Artist description Folky, funky, poppy, groovy and at times ballady, Jacob Two-Two works with acoustic tones and lots of harmonies.

Music Style Folk/funk

Musical Influences Lisa Loeb, Dave Matthews

Similar Artists Dave Matthews / Ani DiFranco / Barenaked Ladies

Artist History Since their explosion onto the Ottawa music scene in 1999, funky folk-popsters Jacob Two-Two have been turning a lot of heads. With strong songwriting, warm musical tones, and a feel-good vibe, the band has won a strong, enthusiastic, and diverse following. While most of the band's fan base is in the young to middle age range, it's not unusual to see senior citizens tapping their toes to the Two-Two tunes at summer festivals, and the band is overrun with requests to play all- ages shows for their youngest fans that have yet to reach the age of majority. The band has garnered several tangible stamps of approval from Ottawa's music community, including winning the "Favorite Folk Artist" award in a city-wide open ballot poll conducted by Ottawa's alternative weekly, the XPress. Jacob Two-Two was highlighted in the Maclean's Magazine 2001 Guide to Canadian Universities in the "What's Hot" section for both Ottawa and Carleton Universities. J22 released "Well, Well", a 7-song EP, in May 2001. The end result is a polished presentation of Jacob Two-Two's early original work that also captures the band's "dynamic live energy" (The Ottawa Citizen). Tracks from the record have received airplay from XFM (101.1), The Bear (106.9), CBC Radio (This Morning), CHUO FM, and CKCU FM (93.1) where an advance copy hit #3 on the chart. The members of Jacob Two-Two are looking forward to touring in support of "Well, Well", and heading back to the studio soon to record all their new material.

Group Members Mary Kate Haché - vocals, guitar, Paul Gervais - guitar, vocals, Jeff Gleeson - bass, vocals, Jeff Asselin - drums

Instruments Acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, other percussion.

Albums Well, Well.

Press Reviews Thursday, May 17, 2001 Two-Two for the show By IAN NATHANSON Ottawa Sun Anyone who needs a course of daily time management might want to seek advice from the members of Jacob Two-Two. One minute, the local folk-funksters are toiling over rehearsals for their next local pub show, festival gig or opening spot. The next minute, the three rush off to their part-time jobs or, in the cases of singer-guitarist Mary Kate Hache and bassist Jeff Gleeson, hightail it to their next class at Carleton University. As if that weren't enough, the trio squeeze in some needed recording time at Distortion Studios to complete a seven-song debut EP, Well, Well, which Hache, Gleeson, guitarist-singer Paul Gervais and guest percussionist Jeff Asselin (Daddy Cool & The Groove Bug) will showcase tomorrow night at Barrymore's, with the Jane Radmore Band and Montreal's Pigeon-Hole in tow. Mordecai Richler "Every hour is pretty much filled up with something," Gervais, 20, says during an early morning stopover at the Sun. "I guess because we like music so much that we find we have the energy to do all this stuff," adds Hache, 23, a Carleton neuroscience student. "It's funny, every time I'm home I think, 'Well, I'll just sit back and read for a bit.' Then I'll get a phone call and have to run around and do something." One bit of scurrying involved a letter sent to noted author Mordecai Richler. Named after Richler's children's book Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang, Jacob Two-Two were already a year into establishing themselves on the Ottawa music scene when concern over possible copyright infringement arose. "We remember all the problems Boywonder went through when they had to change their name (to Hydrofoil)," Hache says. "Your name is so important, and by changing it then it would be a serious regression for your band. "Besides, we couldn't afford a lawyer for all that." As luck would have it, a letter Gleeson wrote directly to Richler was met with a four-word, typed reply: "Oh sure, go ahead." "It made me feel a little more powerful," the 22-year-old environmental engineering student says with a laugh. "You can write a letter to somebody famous, ask for something nicely and know you won't always get shot down." The band has learned Richler has scheduled a reading this fall at the National Library, a perfect opportunity "to set something up," says Hache. An autographed CD, maybe? Prime supporter If they don't score fame that way, at least they certainly have Canadian folk icon Garnet Rogers as a prime supporter. During last summer's folk festival, part-time percussionist Eddie Moss -- who replaced Johnny O, now a Junkyard Symphony member -- was employed for the final song in Rogers' set, earning an approving wink and nod from the boss. "Garnet did a show two months ago (at the National Library) and apparently he was asking about us, saying, 'How's that band Jacob Two-Two doing? Are those guys still playing?' " Hache says. "Considering he sees a million bands, that's cool to know." The folk festival did wonders for Jacob Two-Two's confidence as fun-to-watch performers, though the band doesn't wanted to feel pinned down as simply a folk group. "We don't try to make it one particular style, it's a mish-mash of everything," Gervais says before Gleeson pipes in, "It takes about seven or eight words to describe us, you know, nice mellow organic acoustic folk-jazzy-pop funk blah blah blah ..." For more, see http://www.jacobtwotwo.net/press.html

Location Ottawa, Ontario - Canada

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