Pi Jacobs on Country Music News International Radio Show!
October 11th interviewed by Nigel Sharpe for Country Music News International Radio Show
Saturday live show will be in German & English with Presenter Frank Hammer and the best in country music! 4 pm – 6 pm (CET) GER, 9 am – 11 am (CST) USA, 3 pm – 5 pm (GMT) UK!
For Country Music News International Radio Show follow link: https://stream.laut.fm/countrymusicnewsinternational or https://laut.fm/countrymusicnewsinternational or https://countrymusicnewsinternational.com/
Pi Jacobs: The Americana Troubadour Forging a Path Through Roots, Blues, and Grit
By Christian Lamitschka for Country Music News International Magazine
Pi Jacobs is not a country singer in the traditional, radio-friendly mold. She is, instead, a quintessential Americana artist—a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose work is a rich tapestry woven from the threads of California country, blues, soul, rock, and Laurel Canyon folk. Her two-decade-long career is defined by her compelling narrative voice, genre-blending musicality, and a raw, unflinching honesty born from a uniquely diverse upbringing. Critics have likened her to the heavyweight storytellers of roots music—drawing comparisons to the narrative depth of Tom Waits and the soulful grit of Lucinda Williams and Bonnie Raitt. Jacobs is an artist in perpetual motion, evolving her sound while remaining deeply committed to the therapeutic power of connection through song.
The Unconventional Roots: Haight-Ashbury to Americana
Jacobs’ personal history is the primary wellspring for her art, shaping both her worldview and her inclusive musical style. Born in San Francisco’s famed Haight-Ashbury district, her childhood was marked by a vibrant, multicultural environment that few could claim. Raised by a single mother, her family was a “United Nations” of sorts: “My dad’s Filipino, my mom’s white, and my step grandmother and cousins are African-American,” she states. She spent her early years moving between hippie communes and was immersed in a counter-culture “bubble” where music, art, and politics were constant companions.
This diverse foundation is crucial to understanding her genre choice. Jacobs gravitated toward Americana precisely because it is an “inclusive” space that “makes room for everything,” allowing her to break the segregation she observed in more traditional musical genres.
Her musical education was equally varied:
- Early Years: Started singing at age three in a hippie pre-school choir. Learned guitar around age eleven.
- Formal Training: Switched to bass at fifteen and majored in both Jazz Bass and Vocal Performance in college. This background explains the prominent appreciation for “good grooves” that runs through her entire body of work, a rhythm-first sensibility uncommon in pure folk or country.
-
Musical Palette: Her influences span California country, blues standards, soul classics, and the folk-rock of the Laurel Canyon scene.
A Songwriter of Grit and Empathy
Pi Jacobs’ defining artistic strength is her songwriting. She possesses a formidable ability to craft emotionally authentic narratives, balancing witty, engaging narration with deep, sometimes painful, personal and societal truths. Her writing process is meticulous—she estimates she writes thirty songs to select ten for an album—and centers on what she calls the “emotional truth test.”
Her thematic material is rarely simple or light, touching upon the realities of struggle, resilience, and complex womanhood:
- Socio-Political Commentary: Songs often address wider societal issues through a personal lens. “First Thing Tomorrow,” for example, captures the disappointment and shock following the 2016 US presidential election, opening with the famously candid line, “I’ve been drunk since the election trying to make it not be real.” “No Sin to Be Poor” is a powerful blue-collar anthem, inspired by her own childhood memory of waiting in line for food stamps with her mother, confronting the shame and struggle of poverty.
- Female Resilience and Storytelling: Albums like Two Truths and a Lie (2020) explicitly focus on the stories of everyday women performing “extraordinary, brave, and inspiring acts.” These include tales of single mothers working three jobs, characters leaving abusive situations (“Rearview”), and even the dark, true story of a female vigilante in Mexico (“Diana The Hunter”).
- The Artist’s Journey: Much of her work, particularly her 2024 album, Soldier On, deals with the exhaustion, sacrifices, and ultimate joy of pursuing a life in music. The final track’s lyric, “I don’t feel lonely when I sing,” serves as a personal mantra for her decades-long commitment to her craft.
- Metaphorical Narratives: On Soldier On, the track “Coyote” uses the persistent, menacing animal as a metaphor for the relentless nature of disease, specifically a friend’s battle with cancer, yet frames the struggle as an upbeat anthem of survival.
Jacobs has a knack for telling stories on and off the record. Her 2022 album, Live From Memphis, paired original songs with the personal anecdotes that inspired them, offering a sincere and often funny glimpse into her life, including her journey to track down her absent father and her dues-paying years in New York City.
Critical Acclaim and Musical Style
Critics universally praise Jacobs for her storytelling prowess and her unique sound. She is firmly planted in the Americana genre, but her albums demonstrate a fluid, evolving musical identity: