Rising Stars: Meet Michael Jacob of Blend

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Jacob.

Hi Michael, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Blend was formed in 2017. After playing in a variety of cover bands I was tired of not playing my original music. I searched for a while to find the right musicians, but the first person to join was a good friend and neighbor, JD. He had come to many cover shows to sing on an Incubus song or two. It was a no-brainer to ask him to join the band, he could sing and is a really good guy and friend. Our drummer, Tyler Foltz and I actually went to high school together. We knew of each other but didn’t have mutual friends. My best friend told me Tyler was a badass and that we needed to connect. Turns out we even lived a few houses down from one another. We linked up to jam and it was an awesome fit. It happened at the right time and next was to find a bass player.

After playing gigs for about a year and a half with different friends playing bass, we found Aaron through one of them. He played one show with us, and I asked him to join the band immediately after. He was exactly what we were looking for and we’ve been playing together ever since. We all brought different influences to the jam sessions and we named ourselves Blend.

We define Blend as a unique mixture of sounds encompassing rock, funk, and heavy dominated songs but also carry psychedelic metal and fusion influences. Friends and family really carried us through our starting years and continue to.

Through them we gained more support and fans from those we have met along the way. 2020 was the year we gained a following through social media outlets. As we have been able to play over the last year those that follow us online have been a huge presence at our 2021 shows.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Just getting started. Navigating as a new band and realizing that we all were in different stages of our lives was difficult. With school, family and work we initially just had to find time to make this happen. Trying to Book gigs and talking to the right people to get a show was tough in the beginning as well. We all had some experience, but none of us had all the answers. Over time we figured out the business part of running the band and continue to grind.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Blend is known for our high energy live performances. We are always trying to improve and create a different experience at every show. We try to be unique; we rotate songs in and out of sets so you don’t hear the same show twice and depending on the show we may do lots of improv or very little. We aren’t afraid to experiment with different genres of music to shake things up.

Our communication as a band is what we are most proud of. We have grown together and contributed equally.

Contact Info:

• Email: blendband614@gmail.com
• Website: https://linktr.ee/blend614
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blend614/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/blend614
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/blend614
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCYgKaQJQYNXWfp4YZr00PiQ

Image Credits
Blazingchakrams Photography