Navigating Grief, Growth, and Creativity with Jacob Furr
This episode of Curious Goldfish features host Jason English in conversation with Jacob Furr, a 38-year-old singer-songwriter from Fort Worth, Texas. They discuss Furr's integration of his personal experiences, particularly the loss of his wife to brain cancer in his twenties, into his music, exploring the ongoing process of grief and transformation. The discussion covers Furr's musical journey, his latest album 'Turning,' which symbolizes a message of hope and emergence from despair, and the intricacies of songwriting as a medium for processing emotions. Furr shares stories of growing up, his brief move to San Francisco, and his deep connection to the music scene in Fort Worth, including efforts to gain recognition for the city's musical talents. Additionally, Furr gives insight into the challenges and rewards of being an independent artist, the supportive music community in Fort Worth, and the personal evolution that reflects in the positive outlook of his recent work compared to earlier melancholic themes.
00:00 Navigating Grief and Embracing Life's Freshness
01:06 Introducing Curious Goldfish: A Musical Journey
01:45 Meet Jacob Furr: A Singer-Songwriter's Tale
02:36 The Heart of Fort Worth's Music Scene
04:59 Exploring the Legacy of Townes Van Zandt
08:15 The Independent Artist's Life in Fort Worth
12:53 Turning: A Trilogy of Grief, Growth, and New Beginnings
17:44 Songwriting as Therapy: The Healing Power of Music
23:47 Finding Love and Moving Forward After Loss
27:15 The Hustle Behind the Music: Teaching and Creating
32:05 Wrapping Up: Stay Curious with Curious Goldfish
Jacob Furr:
yeah, and it stays fresh. That's the thing. Like you can, you can look at it as like, oh, it was in the year, but then what, 10 years later now or 11 this year, um, it's still things will happen and things will come up and you're like, oh, that's just as fresh as it was, you know, day after. So, you know, it's, it's a, it's a process like that grieving process. It doesn't stop. And it's, it's just, how can you integrate that into your life and how can you like make that part of who you are now? Cause it's not like you're going to get over it or forget it. You know, and which I was afraid of doing for a long time of forgetting the way that that felt or the way that it felt to be in love in that way. and yeah, you don't forget it. You just sort of like incorporate it and then appreciate it as it comes up a new, each new, you know, each new time or each new day, I guess.
Jason English (Host):
Welcome to curious goldfish, a podcast community where music and curiosity come together through interesting conversations with the music makers of our world. I'm your host, Jason English. You can find curious goldfish and all the major podcast and social media platforms. And of course, we have all of our content on our website. Curious goldfish. com. Jacob Furr is a 38 year old singer songwriter from Fort Worth, Texas, who makes you feel like you've been best buddies forever. Maybe it's our mutual love and respect for many of the same musicians and music. Maybe it's our upbringing in the American evangelical church, a shared experience that we are both slightly embarrassed by and also partially enamored with. Our connection can't be facial hair. His beard runs circles around mine. And of course it can't be around shared musical ability because he has all of that and I have none of it, whatever it is. I am so incredibly grateful that Jacob reached out to me when I first launched this podcast, just wanting to gauge my interest in a chat with him. I had just published an episode with Vanessa Peters who Jacob talks too often. And while I am able to do remote interviews, it's always best to meet in person, try to build some sort of camaraderie face to face. And that's exactly what happened. And I hope that connection comes across as you listen to us talk about the music scene in Fort Worth, the album he released last year called turning and the tragic story of losing his wife to brain cancer when he was just in his twenties. He performs the title track to that album for us a signal of hope to the world that you can emerge from tragedy and heartbreak even though those feelings of despair never really leave. I wish I lived closer to Jacob. He's someone that you can picture yourself just hanging out with. And it would be a thoughtful conversation with a hell of a lot of laughs. I know it's just not me. I imagine he makes so many people feel like best friends forever. just after a few minutes. I'm excited to introduce him to you today. Jacob Furr of Fort worth, Texas. Let's dive in. Jacob. It's really nice to meet you.
Jacob Furr:
It's really nice to meet you, Jason. Thanks for having me in your, uh, hotel room.
Jason English (Host):
It's a little weird, uh, but, you know, everybody that's listening, don't worry, you know, we just wanted some privacy.
Jacob Furr:
It's very soundproofed in here.
