going solo, moving to philly, momentum and serendipity
Jacob Theriot doesn’t really take the obvious route. Whether it’s moving from Oklahoma to Philadelphia, hopping on a Zoom with me on the first nice day of the year, or leaving the successful band he co-founded to focus on his solo project; Jaco Jaco.
I started seeing the name pop up in late 2023 as his debut single “Drivel” was working its way into my algorithm. If you had to put the sound into one bucket, it’s indie pop; but the drips of psych, funk and jazz give it a retro undercurrent. Feels like some shit you can put on for your dad and he’ll half approve before launching into a story about meeting Steely Dan backstage in 1971.
Crafting that sound was a long road that started with playing bass and producing in the Oklahoma band Sports. Their continued success has them approaching the Men I Trust tier of artists who are about as big as you can get without going mainstream, but Jaco was there from the start:
“It was all I knew. My brother and a childhood friend were playing at a church and then I joined when I was 15 or 16, maybe even younger, it wasn’t even called Sports at the time.
When I graduated high school we were like ‘let’s just go for it,’ and released the album Naked All The Time. It was good timing with Spotify just becoming a household name, and it started steamrolling. Especially ‘You Are The Right One.’
We were just throwing things at the wall at the beginning so it’s kinda crazy to think what it is now.”
He gives a lot of credit to Chad Copelin who has produced or engineered for radio icons like Avril Lavigne, Third Eye Blind and Kelly Clarkson; as well as indie mainstays like Sufjan Stevens and BRONCHO.
“It was big to have someone with that experience show you the way and help steer the ship a little bit. I still work with him. I owe him my life. I haven’t met anybody better and I don’t think I will.”
Eventually, though, things started to shift a little.
“The last record I was a part of; I sang on three songs. It gave me the confidence to think that maybe I wanna do this on my own.
When we were working on the next album, I started to pull away from it a bit. Some of it was creative differences and some of it was just a feeling that it was the right time.
To them, it was like ‘Whoa, wait, why? What’s going on?’ but I think it made sense after the fact.”
As if the decision to go solo wasn’t life altering enough, it also coincided with a move across the country.
Do you think you’re the first person to move from Oklahoma to Philadelphia?
“Yes. Haha. I actually do. I haven’t met anybody in the wild that’s even been to Oklahoma.
I’ve always wanted to move away and live in a big city. Me and my girlfriend were talking about where we wanted to go and Philly was never even a consideration. I played shows there and never thought of it.”
Until he made the same discovery that’s been sweeping through half of Brooklyn for years now…
“I saw a list online of ‘Affordable Cities’ and it’s somehow the same price as where we were living in Oklahoma. So we decided to go visit, and now it’s been four years. I love it.”
So far, the solo gamble appears to be paying off. In a saturated scene, the momentum is evident. 2025’s Gremlin album seems to have solidified his sound; anchored by quirky crooning, stank face inducing basslines and crispy snares. The song “Favorite Kind of People” hitting a million streams acts as a signal that things are catching on:
“It’s a little surreal. I try not to think that the numbers matter that much, but it feels good that it’s not just being sent into the void. It’s a nice little reminder that it’s resonating with some people which is all I really want to do.”
Not that things ‘catching on’ is part of his thought process while he’s recording.
“It’s usually a surprise to see what does well or resonates with friends. I don’t think about that too much though. I’ve been doing it for so long that if it feels good to me, or passes my filters, then that’s good enough and hopefully people like it too.”
But it hasn’t all been champagne in the sunshine…
“Being able to rely on two other guys was really nice. I was open to trying it on my own, but it was scary at times. It definitely forced me to get better fast. It’s also scary because I’m not a trained guitarist. Playing guitar and singing live, that’s a whole new world.”
Playing live is tricky to begin with for a solo act.
“It’s weird being in a position where you’re telling other people where to be and where to go. There’s been a learning curve with that.
My guys are great though. I like the feeling of ‘this could go anywhere,’ so I’m open to a lot of creative freedom. It breathes new life into the songs.”
Jaco’s creativity doesn’t stop at music. He told me that he writes strictly in cursive which is the most right-brained thing I’ve ever heard. He also handles most of his own art. However, when he was getting ready to drop Gremlin, he couldn’t get a cover he liked. By a stroke of luck, he ended up getting assistance from Vinyl Williams, a grizzled veteran in the psych pop space.
“I was starting to panic because we were at the point where we needed to upload the album. Then I got on Instagram and he had just posted some art minutes ago. I was like ‘Oh my god, that’s the cover!’ So I reached out and he responded and he was super cool.
But crazy story about that. Months later I was delivering a vinyl to a friend and it was nice out so I walked the long way. I noticed a guy standing outside of Ortlieb’s and it was Vinyl Williams. I just handed him the record and he was so confused. We had never spoken before. What are the chances he’s just standing there and I have his art in my hand.
So that was one of the crazier things that’s ever happened to me. It was a very serendipitous moment.”
Does that make you believe in the universe and karma and all that shit?
“Haha yeah it does. Wait, no, I believe in music. That was music. That’s what music is all about.”
Of course that was said with a smirk, but then we got to talking about new music and I mentioned Oklahoma band Chelsea Days. He tells me he’s friends with them and he did the artwork for their 2022 EP Falling In a Dream and the singles that lead up to it. Not as crazy as his story, but still felt kinda serendipitous. I guess all these indie artists are just swapping art.
To wrap up the new music convo, he dropped a fresh single “Charade” the day after we spoke. He announced that it will begin the rollout to an album releasing this summer. Some artists try to reinvent themselves with each release, but he’s just striving to be better:
“Sonically, it’s similar. I worked with the same producer. I feel like I’ve been refining with every record and I feel like this is the most refined sound of mine. I think my songwriting is getting better. I’m excited about it.”
And this time, the artwork is already done.
“I learned my lesson. I did it myself. It’s ready.”
Back to basics. Back to the music.
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