Courtesy Cara Robbins
Jacob Summers, as Avid Dancer, will be making his Oxford debut tonight at the Lyric and performing pieces from his upcoming album, “First Bath.”
“Everyone’s got that Rolling Stones fantasy. You want to go to Mississippi and play in all the small town bars,” Summers said. “I’ve never played in Mississippi, so I’m very excited.”
Summers said he grew up in a strict Christian household and wasn’t allowed to listen to much music or watch stations like MTV. Summers said much of his inspiration now comes from taking in all the music he couldn’t listen to as a child. Summers dropped out of college to enlist a few days after 9/11, though he said he was determined to join the military before the fall of the Twin Towers. Summers later took some time off in Alaska, where work on his first album, “First Bath,” began.
“I listen to new music all the time,” Summers said. “It’s all about music, exploration and discovery. The Commodores come to mind, maybe Marvin Gaye. Have you heard of Phoenix Foundation? There was a year when I wanted to be that band.”
The result is pure and honest pop. Each song is incredibly individualistic; each song is a representation of Summers.
“‘All Your Words Are Gone’ is the first song I wrote that seemed like something I could really sell, not just something cool,” Summers said. “It really opened the flood gates. I started to write all my songs the same way. I wanted to put down something true.”
Summers said finding “something true” is what every song is about.
“I would argue that every song is about feeling,” Summers said. “Sometimes, it’s hard to tell what you’re writing about. A year or two later, you look back at your song and realize what was going on in your life and your mind. It makes sense when you’re honest with yourself.”
Summers said the album cover was inspired by old family photos he found at home.
“I found one of me taking my first bath, and you can see my mom’s handwriting saying ‘Jacob’s first bath,’” Summer said.
The album cover features the band name scratched out above the collage of images.
“I was playing with different fonts because I wanted to write it out, and I decided to use a nail and get enough of my own blood to write Avid Dancer in something that’s uniquely mine,” Summers said. “I wrote it out in my personal ink. What could be more me?”
Avid Dancer will perform at 8 p.m. as the opener to California-based band “Delta Spirit.”