Jason English (Host):
Yeah, it's good. I'm here. Um, yeah, we're in Dallas. I'm here. I have a day job and I thought I'd sneak in an interview. Obviously nights and weekends. Just make sure my boss isn't, uh, isn't freaking out. But, um, yeah, so you live in Fort Worth
Jacob Furr:
I do live in Fort Worth
Jason English (Host):
and you, you grew up there, right?
Jacob Furr:
I grew up there, yeah. Um, yeah, I was born there in 86 and then moved to San Francisco in like 2010, I think for a little bit, and then moved back here.
Jason English (Host):
That's different. San Francisco is
Jacob Furr:
Yeah, it was a, uh, it was a, it was a big change. It was a good change. needed it. Yeah.
Jason English (Host):
well, yeah, that's, that's awesome. And you're, you know, and just watching you online and social media and stuff, like you're really embedded into the, not just the music community of Fort Worth, but the community at large, right?
Jacob Furr:
Yeah, I try to be like, um, especially Fort Worth because I, uh, Yeah, I just believe heavily in Fort Worth music and like the people that create over there. Um, and so I try to do everything I can to support the other people like me. I mean, cause it's, you know, it's an all boats sort of situation. Um, so yeah, I think we have, uh, we have a really high quality, um, Music scene over there that gets sort of overshadowed a lot by Dallas and Austin and all that kind of stuff. So, um, but I think everybody, everybody, everything that we do over there is like on par with that sort of scene.
Jason English (Host):
Oh, that's awesome. I mean, even just this weekend, you guys did a Hometowns Fest.
Jacob Furr:
We did hometowns fest this weekend to sort of celebrate towns, Vanzant, and that was. Yeah, that's good. That's been, I think that's the eighth year that we've like officially done it. And this guy named Bruce Payne puts it on and he, I mean, it's just all volunteer stuff. Like he just loves town so much that he puts that festival on every year and it's not really a festival. It's more like a birthday celebration more than anything else. And then we do this like open mic on the last day of it. And everybody plays towns, fans, aunt songs, and tries to bum each other out as hard as they can.
Jason English (Host):
Oh my gosh, yeah. So I didn't really, I mean, I guess I had heard his music. I didn't know really his story up until a few years ago. Did you see that Ken Burns documentary on country music? No.
Jacob Furr:
Wait, the Oh, yeah. No, no,
Jason English (Host):
PBS.
Jacob Furr:
Yeah. Yeah. The thing that I remember from that one was like the Carter family stuff. Like I was obsessed with that, like first era of it, like, and just how interesting like the Carter family specifically was and how they collected all that stuff. But yeah, he does get into it a
Jason English (Host):
Yeah. Yeah. And I think, uh, it was, you know, it was one of my favorite things on television that I've seen, but towns actually, uh, He's he's an important part of the history of country music
Jacob Furr:
Yeah, for sure.
Jason English (Host):
sort of represented that changed into like more of the folk
Jacob Furr:
folk Yeah, he's like, yeah, I think he like translated a lot from like, um, Sort of like what Dylan was doing, like, cause a lot of those dudes from Houston, they were, they were like really into that like, hippie beatnik culture and it was like, Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jason English (Host):
their,
Jacob Furr:
Down in Houston was like their version of San Francisco and their version of the hate Ashbery. So they're all kind of hippies, but they have that like Texas sort of, you gotta wear the cowboy hat and the blue jeans sort of thing going on. Um, so they never really fit too well into the country thing like that. They almost had to just because of like the location where they were is the way it's my take on it anyways. Um, So, yeah, what I love about Townes is that, like, yeah, he is this, like, transitional figure from, like, Dylan, who's doing this, like, pop rock thing, into this, like, country folk Americana, for lack of a better word, sort of thing, and he's, yeah, the poetry that he's using is, like, way more interesting than, like, the songwriting aspect of it, you know, so, yeah, he's a, he's a fascinating character.
Jason English (Host):
from Fort Worth, right?
