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David Jacobs-Strain, a consummate finger-style and slide guitarist, plays in the blues tradition but isn’t from it. You’ll hear echoes of Skip James, Charlie Patton, Tommy Johnson, and a song or two by Fred McDowell or Robert Johnson in his solo performances. But as a modern roots musician, singer, and songwriter, “I come from the language of the country blues, but it’s important not to silence other influences,” he says.
Upon listening to Jacobs-Stain’s latest CD, Liar’s Day, you can imagine him inviting his touchstone, American bluesman Taj Mahal, on a musical walkabout. You can imagine them conferring with Salif Keita, Afro-pop songster of Mali; and conversing with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Indian slide guitarist; and even conjuring the spirit of John Lennon while tramping in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon. The traces of these musical excursions interweave with the fat sounds of a rock rhythm section. The results cohere into a genre-defying journal of Jacob-Strain’s pursuit to honor both the roots of American country blues and the possibilities that can grow from them.
"The soul and passion of the blues with the energy of rock and
the lyrics of a modern troubadour."
— Dave Rubin
Liar’s Day was produced by his mentor and collaborator, Kenny Passarelli (Otis Taylor, Stephen Stills), who’s also featured on the bass. They’re joined by Joe Vitale on drums. “I wanted a big, aggressive drum sound—a Neil Young or Tom Petty sound—that still allowed space for the Traugott acoustic and National steel guitars. I got it by working with Joe and Kenny, Joe Walsh’s rhythm section in the ’70s.”
"David Jacobs-Strain &mdash the young man with the
age-old voice and guitar chops that make players twice his age
break out in a cold sweat..."
&mdash J. Poet, Paste Magazine
He grew up in Eugene, Oregon, in a community that was centered on cultural change and environmentalism. He sees a distinct connection between the principles embodied in his upbringing and the democracy of the blues. “I’m really into hand-made culture &mdash and real people making real music. The voice. One guitar. Even at their simplest, the blues have always been a vehicle for expressing your own situation, whether as an individual or a community. There’s such power in that.”
"His style is so emotional and true, that it may just be a sin..."
— Michael Allison, Music Dish
At twenty-four, David Jacobs-Strain is a veteran of the national club and festival circuit, having shared the stage with the likes of Boz Scaggs, Los Lobos, Bob Weir, David Lindley, Blind Boys of Alabama, Janis Ian, and Taj Mahal, Sonny Landreth, and Lucinda Williams. Credits include Strawberry Music Festival, Merlefest, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, Montreal International Jazz Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Newport Folk Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, and the Blues to Bop in Lugano, Switzerland.
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