Jaco Jaco

Three records in three years, tracked mostly alone in a Philadelphia apartment. That's the rhythm Jacob Theriot has set with Jaco Jaco, the project he launched in 2024 with Splat, followed last year with Gremlin, and continues July 10 with On the Levee. Before any of it, the Tulsa-born songwriter was a founding member of indie-rock band Sports.

Theriot writes daily, keeps almost nothing in reserve, and after every record forgets how to begin the next. Here’s our conversation about Jaco Jaco’s present and future.

Analogue: It's almost funny to talk about a long lead time with you, given the output in the last few years. Are you that prolific? Pretty consistently writing all the time?

Jacob Theriot: Yeah, pretty much. I would say I'm not. I have friends that are the definition of prolific—like, scary, have-six-albums-out-in-a-year prolific, and they're all good. I know this one guy here in town—I'll shout him out, Rubber Band Gun—writes so much music. It's crazy. So he makes me feel like I don't do enough. But I feel pretty good about an album a year, I think. Although the last two are pretty short, I'm excited that this one's more of a full-length with ten songs. I wouldn't say I'm prolific, but I do write all the time.

Analogue: Is that a disciplined thing?

Jacob: I would say it is a bit of a disciplined thing. It's also kind of a necessity for me to feel like I'm doing what I should be doing. I write because I feel like I have to, I guess. Which is a good thing, but also it can feel like work sometimes. I do try to make a practice out of writing, but there are times that I go a while without it, especially after finishing a record.

I think I'm just now getting it back into writing after finishing this one. In the last two weeks or so I started to get back in, and I feel like I don't know how to write a song. That's always a fun start. After taking a little bit of a break, I'm like, okay, where do I want to begin? I don't know. So you just start digging, seeing what happens. I try to do it every day if I can.

Analogue: What's the longest you've ever gone without writing a song?

Jacob: I don't know. I mean, a finished song that I like? Long time. I think I've probably gone months. A couple of months. I'll start writing one that I start feeling, and then next week I'll hate it and then move on. Usually, whenever a song makes the album, it was written pretty close to the point where I needed to turn it in. So a lot of the stuff that I'm writing is kind of just for fun, just for figuring out what direction I want to take things. And then whenever I'm like, ‘Okay, it's album time,’ then I really start getting into it.

I usually don't open up the older demos. I'll usually start fresh. So a lot of these songs were written with this album in mind, and that's how the last two albums actually were as well.

Analogue: What's the cutting room floor like, then? Is there really none, or is it a well you go to and pull from?

Jacob: I've always wanted to have the well, but it doesn't usually work out that way. I usually get to the point where I have the amount of songs I want, or I'll get to the point where the album feels finished to me. Like, for example, Gremlin, my last record… maybe there are two or three that I did end up cutting, actually, because they just didn't feel right. But they were mostly unfinished as well. I was like, ‘You know what? This feels pretty good at just seven [tracks]. I don't think I need to add any more.’

For this one, 10 felt right. I think there usually is a couple that gets cut. For this record, there was none, which is pretty cool. But I think pulling from a large well would be nice, to have that time to write 30 songs and then just pick the best ones and release those. Then you have the option to later release the B-sides or demos, which I don't have. I mean, I do have demos, but not for this span of songs, this time period of writing this record. So yeah, I pretty much just write for the record.

Analogue: After a record, are you always just writing for the next one? Does it just cascade or

Jacob: I think it takes a little bit of time for me to find the sound that I'm going for. There is a point in time where it turns on, like, ‘Okay, now it's time to make the record.’ But I'm always trying to write songs, and if they're good and I like the direction, the instrumentation, the feel, and all that, then I know where to go with the record.

Analogue: What were you searching for, sound-wise, on On the Levee?

Jacob: I feel like I'm more melodically driven and interested in texture. I'm constantly searching for whatever that thing is that makes me feel something, as far as the music goes. The lyrics usually come later. So I’m searching just for that feeling, and it's hard to put into words. Sometimes I'll be writing a song, and I'm like, ‘This is not what I want to be writing.’ Some people are really good about just finishing that thing, and for me, I'm like, ‘No, I'm not meant to write this song.’ Sometimes the drums will take you in a certain direction, like, ‘No, I don't want to do that,’ but you just can't help it because that's where the song wants to go.

So it's usually just trying to figure out that little nuance of what makes this special to me, and what is bringing out this feeling, and then just trying to recreate that and build a world around it within the album. Which is really important to me. I wish I were one of those people who were more lyrically driven, and I am working a little bit more on that, because I think it could be a fun challenge to start from that perspective a little bit more. ‘What is this song truly about?’ Instead of almost trying to decipher what this song is telling me it wants to be.

Analogue: What will support for this look like?

Jacob: I definitely want to do a release show, obviously, and then just play as many shows as I can supporting it—finding ways to get on the road, finding an outlet to support, finding an artist to support. It's kind of difficult. All you can do is just reach out and hope that they like it, or have friends that are touring and bring you on. You either make it happen or you wait for that opportunity. And it's looking like I might just have to do a little run on my own or something. It's just a matter of figuring out when and how to do that. Logistics.

Analogue: With one release a year, you might be on to the next one soon anyway. Do you want to keep that rhythm going?

Jacob: Yeah, there's no way of knowing. I think if I can, then I will. But for any reason, I won't beat myself up if it doesn't happen. I want it to be good at the end of the day, but I also like the idea of not being too precious. And I do like a deadline. And if you're touring, it's kind of hard to work on a record, so if that ends up happening, it's kind of hard to find the time. So it's kind of a good thing if a record takes two years because you're touring. But if you can release one a year, that's also a good thing. So there are benefits to both, I think.

VISIT: Jaco Jaco