Jacob Furr:
Yeah, he was born in Fort Worth. His family was like, Bruce is going to get mad if I get this all wrong. Um, his, the Van Zandt family basically like, Fund founded Fort Worth in a lot of ways and like found that a bunch of stuff around here in Texas They're a big big money family from from East, Texas
Jason English (Host):
Um,
Jacob Furr:
So yeah, he was born in Fort Worth His great granddad's cabin is like you can go see his great like they preserved his cabin So you can go like hang out at the Van Zandt cabin in town. It's really weird But we've yeah, we've we've gone a long time without celebrating people like him and like Ornette Coleman's from Fort Worth, which is like mind blowing to like, it's just never been a part of like the story that we've told about ourselves over there. So we're, we're getting better at that through like places like here, Fort Worth and the city itself is sort of like helping promote that and being like, Hey, this is a part of our, like who we actually are in this town. So
Jason English (Host):
That's neat. So what are the advantages of being an independent singer songwriter in a place like Fort Worth? And then what are the disadvantages?
Jacob Furr:
Oh, that's a good one. Um, advantages. It's real safe and it's real friendly. So you can kind of get away with whatever you want to get away with. You can try it like I like to do lots of different things. Um, so you don't have to like box yourself into anything at any point. Um,
Jason English (Host):
and
Jacob Furr:
Yeah, it's just really supportive. And I think that's great for people. Um, but the, the flip side of that is that it gets really, um, insular because everybody's just sort of swimming in the same pond, um, which we're, we're breaking out of that. Like that's been a problem in the past. I think, um, that like, If you were from Fort Worth or you came to Fort Worth, like you were just from Fort Worth. And it was just like, we're really, really proud of being from Fort Worth. Cause we're not Dallas. Like, you know, we're like the little, it's that little brother syndrome. And so we're like, really proud to be from Fort Worth. And so now it's like, okay, we're proud to be from Fort Worth. Let's like, Export this out and like, see, you know, let's all get a little bit more ambitious about what we're doing and, you know, sort of get out, like, use the scene as like our home base, but sort of like get out of just playing the same five bars over and over again with everybody else.
Jason English (Host):
with everybody else. That's good. Uh, what are, what are some of the disadvantages? Um,
Jacob Furr:
Um, I mean, let that insularity I think would be the main disadvantage of it. Um, It's not really, we're not super connected to the industry. Right. But once again, we're changing all that. Like we're, we're, there's a lot of work that we're putting into like changing that, like connecting people, um, to sort of bigger things outside of us. Um, I think the whole Leon Bridges thing like changed a lot of people's minds, but I don't know that it, it, in a lot of good ways, but also in a lot of bad ways to it, like made people like really focused on this like outward thing and like, um, You know, what can we get? Can we get Atlantic records to come here? You know, that kind of thing. And it, it sort of, it, you know, I don't know. It's a good thing. It's a bad thing. Everything's interesting.
Jason English (Host):
I mean, I think Fort Worth doesn't really pop into someone's head right away when you talk about the music industry. Right. Cause it's usually, you know, Nashville, Memphis,
Jacob Furr:
Yeah, exactly.
Jason English (Host):
do you think like in this day and age, I would imagine, you know, I'm not part of the music industry, but, For a long time, it's like, you know, I'm going to Nashville to like make it. Do you think you have to do that, you know, still, or, or not really?
Jacob Furr:
it depends on what you want. Like I say, I'd have a lot of friends that have done it that have gone to Nashville specifically to like make it and to go do the 10 year town thing and write and you know, and absolutely. And like I have friends that still live in Fort Worth that like tour with big bands and like, you know, from Nashville and they fly up there and everything. So I think there's a, there's a connecting point between it. Um, yeah. I don't think you have to do anything anymore. Like you can be from anywhere and like connect with people these days. Like you can go, you can go to the conference, you can get on the plane, you can, you know, connect with them online. Like we were talking about earlier, like, you know, like I just sent you a message, like, let's talk, like, you know, so there's, yeah, the geography thing, I don't think matters anymore. And I think it's more a matter of like Fort worth sort of. Catching up mentally to that and, and not getting stuck in this, like, well, we're from Fort Worth and if you don't know us, you know, screw you, you know, like, and now it's like, Oh no, we're from Fort Worth and we would really like you at all to like, see what we're doing over here.
Jason English (Host):
Yeah. Seriously. Well that's good. So, you know, we talked about the, the documentary, like part of that documentary was also about Willie Nelson, who, you know, he'd laid down in the middle of Broadway one night. Basically trying to kill himself, I think, in Nashville because it was so difficult. Yeah. And then, you know, he ended up coming back to Texas and Yeah. Rest is history.
