Little over a year ago, you had a better chance of spotting Jacob dancing at The Beat than performing at The Zoo, launching his debut LP on the eve of Valley Fiesta. But in that short time, Jacob Diefenbach [pronounced Dee-fen-back] has firmly established himself on Brisbane's local music scene with his prodigious piano skills and instantly memorable vocal sound.
In the increasingly dense throng of contemporary singer/songwriters, the word "unique" can rarely be used with any real meaning. Accepting that (and love it or hate it), Diefenbach's voice hits mighty close to the mark:
"Once in a while you’ll come across an artist that makes you turn your head sideways like the RCA Victor dog."
(Whitesides, www.singleoftheday.com)
"Ripping Stories For Boys" - Diefenbach's debut 11-track release - are tales from the other side of the pride.
Jacob’s own story has led him to a place where he is uniquely positioned to comment on what it means to be male in today’s society. Diefenbach grew up in Central Queensland, surrounded by unyielding pressures to fit a mould of masculinity that simply wasn’t right for him. In a world where young boys were expected to play rugby, not the piano, Jacob struggled to tread the line between what he was told was right for him, and what he knew was right for him.
Ripping Stories For Boys, and Jacob's repertoire in general, spans a wide range of styles and influences, from the sharply whimsical ode to the male obsession with cars "'Drive To Kill") to painful and elegaic explorations of the different ways men deny their true selves.
A recurring theme is the pressure of expectation. "Aryan Boy" - a dark, disturbing and scathing take about the surrender of individuality - is a stand out track on Ripping Stories.
The keystone on Ripping Stories For Boys is Favourite Son, which tells the achingly personal story of a son growing up striving to match his father’s image of the ideal son. The song traverses guilt, disappointment, hatred and, ultimately, love, survival and understanding. This one story captures Jacob’s promise as an artist; it is honest and beautiful and confronting and universal.
With a constant string of electric live perfomances for the Queensland Pride Festival in 2006/2007, Queer Film Festival (2006/2007), and Boston-based punk duo, The Dresden Dolls (for both the Brisbane and London legs of their world tour) - and an invitation to launch the annual Brisbane Cabaret Festival as their featured up-and-coming performer, Diefenbach is moving from strength to strength.
Diefenbach kicked off 2007 with a support performance for Australian cabaret icon, Paul Capsis, at The Vanguard in Sydney, and a show at the 2007 Annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras "Fair Day".
Diefenbach will be taking his head-turning performances to Melbourne in late September 2007, return to support Kate Miller-Heidke in mid-October, and plans to release his cheeky follow-up 7-track EP, Master of Disguise, in early 2008.
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