Singer-Songwriter Pi Jacobs Builds A Rapport With Her Audience

By John Roos

Pi Jacobs is willing to share more than most when it comes to opening oneself up and bearing your soul. The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter-guitarist/bass player doesn't hold back to bond with her audience even if it leaves her emotionally naked.

Jacobs' recent Live in Memphis (Blackbird Records, 2021) features songs drawn from throughout her over 20-years career but what makes it unique is that she begins each selection with a lengthy, spoken-word introduction to the often-personal story behind the lyrics. One selection titled "Rearview," for example, reveals the details of the complex relationship with her estranged father.

Quite a bold thing to do.

"With Live in Memphis, it didn't take off at first and I remember thinking that maybe I overshared," said Jacobs during a recent phone interview from her La Tuna Canyon residence. "But more people have heard it now and given me some good feedback. I think it's been one of those slower-burners."

Jacobs grew up amongst hippies right here in the Bay Area. Born in San Francisco and raised by a single mom, she spent her earliest years within two miles of Haight-Ashbury and was surrounded by storytelling, theater, and music. Inspired by her mother's eclectic musical tastes and record collection—Motown, pop, folk, rock, country-- she began playing guitar and singing at age 11. Jacobs earned degrees in jazz and vocal performance, including from San Jose State University and Santa Rosa Junior College, before venturing to New York City in 2001 for a brief stay where she released the first of her ten albums.

In the mold of like-minded singer-songwriters such as Roseanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, and Rosie Flores, Jacobs--who plays a homecoming show this Friday night at the Lost Church--roams from folk, Americana, and country to pop, rock, and the blues without conforming to the narrow confines of any single genre or style. Partly inspired by her admiration for British folk-indie rock-blues-trip-hop artist Fink, her most recent work delivers a funky, rhythmic edge that carries a textured, propulsive vibe to her sonic palette. (Jacobs uses a homemade stomp box for percussive effect when touring solo.)

Jacobs' brand-new release, Soldier On, explores familiar themes of love, mortality, and perseverance while evolving musically by dabbling in some unchartered waters with a primarily minimalist, more intimate-sounding approach. She is backed on the album by her core band, including twin brothers Adam (dobro) and Zack Hall (upright bass) and drummer Butch Norton (Lucinda Williams, Eels.) Note: Brian Rodvien will be filling in for Norton at Friday night's Lost Church gig.

"I didn't want any cymbals on this recording, I was more interested in tribal-sounding drums and shakers . . . so that was a bit of adjustment for us," said Jacobs, who co-produced the album with Eric Corne. "I had to fight hard at times for that, but ultimately, I knew Butch would do it just right. He used a lot of percussion with almost no cymbals, so it’s quieter at times while still rockin’, which suited the mood perfectly."

Although most of Jacobs' material is drawn from personal experience, she's not afraid to bring her socio-political concerns into the mix. Topics have ranged from the #MeToo movement ("Diana the Hunter") to social class inequity ("No Sin to be Poor") to feelings of despair following the 2016 presidential election ("First Thing Tomorrow,") the latter drawn from 2020's stellar Two Truths and a Lie album.

Often, though, the personal becomes political. Or rather, is it the political that becomes personal?
"I don't try to be political, I just share my experiences and emotions, and hopefully they're relatable to my audience," said Jacobs, who cites Rickie Lee Jones' 1979 achingly beautiful song, “Last Chance Texaco,” as one of her biggest sources of creative inspiration. "Whatever songs I write that happen to be topical, they're all just coming from (inside) me."

While Jacobs is now on independent record label number four with a niche-sized yet devoted fan base, she understands that mainstream success is an elusive proposition subject to youthful trends and fads. Not that making it big was ever a realistic expectation, anyway, because nourishing her artistry will always trump any prevailing commercial winds.

"It’s exhausting but I love performing, and I would be a very sad person if I never went onstage again," Jacobs shared. "I'm an introvert but I've learned to relax over the years and have overcome my shyness with time and my experience onstage. The more vulnerable and real I am with people, the more they respond to it and I believe that makes them feel more comfortable."

"What I'm after is wanting to be bring people in, by writing, singing, and playing well. But ultimately, none of that matters if I'm not connected to people, to other humans. There's an existential loneliness that goes away because you're having a shared experience with others."

*Pi Jacobs and Berkeley-based singer-songwriter Kyra Gordon perform Friday evening at the Lost Church, 988 Columbus Ave., San Francisco; (415) 320-1408. 8 p.m. $25. www.thelostchurch.org.