Jacob Furr:
Did the thing. Yeah.
Jason English (Host):
years ago or 50 years
Jacob Furr:
Yeah. And I have some friends that have considered like Nashville's rough. I've done Nashville, like a couple of just like dip my toe into like, Oh, I'm going to go see, you know, met with like publishing people or whatever. And it was like, ah, I don't think I want to like do this. Like, and that could be fear on my part, but it is like, it is very much, you know, yeah. If you're going to go up there, You have to be committed to the thing and do the thing. And I admire people that are and have been able to like make a life for themselves there. But for me personally, I was like, ah, I'm good.
Jason English (Host):
Although if
Jacob Furr:
Although if anybody wants to offer me a record deal from Nashville, uh,
Jason English (Host):
a record deal from Nashville, I'm up.
Jacob Furr:
out in
Jason English (Host):
and it was called Turning Mm-Hmm. is that right? Called Turning, put it out in September. Yeah.
Jacob Furr:
It was the, uh, the third album of a cycle that I was, had been working on for a long time. So it was sort of like the end, the end chapter to a long period of writing.
Jason English (Host):
Yeah. Well, I think. I need to make one comment and then come back to the album, but it's, it, it feels like much more positive than, uh, than the previous ones. And by the way, in some of these other interviews, you, you sort of described yourself as like Mr. Mr. Melancholy. I mean, I haven't laughed this hard even before the interview then
Jacob Furr:
Think it comes out in the music a lot of times. Yeah,
Jason English (Host):
seem like a happy guy. I
Jacob Furr:
I'm okay. Yeah, I'm a happy cynic
Jason English (Host):
Yeah. Yeah. But is that the album is much more, it felt like a more positive outlook than the other ones.
Jacob Furr:
and that was like surprising I think in a lot of ways because I knew that I wanted to Finish the whole thing, but I hadn't intended on writing a happy album I was just sort of still using writing as like a process for grieving, all this kind of stuff. And so it just sort of like ended up being that way that like, that's what was coming out as I was writing. And I was like, Oh, I guess I should, this is this is the thread that connects this to those other things. It doesn't have to be some new thing. It actually does involve the past two records and how they all sort of fit together. So
Jason English (Host):
yeah. Is it your own trilogy?
Jacob Furr:
to be happy.
Jason English (Host):
I mean, you're like a totally happy guy. Uh, yeah,
Jacob Furr:
now I am
Jason English (Host):
yeah, well, that's, yeah, that's true. Uh, but it's your own, it's your own trilogy. It
Jacob Furr:
is yeah, and I don't I didn't mean to do that like I you know, I When I lived in San Francisco, I was talking about this yesterday at the town's fest that that was like my first introduction to towns fancy it And because I, I got a, I got a record, um, or a bunch of records of his for my birthday one year there. Anyways, long story short, that was when I like really wanted to start songwriting because I was obsessed with that in like 2010 and it was like, I think I can do this. And so I started writing some stuff. Um, yeah. Um, yeah. And then, yeah, like life happens and some, some bad things go down. You gotta, you know, grieve through it and work through it. And that sort of became like how I did it was through the writing. It wasn't like, it was like two separate things. It was one thing that kept going. Um, and I didn't know when it would end or if it would stop, or if it would be like the only thing that I ever wrote about for the rest of my life, but I was just riding through it just to try to get through it and yeah, turning ended up. Like, it starts off real sad. That first song is like, Uh, Bal Marai, I think is the first track on there. That's a really intense song for me emotionally. But then by the end, the, the equal and opposite emotion is happening too. Like, it's this very, like, I'm, I'm ready to like, go out and do things again. You know?
Jason English (Host):
Well, it seems like the song turning, it seems like that's the, uh, it's like a love
Jacob Furr:
is yeah, it is and and I don't think I wrote that specifically about any particular love like I'm in a wonderful relationship right now and Like it's just I the language of love works really well for that emotion of like I'm ready for something new I'm ready. I'm ready to let you in. I'm ready to express myself, you know, so
Jason English (Host):
that's awesome. So, you know, you mentioned the grieving. I think you have it on your website. Uh, you lost your wife to brain cancer. You're in your late twenties.
