He’s singing for as long as he can remember. Joining HUB’s live stream with Roy Tal tonight at 20:00 is Detroit’s Jacob Sigman. Growing up with classics as The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder, Sigman says his goal as an artist is to fuse classic with contemporary and bring something fresh but familiar to the table.
Jacob Sigman is the second artist to join the live stream. Next week, there will be two more live streams with various artists. In a collaboration with HUB radio, Publishing will provide you with all the details about the artists, so you don’t have to google search it yourself!
Prior to the live stream, I asked the man himself some questions about his career and his love for music.
Jacob, diving right in, how did your love for music start?
“I’ve loved music as long as I can remember. I think I have my parents to thank for that. I remember we would listen to the Beatles in the car every day on the way to school. I think it probably all started there.”
What was the first-ever song you wrote about?
“My parents told me I would write songs with nonsense words when I was in kindergarten. I think I had a song called “Alley Valley Voo”, but I believe it was more abstract in concept.”
You said you grew up with all the classics, but what is your favorite song, and why?
“It’s hard to choose, but I would probably say Across the Universe by the Beatles. It just checks all the boxes lyrically, melodically and harmonically. The song tells us something deep about the meaning of life but packaged as a song. I want to listen to it over and over again.”
How would you describe yourself as an artist?
“I guess I would describe myself as a Soul/R&B artist, but with a diverse range of inspiration. I love all kinds of music and I hope that this will lead me to make music that lives in many different genres.”
What was the first gig you ever played?
“My first gig was in 5th grade at my school fundraiser. I had braces, I had a bowl cut, it was amazing.”
And what was the best one?
“That would be the opening for my friend Cory Wong at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. That was awesome!”
In 2019, you wrote 100 songs. What was the reason behind this?
“I’ve always considered myself a songwriter first. One day, a couple of years ago, I was getting coffee with my friend Theo Katzman and he told me about this book called The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. It talks about how the creative process is about so much more than inspiration, it’s about work. Putting in hours and hours into your craft, even doing it when it doesn’t feel good. Theo said it was so good that he immediately went online and shipped a copy to my house. I read the book and decided that I needed to write 100 songs that year. And so, I did!”
This year, you are doing one song a month. What is the inspiration behind that?
“I just wanted to do something different. I feel like our generation consumes music differently than ever before. Our attention span is shorter and the single has become the new LP. I also just wanted to push myself, to have a way to hold myself accountable and to make sure I was always working on a song.”
What do you hope the future brings you as an artist?
“I hope it brings me a greater love and understanding of music, brings me closer to my community and helps me get closer to myself.”
The past two years have shown Sigman accelerating with no signs of stopping, but when we ask about his hopes for 2020, Sigman shakes his head and says “I just need to go write the next great song.”
You can now listen to Sigman’s newest single ‘In Spite of the World That’s Around me All That I dream of is You’, and follow his Instagram @afterdinnersig to stay updated!