Album Notes

"We were doomed from the start" isn't exactly the most promising way to kick off your debut album. But Paul Jacobsen's debut,"You Might Regret You Ever Cared " is nothing if not promising. It promises honest songwriting with attention to the detail. Jacobsen's crafty songwriting channeled through his pure baritone and subtle playing evokes- at times - the graveyard folk of Nick Drake, rusty tinges of alt-country, and sounds of the 21st century singer/songwriter renaissance. Whatever the category, it's the songs that matter. Those songs have landed the album on a list of the Top 50 Albums of 2003 by Salt Lake City Weekly, gained airplay on independent radio across the country, and placed Jacobsen as a finalist in Folks Fest 2004 Songwriter Showcase and a semifinalist in Discmakers' 2004 Independent Music World Series. Jacobsen's music has also been featured in two indie documentaries and one film festival short. The song "Pictures Poems Songs" is featured on iTunes' Modern Folk Essentials. It promises authentic performance. No lip-syncing, no rehearsed stage banter, and no reliance on stock setlists. Jacobsen is as riveting and revelatory in a stripped-down, acoustic format as he is rollicking and raucous with backup from his band. A die-hard believer in re-interpretation and singularity of experience, he pushes to ensure that no two shows are alike. And it goes beyond just shuffling song sequences. It swells from a desire to keep the songs interesting and the audience interested, unafraid of an occasional fall on the face. This is a far cry from go-through-the-motions music. And it's moved audiences everywhere. Jacobsen has played all over the West, CBGB's Gallery, the Bitter End, the C-Note, Columbia's Postcrypt Coffeehouse in New York, Folks Fest in Colorado, sharing stages with acts like Erin McKeown, Matt Nathanson, Atherton, and Meika Pauley along the way. You Might Regret You Ever Cared was engineered/produced by Scott Wiley (Elliott Smith, Bonnie Raitt) and mastered by Robert Hadley (Lyle Lovett, Leona Naess, Ryan Adams) at the Mastering Lab in Hollywood, CA. During the year or so of recording You Might Regret You Ever Cared, Jacobsen pushed outwards in attempts to stretch himself, to find like-minded collaborators, and to foster a better sense of musical community. With Fieldbook's Dominic Moore, he co-founded Music For Good, a grassroots organization that raises money for charity through songwriters-in-the-round concerts. Also with Moore, he organized and produced the mammoth Abbey Road Show, which brought together some of the best in local talent to play the Beatles' classic album from start to finish. The show sold out so quickly that a second show was immediately added for later that night. A splendid time was had by all. Sadly, Henry the Horse was not present to dance the waltz. A new album is in the works for mid 2006, featuring live favorites "You're The Song," "You Were," "Lung," and "Fearless Johnny Tapias."