There are certain moments that die-hard music fans experience throughout their lives.
Having someone give you an album that changes your life, your first trip to your local record shop, or experiencing a band you have wanted to see live for so long.
Hamilton singer/songwriter Jacob Moon has had one of the best experiences one could have as a musician or music fan – some serious praise from bands and artists he admires.
“That is what you hope for. You hope that the fans like it, but beyond that it is the dream that you can get the actual artists to give their seal of approval,” said Moon over the phone on the road in Ontario. “Not only that, but to get to actually play on the same stage as them is pretty special.”
The seal of approval list for Moon includes Ron Sexsmith, Marillion, Gordon Lightfoot and Rush.
Moon, who had grown up a Rush fan, did a cover of ‘Subdivisions’ and posted the video online in 2008, which currently has over 400,000 views. It shows Moon on top of a rooftop as the sun is setting performing the song solo, using the technique of looping that he has become well known for. Moon said he felt like it was a song that had a lot to say, but was buried a bit behind the production. His unique version grabbed the attention of Neil Peart, the drummer of Rush, in 2010. He liked it so much that he was invited by them to perform it at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala.
“He thanked me for making it a singer songwriter type song, because it is how he first conceived it,” said Moon. “It gave me some confidence that I was on the right track with reinventing these songs in my own way and putting my original stamp on them.”
That confidence helped with Moon’s decision to record his latest release Fascination, an album that contains a collection of covers and two originals.
“I enjoy the process of reharmonizing songs and rearranging them. I am reimagining them in a creative way that hopefully brings something new to the song. A revelation of sorts for people who are familiar with the original,” explained Moon.
The record pays tribute to the music that influenced him growing up and today including artists like Yes, Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, Tom Waits and Keane.
“In some ways they chose me,” said Moon of the song selections. “It is an eclectic record as usual. My records are always eclectic, there always all over the place stylistically. I’m always determined to do things the way I like to hear them.”
That eclectic sound is something he partly attributes to living in Hamilton. Moon said he went to Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, where he studied music and from there went to Hamilton.
He said going to Hamilton took his classical music school training and moved it in a new direction.
“When I came to Hamilton it was definitely more of a gritty and loose and swampy kind of vibe to the music,” said Moon.
He went on to discuss the legacy of artists from the area such as Tom Wilson and Daniel Lanois.
“All that stuff that has really cast a long shadow on the music scene here,” continued Moon. “All of us feel here that imperative to keep the music real and human and organic and that is some things that have been hallmarks of my sound since moving to Hamilton.”
Jacob Moon will be playing at Legacy Guitar and Coffee House Friday, Oct. 31.
