Courtney Jacobs

Courtney Jacobs debut single, “Canary,” has a sleek R&B influenced synth-pop sound. It’s a track that’s perfectly chill and meant to be enjoyed in scorching temperatures. Her solo career is just getting started and despite the current COVID-19 related circumstances, Jacobs plans to make the best use of this time. She has plans to release more new music this year, including another single called “Heat Dream” on August 7th. She’s kept herself pretty busy, as in addition to launching her solo career, she released an EP called Valley Days with her band Silver Retriever.

I chatted with the Charlottesville, Virginia based songwriter via e-mail about the inspiration behind “Canary,” her plans for future releases, and more:

You’re an active musician in the Charlottesville, VA music scene, but take us back in time a little bit. What were some of your formative experiences playing and creating music? 

I’ve been singing since I was a child but I never was able to take any lessons, so I taught myself guitar, piano, and ukulele (poorly, I might add). The funny thing is, I was always a shy kid and I rarely wanted to be on stage - I got so nervous I would shake before my dance recitals. Yet after seeing Pitch Perfect I knew I had to be in an a cappella group in college, and I ended up joining the Flying V’s, which is a rock a cappella group at UVA. I joined Silver Retriever during my second year in college kind of by chance (a mutual friend introduced me to the rest of the guys); I had no idea what I was doing but I knew it was right for me. I didn’t know I was capable of writing music until the summer after my second year of college, which was a few months after joining Silver Retriever. And the rest is history!

You’re the lead singer of a Charlottesville band Silver Retriever and you just released your debut EP, Valley Days. How’d this project come together? What are your future plans for the band?

We knew we wanted to release something as a band to express our creativity in a different way (we started out as a cover band playing in bars). Each person in the band contributed to the writing of the music, and our keyboardist, Tom Shaw, and I wrote the lyrics. On the day we recorded the EP, it was the first time most of us had set foot in a studio and it was an incredible, 13-hour experience and we left dog-tired. Due to everything going on in the world at the time, we had to push our release date back from March 20 to May 15, but it ended up being a wonderful celebration of our time together and of the graduation of 5 of our 6 members (I’m the only one returning to UVA in the fall). We don’t know what our future looks like but if at all possible we’ll try to play some gigs in Charlottesville in the fall with whichever members are in town.

Your debut single “Canary” has a more R&B and funk sound to it when compared with Silver Retriever. What inspired you to take your solo sound in this direction?

I love being in a rock band, it’s been my dream since I was a little girl. This project has really allowed me to grow in as many directions simultaneously and expand the way I think about making music. However, Silver Retriever has definitely influenced my current sound. The guys turned me on to several bands that really know how to blend genres, including Vulfpeck with their incredible basslines. I wanted the bass to be a prominent feature on “Canary” as well because it just makes me want to dance, and I wanted to walk the line between a few different types of music to create the perfect mood concoction to house the melody and lyrics of the song.

Who’d you work with on “Canary”? What influence did they have on the overall sound of the song?

Peter Wellman produced and engineered “Canary” and did an incredible job. I recorded the vocals into the microphone connected to some Beats headphones at 1am on a random weeknight in my dorm room, added them to a novice GarageBand demo with all the default instruments (including horns!) and sent them off to Peter. He easily turned it into something amazing by changing out the hideous horns for synths and adding special touches like guitar in the second verse, snaps, shakers, and the incredible bassline. Although Peter worked from my general arrangement at the beginning, he took it to another level and without him “Canary” would be collecting dust.

Did you record any other solo songs during these sessions? Will you be releasing more music in the coming months? 

I’ll be releasing my next single “Heat Dream" on August 7th. It’s a romantic, dreamy song that hits heavy. It’s now available to pre-save it on streaming platforms.

I also plan to release at least one more single this year, with a possible EP or album coming in 2021.

The lyrics are pretty personal and sound like they’re describing a strained relationship. Was this based on personal experience? If so, how did it feel to share this through the song?

Yes, “Canary” was loosely based on a past relationship and the multiple sides of that story. This song has served as a kind of “bookmark” that I can always go back to in order to feel the same feelings I had when I wrote it and the same feelings the song was meant to evoke in others. 

Tell us a little bit about the current music scene at UVA/ Charlottesville. What’s it like?

Charlottesville has a great local music scene - super friendly to emerging musicians as well as people who have been in the game for decades. Luckily, with my band we were able to get gigs at several bars and restaurants by just asking and providing a few available dates, and that really kicked off our career in Charlottesville. UVA is fantastic about promoting the arts and we’ve been able to participate in several events with the administration and through clubs and other organizations. It’s a totally inclusive, non-competitive atmosphere and I love that everyone gives each other advice and plays in each other’s shows.

It’s been a weird few months with COVID-19. How have you been spending your time?

I’ve been writing and recording a lot, as well as learning every day about being my own manager, my own promoter, etc. I’ve been spending about a full-time job’s worth of time on making sure my music gets out there - on top of my current 9-5 as a software engineer. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my time, however. One side project that has been super rewarding is a CD I’ve made with “Canary” and “Heat Dream” on it. I gave 3 of these CD’s away as part of a playlist-making contest I ran on social media, but I’ve gotten such high demand for them that I’m now selling them directly through social media and on Bandcamp. The thing that makes this special is that I’m hand-painting the CD cases with different patterns so each person will know that they have something unique. 

What are you currently listening to? What musicians/artists are inspiring you?

I’m currently exploring and expanding my music taste to artists that I should have listened to about a year ago, but haven’t gotten around to them. For example, my “to listen to” playlist contains some Still Woozy, Bruno Major, Winona Oak, and ODIE and I’ve been loving all of these artists so far.

What’s next for you? 

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be releasing new music as much as I can during my final school year at UVA. I’m also cooking up some collaborations with other artists so look out for those releases in the coming months.

Stream “Canary” on Spotify or Apple Music and make sure to pre-save Jacobs’ next single, “Heat Dream,” which is out on August 7th.  You can also purchase hand-painted compact discs via Bandcamp. Keep up with Jacobs by liking her on Facebook and following her on Instagram.