On the heels of his 3rd release, “The Memphis Sessions,” Jacob Stiefel
(Stee-full) is building steam, and isn’t planning on slowing down any time
soon.
Jacob,
currently based in Nashville, TN, was born and raised in Fort Payne, AL, where
his love affair with music began. His earliest musical memories are his mother
dancing with him at 2 or 3 years old to Willie Nelson’s “Red Headed Stranger,”
and listening to his Granny’s cassette tapes of Elvis Presley and Little
Richard, after Kindergarten. After two years of piano lessons at 7 & 8, he
started guitar lessons at age 9 and hasn’t put it down since.
Throughout
childhood, Jacob claims his musical taste & sound was molded by the record
and 8-track collection from his father. “I can remember Dad first showing me
how to lower the needle onto the grooves of the vinyl records. When I grew tall
enough to reach the record shelves, and he trusted me enough to allow it, I was
off to the races. Bob Seger, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings,
Ted Nugent, AC/DC, Charlie Daniels… It was like audio heaven…” During high
school, Jacob would learn and perform many of these songs for his friends at parties
and get-togethers. At the age of 15 he began playing bass in “The Sharps”, a
gospel quartet/band that toured around the Southeast. Through both of these, he
really began to develop his love for performance and travel. A love that would
continue to grow.
After
graduating high school in 2005, Jacob attended the University of Alabama in
Tuscaloosa, AL. Here, while earning his degree in Civil Engineering, he began
playing acoustic shows in bars, and in his last two years of school started a
popular cover band that toured around North Alabama, “Dixie Road”. In May of ‘09,
after graduating from college, he took the plunge toward his dream by moving to
Nashville to pursue a future in music. After playing exclusively in the
downtown Nashville bars for 2.5-3 years, Jacob released his first EP “Jacob
Stiefel & the Truth” in February of 2012, and began booking himself on the
road, growing busier and busier as the year continued.
2013 was a
year spent on the road and in the studio for Stiefel. Fall of 2013 he released
“Volume II”, his second EP. With 2014 being a solidly busy year of traveling,
playing everywhere from San Antonio, TX, to Milwaukee, WI, to Mobile, AL, and
all in between, you’d have been hard-pressed to find a harder worker or someone
who enjoyed their life more.
When
2015 rolled around, he had a pile of new songs and a burning desire to get back
into the studio. In between mini-tours to Texas, Oklahoma, and other steady
road gigs, Jacob planned for his 3rd EP. Little did he know at that
point what lay in store for the project.
Through
a mutual friend, years ago, he was introduced to Halley Phillips, granddaughter
of Sam Phillips (Sun Records, Memphis, Elvis, Rock and Roll…), and through the
years, Halley and Jacob became close friends. So when it was time to pick a
place to record the new project, he knew right where he wanted to go. Sam
Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, TN, was the studio, and Halley would be
the producer. So in September of 2015, Jacob and some Nashville
friends/musicians went in and cut “The Memphis Sessions”.
Released
in Nov 2015, Jacob claims without a doubt “The Memphis Sessions” is his
favorite thing he’s done to date. “Best week of my life, hands-down. The
people, the music, the studio, the atmosphere… I never wanted to leave… “ says
Stiefel. “But that’s what you do. Make honest, from-the-heart music, pour your
soul into it, then take it out to the people and share the love…” So now
Stiefel is looking forward to hitting the road once again and “sharing the
love” and the music with his ever-growing number of friends, family and fans
across the country and around the world.
And if you ask him he’ll tell you, “Oh, I’m just gettin’
started…”