Jacob Miller is ‘Gonna Be Just Fine’ in performances at the 449 Room and Court Tavern.
By: Megan Sullivan, TIMEOFF
On a recent afternoon, Jacob Miller finds himself sitting by the pool at a random Days Inn in Lumberton, N.C. The singer-songwriter makes a pit stop during his long drive from Washington, D.C., back home to Miami to discuss his debut album, Who We Are. Although he probably doesn’t want to think about another road trip when he’s still got 10 more hours to go on his current journey, Mr. Miller will be traveling back north again to play at the 449 Room in Trenton Aug. 11 and Court Tavern in New Brunswick Aug. 13.
The 22-year-old musician is signed to the Miami-based independent label Dogleg Music, headed by Grammy-recognized producer and engineer Richard Serotta. Jacob first met Mr. Serotta at Outline Studios at age 11, when he recorded his first professional gig as the solo boy vocal for Euro Disney’s anthem. "At that time, music was just something I did, I didn’t ever think of music as being my profession," Mr. Miller recalls. "Then when that became a reality and I wanted to do music, he was the first person I went back to. He likes my songs and nurtured and mentored me.
"He himself was a musician on the road for many years and worked with some great guys," he continues. "He had legendary players work with me and teach me. It was definitely a catalyst in my development and it was a natural step to work together on my first album."
Aside from being inspired by musicians from Bob Marley to Miles Davis and Bob Dylan, Mr. Miller looks to all forms of expression for enlightenment. On his Web site, he lists artist Willem de Kooning, poet Walt Whitman and architect Louis Kahn as additional influences. "I really get the same reaction from any art, it just moves me period," he says. "Different works have different effects — something can make you pensive or angry or sad or melancholy — but I think overall it’s just affecting the viewer or listener or reader. I make no distinction as far as being influenced, whether it’s music, art or literature."
Born and raised in Miami, Mr. Miller’s life has included music as far back as he can remember. His father plays guitar, saxophone and clarinet, so there were always instruments around the house to tinker with. Jacob gravitated to the piano when he was 3 or 4 because it was the easiest instrument for his tiny hands to create sound through. He had a few interesting teachers as a child, including a jazz be-bop player, but never did well with formal instruction. "I mostly just explored and figured things out for myself," Mr. Miller says of his early education. "It evolved later as I developed a few more brain cells and listened to more music to sort of get through the idea of form."
By age 7, he had written his first song with lyrics and melody, but it was at 14 when he realized music was the path he wanted to pursue. "I went to a school where the focus was definitely not on guys being singers," Mr. Miller says. "That was sort of something to keep as a secret, it wasn’t really accepted amongst my group of friends. The focus was much more on sports and girls and that sort of junior high school thing.
"One day, there was a piano in the lunch room and I just started playing songs and slowly got my way there to start singing and got a great response from my friends," he recalls. "I realized… I could actually go public with it."
Mr. Miller’s interest with music increased exponentially over the course of the next couple of years, especially while attending high school at the New World School of the Arts in Miami. "It was basically exactly like the movie ‘Fame’ with people dancing on the tops of the tables and breaking into song in the hallways," he says. "It was definitely a unique experience."
He went on to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston for two years, but decided to take a leave of absence to record Who We Are. The album, recorded with a full band, was released in October of 2006. In its initial release at the college radio format, the CD was the number five most added in the country. Tracks from Who We Are also have been heard on various XM and Sirius Satellite Radio stations.
The tracks include "Luck of the Draw," which is about the plight of Haitian immigrants in the United States. In 2002, Mr. Miller saw the news about a group of Haitian refugees who jumped overboard when their freighter ran aground near Miami, swam ashore and rushed onto a major highway. The sympathetic musician wanted to capture the spirit of their struggle and asked his friend, singer-songwriter Kevens, who is of Haitian decent, to sing on the track with him. "He sings reggae on top of drum and bass with rock overtones," Mr. Miller says, "just a truly Miami thing combining everything and making a hodgepodge of sounds and style, and he actually makes it work."
The first track, "You’re Gonna Be Just Fine," has bleak, downtrodden verses juxtaposed with an optimistic chorus.
"I’m not telling anyone that life is going to be OK, or that their luck is going to change," he says. "I’m not predicting the future or making a statement on anything like that. I’m just observing that you can see things from different angles and everything is relative and sometimes that in itself can make one feel optimistic and hopeful."
Jacob Miller will perform at the 449 Room, 449 S. Broad St., Trenton, Aug. 11, 9 p.m. Admission $5; (609) 656-1199; www.449room.com. He also will perform at Court Tavern, Church and Spring streets, New Brunswick, Aug. 13, 9 p.m., free; (732) 545-7265; www.thecourttavern.com. Jacob Miller on the Web: www.jacobmillermusic.com

