Our impression of Jacob is that he's very serious about his music, easily upset by any suggestion that he and his band are not to be respected (as a teen mag we can relate!), quick to react and unpredictable. He gives O-Town a funky edge with his Jacko moves (making him Jake-O?) and he is drop-dead for real about getting his ideas and opinions heard. He is fascinating. Just don't make him mad! He is on his way to becoming a musical legend.
Popstar!: First, tell me about your song that you wrote that's going to be on the album?
Jacob: "Take Me Under." If I'm going to write a song, I want it to be something meaningful--I don't like writing just lyrics about a girl if it's not something I know about. Like writing a marriage song it I'm not married, stuff like that. So a lot of my songs are experienced. It's something I've gone through before.
That song, half of it was originally a poem that I wrote about a girlfriend I had, a girl that I had grown up with since I was five years old.
Popstar!: What kind of impact do you want fans to have from your music?
Jacob: I would like the fans to experience the same impact that I've had from artists in the past. I've had artists bring me to tears over a record. I just get chills from songs that Michael Jackson has written in the past and bands like DC Talk and like Creed--like "Arms Wide Open" and "Faceless Man." Everytime I hear "Faceless Man"'s bridge, it gives me chills.
To provoke emotion in somebody, like they've done to me--that's what I want to do.
Popstar!: Are you really comfortable with your image?
Jacob: I think we're still trying to find our image as a band. Right when I came into this thing, my personal image was completely changed from what I was inside. My friends saw me when I shaved and cut my hair real short and put highlights in, and they were like, "What are you doing?!"
They still can't believe that I'm doing this kind of music in this kind of group. They don't make fun of me--they think it's awesome--but they just think it's weird, the drastic changes in what I was doing before. I found myself at a place, where I wasn't myself, that I hated. My wardrobe was baby blue sweaters. I'm like, "What am I doing?" [Laughs]
Now I pretty much go my own way.
Popstar!: Is there anything that you would consciously not say or do in front of these cameras? [Gestures to Making the Band crew surrounding table]
Jacob: Well, I'm a pretty outspoken person.
Popstar!: Oh, realllllly???
Jacob: [Laughs] Yeah. back home when you're with your friends, you don't think about, "If I said this, I'm going to offend this person and I'm going to see this person and care about it." You say it because they're there and that's the way you feel. But everybody in this business is here for a reason, they care about what they do as much as I care about my music.
When I'm p#*!$d off or I'm exhausted and I'm with my family, I can say what I want to say and that's fine. And even if I'm wrong, it will blow over.
But now, the world is going to see it. And a lot of time when my opinion comes out, it's not my opinion, it's my tiredness and edginess.
Popstar!: Some teen mag editors appreciate a little rebellion. We don't *all* want you to pose with a teddy bear.
Jacob: [Laughs] Yeah, I don't know why that stuff happens, the teddy bear thing--because it happened. And I am nawt taking a picture with a teddy bear. Instead of gettting mad, I've just got to say I don't want to.
Popstar!: But if you ever *do* decide to pose with a teddy bear, you have to do it for us.
Jacob: Okay dude--I'll do it for Popstar!.
--Popstar! Jan. 01