Jacob Furr:
2013. So that was been like 24, I think. No, 20. I don't remember.
Jason English (Host):
I mean, you're in your twenties. That's,
Jacob Furr:
Yeah. Like mid twenties. Yeah. It's a lot to
Jason English (Host):
That's a lot.
Jacob Furr:
Yeah. It's a whole thing.
Jason English (Host):
And I, I think you did, I listened to an interview that you did within a year of that happening. And I was like, so impressed of, uh, I forgot the name of the podcast, but it was like a radio show or something. And, you know, Yeah, it was country fried rock. Yeah. Yeah.
Jacob Furr:
Sloan.
Jason English (Host):
Yeah. And you're, you're on, you're on the phone or something, you know, you were remote, but I was like, Oh my gosh, this guy's talking about like this thing. And it was fairly fresh.
Jacob Furr:
yeah, and it stays fresh. That's the thing. Like you can, you can look at it as like, oh, it was in the year, but then like, what, 10 years later now or 11 this year, um, it's still like things will happen and things will come up and you're like, oh, that's just as fresh as it was, you know, day after. So, you know, it's, it's a, it's a process like that grieving process. Um, It doesn't stop. And it's, it's just, how can you integrate that into your life and how can you like make that part of who you are now? Cause it's not like you're going to get over it or forget it. You know, like, and which I was afraid of doing for a long time of like, forgetting the way that that felt or the way that like it felt to be in love in that way. Um, and yeah, you don't forget it. You just sort of like incorporate it and then appreciate it as it comes up a new, each new, you know, each new time or each new day, I guess.
Jason English (Host):
a songwriting perspective, did it change? approach How you approach the process of that, or, you know, something that emotional and that tragic, or what did it just, uh, enhance your attention to the words and the emotions and things like that. Like, yeah. Can you put your finger on
Jacob Furr:
Yeah, no, I think it, um, shoot, that's a good question. Uh, I don't know that it like enhanced the songwriting process necessarily as much as like The songwriting just gave me a way to like work it out. Like I listened to your Grace Pettis interview yesterday or day before and Like she said something about that like that. She uses it as like free therapy
Jason English (Host):
Um,
Jacob Furr:
And I mean if you're a musician you have to have free therapy because you can't afford it. Otherwise Like so it definitely very much is this like how do I feel about this thing? um My problem and not to get too real about it, but like my problem with it is like, how real do you get about it in your writing? Like, are you like, how much space is there to put down like the rawest thing that you can put down and then with the intent of either releasing it or keeping it for yourself, that's a really hard, um, line to walk. And like Balmorae, that's a great example of that on the new record.
Jason English (Host):
a
Jacob Furr:
I wrote that song a long time ago. Like that was like, that was like a very distinct memory of something that I wanted to remember. Um, and so that's why it's like really emotional for me now to hear that song or play it or whatever. But it took me that long to like be comfortable presenting that to the world and being like, yeah, this is, this is another memory. This is another way to kick off this like story that I'm trying to tell here. So, um, yeah, I don't know if that answered the
Jason English (Host):
Yeah, that's good.
Jacob Furr:
rambling about that.
Jason English (Host):
Yeah. That, that, that makes sense. Uh, and I, you know, we talked about the hopefulness of the album compared to other ones. I think the, probably the most popular song on the album is take care. What, like who's That message for, uh, I
Jacob Furr:
I tell this as a joke at my shows, but it's actually true. I was dog sitting for a friend, and I, he, like, this is no joke. It, like, sounds like a joke, but it's legitimately true. I was dog sitting for a friend. He had a lazy boy that had, like, a USB phone charger on the side. And so I just sat there one day for, like, six hours in this chair and watched American Pickers. And, like, there was a guitar on the wall, and, like, just, like, pulled the guitar down and was just kind of goofing and wrote that song. And, In that like time period of watching American Pickers. So it wasn't, I know it wasn't. And the thing was like, I don't know how it was. It was so that first line is take care of the things that get left behind. Like that was directly inspired from the show. Cause I was like really enjoying, you know, like these people's love for their heirlooms or whatever. And then from there, I just sort of like. Yeah, sort of like peeled it apart and sort of like found out, you know, what else, what else that line could like inspire you to say, you know, so yeah, I like people laugh when I, and it's meant to make people laugh cause it's a funny story, but it's legitimately how I wrote that. Yeah.
