Dallas’s Kessler Theater is a favorite venue of many in the area. Boasting a seating capacity of about 400 people, while still maintaining the intimacy of a much smaller room, it provides the perfect back drop for the album release show of Texas native, Jacob Metcalf.

Fjord is a project comprised of songs spanning more than a decade of writing. Jacob speaks of the title track, the last one to be completed, as the final missing puzzle piece that gave life to a story, an album and a dream.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jacob for an interview a few days prior to the show. He speaks with passion, energy, and humility at everything behind him, and an almost childlike wonder at everything ahead as he prepares to see where this album and show take him.

While listening to Fjord in preparation for the interview, the first thing I noticed was how many references there were to travel.

“I think my first exposure over seas was a trip to Greece as a student. I loved what seemed to me to be a much less rushed culture. That was one of the first clues I got that there’s a lot of things you just simply cannot know. It was the beginning of a very humbling education that continues to this day.

Keeping a spirit of curiosity is really important to me. It makes everything exciting. There’s a line of an M. Ward Song; “When you’re an absolute beginner, everything is a panoramic view”. I love that line. When you accept that you don’t know things, there’s so much to be fascinated by.”

Throughout the course of the interview, I got to hear what people at the show didn’t: the stories behind the songs.  One particular lyric from a song called Ein Berliner, “Always close to fire, his desire: raise a family, see it guarded and well fed,” piqued my interest.

“Ein Berliner is kind of complicated. The idea for the song all flashed out in front of me and I wrote it down really quick back in 2007. The lyrics are sung from the voice of the child I never had. I imagined a point where any father’s mystique and heroic stature collapses before a boy’s growing need for answers. The grandfather figure in the song is based on my biological father as he labored in the kind of machine shop where the company celebrated every month that went by where no one was injured. If they went a year without a death or a major accident it was a big deal. To me it always seemed like a dangerous, savage place. People died in that factory… But that goes to show you that, even if he couldn’t satisfy my need for answers, he still went to great lengths to provide for us, lengths we’ll never fully understand. Sometimes that’s the way of raising a young family. So, in summary, the song takes its inspiration from an incident that will, most likely, never happen. Ein Berliner was built out of a fantastic day dream.”

Is that moral the same goal you would pass on to your children?

One of the things I am rock-solid on is that people are more important than anything. And I mean that across the board, My goal is to eventually be someone without walls, without borders. I’ve always had the dream to be a global citizen.

After listening to the album, the second track, One Three Nine, stood out not only for its odd name, but because it felt like the title should have included “Inspired by True Events”.  I wanted to see if I was right.

I’m very fascinated by the far east, and some of that plays into my Music. Fjord is predominantly influencd by Europe, Africa, Asia. One Three Nine was written kind of in my distress of leaving the country, trying to meet up with a pen pal, and realizing, actually in the airport, that I had left my money behind.

It was a completely boneheaded move. All of my resources were in the form of a plastic debit card. And so I never left the airport and my friend waited for me outside. It was a very lonesome 24 hours in that airport. We have still never met to this day. It was very unspectacular.

Do you see that as a failure?

No longer. Now I have a kind of memory that has changed over time. I don’t regret at all that “blunder”, because now I can laugh about it.

On stage, Jacob was joined by a small orchestra, from a strings section to horns to a gutted piano.  Given the number of people involved, I was curious about how he felt about the inevitable mistakes and mishaps of preforming.

I don’t believe in mistakes from a performance perspective. In rehearsals I am very particular. The idea is to surprise and delight, to go beyond what people expect. To add value. To add seasoning to whatever meal they think they’re gonna get.

Work hard during rehearsal and then embrace everything that happens day of the show. If the lighting trusses fall down and you’re playing in complete darkness, that is now part of the show.

The short of it is, anything goes.

I think the best performances, of the ones I attended, are the ones that make you feel like someone cut the AC on. You get chills, and you’re stumbling all over yourself to tell someone. Because I have experienced that first as a music lover, the goal is to recreate it. It’s reciprical, there are roles. The audience is just as important as the performers.

Come showtime, it certainly felt that way.  Jacob’s performance did not project bravado, or scream for your attention.  Instead, his presence welcomed you into the music, as the aura of playful creation from the band extended to every corner of the room.  After the show, and one too many drinks, I couldn’t help but note comments I heard as I made a beeline for the men’s room.

That was joyful!

That show definitely exceeded my expectations.

I can’t believe I didn’t know who this guy was!  He’s amazing!

Little did I know how lucky I was to go behind the scenes and see the experiences, stories and ideas that went into creating such a show.  I was glad I had taken the chance to get his personal take on his music, starting with his favorite lyric.

“Surprise in the familiar, there can be comfort in the unknown.” As a 20-whatever I was tapping into something I’m still fascinated by. How can these contradictory ideas exist live in our head at the same time? How can these polar opposites coexist? How can you be filled with love for your spouse, girlfriend, wife, mother, brother, and feel such division from them?

Strange question, but what would you say is the texture of your music?

It would be a stucko wall underneath a spanish tiled roof. I think of maples, and mahoganies, and the saw dust from a piece of pine wood.

If someone were to only hear one song you wrote, and the song has to hook them, which would it be?

My favorite song that I ever wrote would be…“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by the Beach Boys! If someone could only hear one song, I’m sure it would be one from the album that is coming after this one.

Is that an inside scoop?

There’s a whole queue of things ready to go!

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For a more in-depth look at Jacob Metcalf’s Fjord album, see a full review at

www.thelastcitymusic.com

And keep up with Mr. Metcalf on social media via the links below!

Website – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – iTunes