter/producer – having made well over 2000 Hip-hop/Pop instrumentals for various artists, in addition to creating more than 3000 rock, pop, and folk songs from numerous bands.     

He has a degree in Music Technology and has freelanced at many of the top recording studios throughout the Portland metro area, until he opened his very own recording studio [The Shed], founded a record label [Old Grievance], a clothing company  [Noise & Other Nonsense Entertainment] started a publishing company [Growing Songs].     

As he remains undaunted by the current state of the music industry, jacob will let it be known that yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's industry will ALWAYS revolve around the song... because the importance of a song is comparable to a fossil fuel that keeps the pistons pumping and the machines moving.    

It is his understanding of this (often overlooked) fact which has lead him to obsessive study and deep examination into the craft of songwriting many artists who work with him can appreciate or inspire from.                               

 I've been making beats regularly for 15+years exclusively for one group. Everyone told me i should sell them. It wasn't 'til I hit some hard times that i decided to try. Being an introvert, it was a rude awakening. I studied marketing & how to sell online but keeping at it has been rough.

I've learned I am not business savvy or socially gifted enough to sell anything, really. I'm just a musician.  & all I wanted was for people to hear what I had to say, although I never reached out to anyone to listen. I assume it was the way I said it that always had me second guessing. I was lacking true presence &* conviction compared to the musicians I idolized. I could never hold a candle to them & im sure anybody might get discouraged from time to time.

However, it wasn’t until recently when I finally realized that in my attempt to sound like my idol, I will always fail. But its the sum difference of failure that makes me uniquely me. & when I learned that I can’t be the judge of my own art - that its not up to me to decide if its good or not - All I can do is create it because I have to, and allow everyone else decide for themselves

-jacobthewilliam