Jason English (Host):
and barns. Yeah, that's my
Jacob Furr:
Yeah. And I, I, one of the episodes was my favorite is like the guys that like, The old dudes that bring the pickers in and they're like, Oh yeah, come look at all my stuff. I'll sell you something. And then they don't sell them anything because they're just like, I'm going to get on TV and get to show off all my old junk. And like, those are my favorite anyways. So that's how I wrote. Take care everybody. The
Jason English (Host):
So So my favorite episode of American Pickers is when they find the original Von Dutch inscribed badass motorcycle in some barn, like in, you know, in Timbuktu. I mean, those guys, they are treasure, they're treasure hunting.
Jacob Furr:
Yeah. Yeah. And they're finding such, and they, you know, I love, uh, I'm a history nerd, so I love like the storytelling behind the history of each piece and everything. So yeah, it's a, it's a very inspirational show.
Jason English (Host):
I mean, if I, you know, in my next life I could, I would either be a musician or.
Jacob Furr:
I mean, how cool would it be to be a picker?
Jason English (Host):
a picker.
Jacob Furr:
killer job. Killer.
Jason English (Host):
personalities that they meet, right?
Jacob Furr:
that's awesome.
Jason English (Host):
Yeah.
Jacob Furr:
I'm into it.
Jason English (Host):
It's so funny. so in all your albums, the, the, or I guess the three that you've done, what, if someone was to say like, what's the, the best representation of Jacob for what's the song that you would go to? My
Jacob Furr:
Oh, man. Uh, that's a good question. I would say the best representation would probably be either Branches or Mockingbird. And those are off the first album, which is really, um, interesting. Um, but those, those two songs mean a whole lot to me. Um,
Jason English (Host):
you didn't you write branches when your your
Jacob Furr:
Branches? Yeah, well, I wrote that in, in the hospital, like, yeah, and it, and if you don't know that context about it, it's not. that kind of a song Like it's like describing it with that context here makes it sound like a real bummer of a song. It's not at all. It's like, it's a really pretty song and I love it a lot. Um, and it, yeah, it's not, I don't think it's a sad song at all, which is funny and, and weird, but yeah, the branches is like my favorite one.
Jason English (Host):
would that be the best representation of you?
Jacob Furr:
Um, just cause it's in like a major key and it's like all about love and, uh, yeah. It's got a cool guitar part. Like I love little guitar parts. Like the intro to that song is like this, like, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. That goes to this like weird seven chord. I just love little things like that. So like, it has a lot of things that I really like and try to keep incorporating in later on. So I can hear parts in later songs that are coming from that sort of. Idea for branches.
Jason English (Host):
All right.
Jacob Furr:
And lots of birds. I laugh. Lots of birds in my songs. So that song's like all about Birds.
Jason English (Host):
That's cool. All right. Uh, so that was one of your first songs. And then we talked about really the last track of the last album, which is turning, which is again about a new love potentially. And you mentioned the relationship that you're in now,
Jacob Furr:
Yeah.
Jason English (Host):
you know, since when your wife passed, how long was it, was it, was the process. For you to, to sort of put yourself back out there, you know, like, was that, did you, was it a, was it a bit?
