Welcome to crookedforest.ca!
Crooked Forest is a primarily a music blog focusing on interviews and featured releases, but it is also home to independent record label Pine Four Records and an array of creative projects by Jaimee Jakobczak (that’s me, I’m writing this).
You’ll find travel blogs documenting where my favourite muscians seem to take me like my visits to San Fransisco, California to see Death Cab for Cutie at the historic Greek Theatre or Warsaw, Poland to catch Jimmy Eat World in a little college bar; interviews with great musicians; helpful resources and advice for emerging artists, photos and videos of live events; recommended listens or some new reading material over on The Bookshelf; and Commentary and Opinion pieces about whatever’s rattling through the woods these days.
Submissions for feature on the blog are free, but you’ll have to subscribe to the blog to get alerted to our next call for artists. Right now I am focusing heavily on artists who I’m able to interact with in person, catch their live show and who are creating art that inspires positive change within their respective communities. I’m based in Vaughan, Ontario, but happy to travel whenever possible.
A little about me:
Formerly, I worked in professional recording studios for a number of years before transitioning into live events, audio-visual and live broadcast operation. These days when I’m not working on my own music projects, I’m actively involved in the success of events in my city as a freelance event technician.
I’m always open to collaborations or to engineer/mix other artists, so don’t be shy.
A couple of my music projects include:
Neither Could Dylan (original rock/punk/folk)
Jaimee Jakobczak (original folk/indie rock)
Death Bus for Blondie (Death Cab for Cutie cover project)
Jaimee Eat World (Jimmy Eat World cover project)
Canada Post (The Postal Service cover project)
Passing Harsher (original punk rock collaboration)
Throughfare (original punk rock collaboration)
Ghost Mile (original ambient indie-emo collaboration)
and there are probably others and more to come.
It seemed absurd to create different websites for all of these branches which are really just extensions of me, so I grew a forest and continue to plant its seeds. You can get more info on these through the roster page.
A Little More…
Music creation for me is equal parts a form of therapy and sheer entertainment. It’s an opportunity to explore the life I’ve lived and dream of the future I’d like to help create. I aim to be open and honest about myself and what inspires my creative drive in an effort to cultivate a safe environment to discuss challenging experiences and encourage you to do the same either within your own projects or by actively contributing to the conversations as they arise.
Given the sometimes sensitive nature of the topics I address through my work, blogs and media, I also put together a mental health resources page in case any of these topics bring up things you’d like to explore further within yourself or discuss with a professional; Sometimes we’re just not sure where to start with the questions we have and I hope this gives you a good starting point.
There is also a resource page specifically for DIY musicians who might be new to the craft that I will expand on over time through the blog.
For more about my goals with my work, check out the Crooked Forest Mission page.
If you might like to work with me on your own music project as either a producer/engineer/mixer or session musician, please feel free to reach out anytime via the contact page.
If you’d like me to come to your gig, shoot some photos and video of your set and feature you on the blog, do reach out and I’ll do my best to make it.
Crooked Forest 