Jacob Haller - Mistaken Identity

My 2015 album, 'Cabin Fever', is now out!

On Monday May 4, Jacob Haller's fifth album, 'Cabin Fever', was released on 75orLess Records. You can buy a CD from them, or listen to and buy individual tracks below!

This brings the number of albums of music that Haller has recorded to five. You can listen to them all in full on this page for no cost, and purchase them using the links found below.

Cabin Fever (2015)

In the winter of 2014/2015, New Englanders had to come up with ways to keep their sanity in the snow, and one method I used was to post on facebook asking if there was a song anyone wanted to hear me play. This led to me posting a bunch of old recordings -- many of them from back before I really considered myself a real songwriter -- along with a few new ones. After a few weeks of this, my record label, 75orLess Records, sent me a note asking if I wanted to put out an album with some of these songs on it ... and here it is!

'Cabin Fever' was released on 75orLess Records on May 4, 2015. You can buy a CD from them, or listen to and purchase individual tracks using the music player on the right.

Time To Break Up The Band (2014)

"With 'Time To Break Up The Band', Jacob does one of the hardest things a songwriter can attempt, and he does it successfully: he takes forms that seem familiar and imposes completely his own unique sensibility. The resulting songs are full of wry stories that take unexpected turns; they're truly original, and they do not disappoint."
-- Ian Fitzgerald, singer-songwriter

The days pass, and bands come and go, and sometimes I wish I could go back in time and get some of those folks into the studio. This album is, in part, an attempt to record some of those great combos I've had the pleasure to be a member of, with Rhode Island luminaries such as Joe Auger, Matt Everett, Chris Monti, Matt McLaren, and Jeff Keithline, for one last hurrah.

Once I had them in the studio, I of course had them play songs about kittens, relationships, exploding whales, criminal activity, coffee, loneliness, time travel, and binders full of women. The result is an eclectic mix of songs that will entertain and confuse you.

'Time To Break Up The Band' has been released on 75orLess Records. You can download the title track for free.

"A refreshingly light-hearted take on Blues and Folk music. Time To Break Up The Band gives you a nod and wink to accompany the foot tapping that ensues."
-- The Blues Record

"If you're a fan of Jacob Haller for his witty clever approach to lyrics, "Time To Break Up The Band" will not disappoint!"
-- Heather Rose

"Jacob Haller's next album, after this one, I predict will be called 'Quitting My Day Job'.
-- Sonny Roelle, the Sentimental Favorites

Circumstantial Evidence (2011)

"No one spins a good tale like singer/songwriter Jacob Haller."
-- Chris Conti, The Providence Phoenix, December 1, 2011
read the full article

"I can picture Jacob at the front of a classroom making a bunch of kids bop along while learning about a controversial heresy trial."
-- Heather Rose, December 1, 2011
read the full article

I've done a number of new things since the release of my first CD two years ago. I've played keyboards in an afro-pop band, gone on a successful tour of the east coast with fellow singer/songwriter Chris Monti, been a regular performer in AS220's Empire Revue cabaret show, and -- most significantly for my second CD -- started my own band, Jacob Haller and the Running Commentary, with electric guitarist Natalie Markward and drummer Joe Auger, the first band dedicated mainly to playing my own music. Eight of the thirteen songs on 'Circumstantial Evidence' feature their playing.

The songs reflect the eclectic nature of my songwriting, including a simple Christmas song, a couple of straight-ahead blues and jazzy songs, some bluegrass and country-inflected numbers, and some solo performances that are in a singer/songwriter mold. The song's subjects often have a skewed point of view -- 'Dear Santa' is about getting a robot that conquers the planet as a Christmas present, 'Mistreating Yarn Blues' is a blues song about getting arrested in a yarn store, and of course there's 'Codependent', an acoustic country song in which the singer begs his lover to come back so he can return to the misery he's used to.

'Circumstantial Evidence' also has a number of talented special guests: guitarist and singer Chris Monti, singer Jeff Keithline, trombonist Pamela Murray of the Superchief Trio, upright bass player Jack Hanlon of the Throttles, and sousaphone player Daniel Schleifer of What Cheer? Brigade. Its cover features wire drawings made by local artist C.W. Roelle. I feel very lucky to have so many talented friends, without whom this CD would not be anywhere near as good as it is.

Covers EP (2011)

This three-song EP was recorded at the same sessions as 'Circumstantial Evidence' and features many of the same performers. It consists of covers of three songs: Pete Seeger's 'Waist Deep in the Big Muddy', Andy Breckman's 'Railroad Bill', and Tommy Johnson's 'Big Road Blues'.

Mistaken Identity (2009)

"Haller cites Randy Newman and They Might Be Giants as influences, which pretty much nails the tone throughout Mistaken Identity; simple, insanely-quirky ditties built around piano, guitar, and the occasional accordion, with subject matter ranging from stolen kidneys to 'Adorable Kittens.'"
-- Chris Conti, The Providence Phoenix, November 18, 2009
read the full article

For my first CD, I wanted to make a CD that reflected the sort of music you would hear if you saw me play live. As such, half of the recordings are just me and my guitar; a few more also feature my friend and longtime musical collaborator Chris Monti on backing vocals and guitar or mandolin; and a few others have a larger sound, and are intended to give a sense of what it's like when I perform with my band the Killdevils or sit in with another great Providence band, the Superchief Trio. I appreciate the help that I got from my producer and engineer, Keith Munslow (who also plays on some songs), who was of great assistance in getting all of this done.

The oldest songs on the CD, 'Lady Luck' and 'Watching Killer Robots Eat Your Head', were written in 2005, while the most recent one, 'Mistaken Identity', was written in late 2008. There's a mixture of songs that I wrote for friends and family, songs written for my own amusement, songs written for the Rhode Island Songwriters Association's 'Songwriters in the Round' series, as well as songs based on true events, songs that I made up out of whole cloth, songs that are relatively serious, and songs that are just plain goofy. I hope that anyone who listens to the CD will find something to enjoy.

The CD has been reviewed positively in The Providence Phoenix, The Tantasqua Town Common, Motif Magazine, Worcester Magazine, and The Providence Knitting Examiner.

Errata

After 'Mistaken Identity' went to press, I discovered that I had accidentally left my friend Scuffy Genius out of the list of people who sung on track 12, '(Whenever I'm Sad, I Do A Web-Search For Pictures Of) Adorable Kittens.' My apologies for this mistake.