We’re looking forward to introducing you to jeff jacob. Check out our conversation below.
Hi jeff, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Have you stood up for someone when it cost you something?
While, I certainly try not to live in the shadow of fear with my decisions, we’ve all been there. And in this day and age standing up for something or someone you believe in, can have significant consequences based on the climate/temperature in the room…I can certainly recall standing up for a person in situations of a moral question and only to have had taking that stand for moral right, for integrity….cost me. It’s a scary, horrible feeling being taken down for your stands on issues of right and wrong. But if you or your organization ally yourself with causes of social justice that you know to be right, deep in your heart remember that if you’re standing next to someone, in support of them and you don’t occasionally get “hit by some of the rocks” being thrown that them….you may not be standing close enough!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
If I have a “brand” it’s a bit of a hodgepodge. Which I know isn’t considered a great thing for “brands!” I’m a Songwriter, Non-Profit Leader, Entrepreneur, Love all, serve all kind of guy. Sometimes I throw the word “activist” in front of Songwriter since so many songs I write (these days) are purpose driven. AND sometimes I throw that SAME word in front of “Non-Profit Leader.” Currently I’m finishing a song and music video called “My Covenant with You” which is an ode to my co-leading the worship folk-rock band “JewGrass Revival” and may be a song we add to our repertoire at some point. But, I’m also working on a songwriting, history story-telling project called “A Survivors Song.” We’ll be utilizing a live-studio audience in a “MTV Unplugged” type atmosphere utilizing a songwriter (myself), therapist, and a Holocaust Survivor to tell his or her’s story in the form of an original song. It will become a documentary as well. Meanwhile, I still lead THE Song Team which facilitates collaboration, team-building programs…through songwriting at Leadership Conferences for companies and organizations all over the country. We have a stable of amazing, hit songwriters and musicians that assist in these programs. Additionally, I’m the Executive Director of a very cool little synagogue in Hollywood, Florida, and the President of the board of the South Florida Folk & Acoustic Music Festival. So, again…a hodgepodge! I bounce back and forth primarily between the Miami and Nashville markets, with forays elsewhere for some gigs.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
During the first 4-5 months of COVID, like a lot of artists from various walks of life…I resorted to my art to both express feelings at that extremely strange and challenging time, and also to throw my hat in the fray of entertaining both on my front lawn and on livestream people with live music. I started a front porch series of shows every Wednesday night that would always feature another musician or songwriter in addition to myself. On my little covered front porch, facing a lawn on a busy street we’d perform. Typically, on the lawn would be sitting 8 or 12 friends, family and neighbors properly social-distanced from one another. And we’d stream it…back then the streaming quality without all the bells and whistles and apps and programs that have been created since then…was of poor quality. One of those shows featured the 2025 winner of THE VOICE, Adam David! I wish we had him better amplified, as you can hardly hear him on the recorded video! During that time, here in mid-life I believe I truly found my “actual” voice and comfort zone as a performer. Learning new material in spades, and taking requests week to week really honed my chops and flexibility, strengthened my belief in myself, as well as in the power of music to heal and unify the world. At that point we all became part of the human species, with a world that was trying to understand itself…and heal itself. Crazy that images from space showed that our pollution levels were SO low during that time and the hole in the ozone layer, that we’ve been living with for so long actually began to close up! Since then well….I think we’ve already forgotten how together and unified so many of us were for a brief moment.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I think I stopped hiding my pain in that same COVID time frame, when towards the end of it…I checked myself into a treatment facility for substance use disorder and depression. In doing so, (like any of us in some sort of recovery) I had to let go of my desire to control my life. I had to begin letting go of, and facing up to past traumas, and how they kept popping up, manifesting in my ongoing and current life with significant impacts. That was 6 years ago, and rarely a day goes by when what I learned during that period, doesn’t help me make it through an obstacle, unpleasant personal interaction or just a struggle with a life situation that has arisen. These days, I use that pain, that exploratory process (which of course is forever evolving and ongoing) to diagnose my feelings, fears, thoughts on a regular basis. Asking myself questions such as, “why is this person getting under your skin?” Or, “what is it about this situation do you fear, or that makes you uncomfortable?” Often, after asking myself these questions, I begin to feel better and find the path forward.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
I think my close friends would tell you first and foremost that THEY matter to me. At least I hope they know that. I’ve always viewed friends as our “Chosen family.” And therefore, we inherit family through birth, or acquire through marriage etc…family inherently comes with various strings that chosen friendships often don’t. But with friends, we can surround ourselves with the intimate circle of values, beliefs etc that we hold most dear. With people that generally ascribe to similar priorities. Of course, that can also lead to us leading pretty insulated lives unless we allow other views into and onto our radar so that’s important. We can’t allow ourselves to only be seeing and hearing that content which exists inside of our own echo chambers.
My friends would tell you that I value equal rights and equity for all, peace over war, treating others as you’d like to be treated, music, animals, books, experiences and always carrying on the fight to improve this world through tackling whatever little portion of social ills we can push into slightly better shape. One day, one step and one breathe at a time.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I’ve completed a new song that I’m happy with, whether that’s writing it or recording it. I feel most at peace when it’s raining out, I’ve checked off a good deal of things on that days’ list, and I’m reading a good book with my dog curled up at my feet or next to me on the couch.
Photo Cred: Elyse Brunt
Original Article: https://voyagemia.com/interview/jeff-jacob-of-hollywood-on-life-lessons-legacy-highlight
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