Jacob Furr:
it took a little bit. I mean, being that young when it happened, I think had a lot to do with um, getting back out quickly, almost within two years, maybe just because like when something like that happens to you when you're that young, what I've now realized in hindsight is um, It's not that the heart repairs fast. It's just life is moving so quickly at that point when you're 26 that having something like that doesn't Stop the flow of everyone else's life around you and it doesn't stop the flow of your life And so you have to learn really fast how to incorporate that stuff into it. And that's like the unique Challenge of grieving when you're in your you know early 20 that not a lot of people There's not a lot of resources out there for it And there's not a lot of people that talk about it because
Jason English (Host):
because I mean, you were so
Jacob Furr:
that age Yeah people yeah people that age are just sort of expected to pick up and move on because you can you're young and you have the energy to Hop back into life in general. Um, so yeah, it wasn't like a long time afterwards, but it wasn't, you know, it You know, it was like a year, a year and a half or so, something like that. So yeah, but it's been, um, yeah, it's been an interesting journey ever since then, like trying to sort of reintegrate yourself into life with this sort of thing that like, cause I don't hide it, right? Like it's on, it's on a website. You can like read about it on, it's a part, it's a main part of the art that I've created. It's a main part of my life story. Um, so yeah, it's, it's an interesting challenge to sort of incorporate that into daily life when. You know, you meet, I'll meet, like, older people that, um, will be, will, sort of judge me for being a young guy that doesn't have any experience, and I'm just like, you just have to eat it sometimes, be like, that's fine, like, you can think that about me, because, you know, it's okay, but I've been through some stuff, you know,
Jason English (Host):
no, seriously. Well, I would, I would imagine also that being a musician doesn't make dating. More simple,
Jacob Furr:
No, yeah,
Jason English (Host):
when you, you know, so when you take your, the history that you've had and the heartbreak and the tragedy, and then you add the fact that like, you're, you know, your profession and lifestyle, it can't be easy to,
Jacob Furr:
It's not a, it's not a good combo. No, it's really not. Um, I mean, it is for the right person. Um, but yeah, it's not easy to, to sort of, um, out that puzzle and be like, Hey, this is what I do for a living. Also, I have this whole thing and also that whole thing, that story is like the main piece of art that I create all the time, you know? So yeah, it takes a, it takes a special person to be able to handle that. And,
Jason English (Host):
Yeah, they gotta be really, really secure, right?
Jacob Furr:
yeah, really secure and just, um, But it's also taken me a long time to like become the person that can sort of talk about those, those things and not let it affect me in my daily sort of stuff, you know? So it's a two way street. It's not just like looking for somebody like just accept you, you know, as you are, you have to be like, okay, how am I putting myself back into the world? And am I doing it in this like respectful way to the past and to, you know, whoever's around me right now.
Jason English (Host):
Yeah. Well, yeah. Good for you.
Jacob Furr:
a tough line. It's a tough line to walk. I'm not gonna lie.
Jason English (Host):
No, I can't. Yeah, I can't imagine. Um, So in terms of where you're at with your career, I think, you know, you're, you do, you make albums, you, you perform. And I think I saw where you teach guitar,
Jacob Furr:
I teach guitar three days a week.
Jason English (Host):
That's really cool. And it's all people of all ages, right?
Jacob Furr:
Yeah. It's people of all ages. And that was a post pandemic thing. A friend of mine, I kind of music school and said, Hey, do you want to come do this? And I was like, yeah, I need money. So I started doing it and yeah, I've really, I've really enjoyed it. It's, it's very challenging, like, and very mentally, um, taxing, but it gives me good structure for my week. And it gives me like I'm learning stuff all the time Like I have to show people how to do stuff on the guitar and like oh, I I don't even I don't know How I did that but like let me like Learn relearn this thing and show you how to do this. So it's been a good thing to do. So
Jason English (Host):
that's great.
Jacob Furr:
it helps
Jason English (Host):
that's good. I, what's interesting in some of the conversations I've had, there's a, there's a guy that's in Nashville, actually a Wyatt Edmondson. And I talked to him in January. He's one example, but really it's almost everybody. Um, I'm really impressed with like the hustle of musicians. You know, a lot of people would think, Oh, they're the ones that are like, you know, artsy and just care about, you know, the craft and looking good or sounding good and stuff, but. For the most part There's so much going on behind the scenes That you know, I really appreciate the hustle and like the teaching guitar is an example of
Jacob Furr:
It's a whole lot of work. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Cause yeah, you've got to be hustling on your promotion side. You gotta be hustling on your, like, you gotta create. More stuff like you have to You're there to make music like that's the life that you chose, but then yeah also teaching guitars like having another job Like on top of all of that job, you know, and so it's hard to keep them separated sometimes and like It's hard to still love guitar after three days of teaching guitar sometimes. And you're like, man, I really need to sit down and write some stuff, but I just do not want to play guitar right now. So it's, yeah, it's a lot of, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of hustle and you gotta, you just gotta do it these days. It's the way to do it.
Jason English (Host):
You gotta break out the banjo.
Jacob Furr:
Yeah. I, I had a banjo that I sold for rent one time, so yeah.
Jason English (Host):
Oh my gosh. Wow. All right. Thanks so much for joining us for another episode of Curious Goldfish. Please follow and subscribe to the podcast and on social media. Also tell your music loving friends about us too. Until next time, stay curious.