5PM to Nowhere is the alternative pop project of singer-songwriter Jacob Webb. He’s got an EP called “Stoicism” that will be out on May 13th. He is the most recent addition to Wisconsin Music Ventures’ Green Room.
ME: How did you get involved with Wisconsin Music Ventures?
JACOB: So, I graduated college last June, and kind of leading up to my graduation I was trying to insert myself back into the Milwaukee music scene. I went to school by Chicago and knew I wanted to do something with music, and just through connections from my friends who make music in the area, I heard about Wisconsin Music Ventures. I emailed Allison and then I did a Christmas Zoom show very early on – that was my first taste of what WMV had to offer. I’ve been involved ever since.
ME: Awesome! Once you find it, most people seem to get involved pretty quickly.
ME: Even though it’s annoyingly cold today, it’ll start getting warmer out one of these days.
JACOB: Eventually. Hopefully for longer than a day or two.
ME: What are you looking forward to most in the summer?
JACOB: It’s cliche to be about music, but honestly I can’t wait for all the music festivals and Summerfest. And just being outside. There was that one really warm day last weekend and I spent most of the day in the Third Ward and just seeing everybody out and about having a good time was a lot more affecting than I thought it would be. It was good to see, for sure.
ME: I’m with you there. It can’t come soon enough.
JACOB: Yeah (laughs). Everyone’s getting stir crazy.
ME: That said, what’s your favorite place in the city to go for a walk?
JACOB: Oh gosh, that’s a good question. I do really like the Third Ward and on the Riverwalk. I like to take bike rides through the Oak Leaf Trail and Hank Aaron Trail – stuff like that.
ME: Have you been to Lakeshore State Park?
JACOB: Where is that?
ME: It’s like right next to the Summerfest grounds, kind of into the harbor.
JACOB: Maybe once or twice, but it’s been a while.
ME: That’s one of my favorite places.
JACOB: I’ll have to check it out.
ME: That’ll be good for summer.
ME: So you’re releasing an EP in a few weeks. I’d love to ask you more about what folks can expect and everything that’s gone into this thing.
JACOB: Yeah, so it’s called “Stoicism” and it’s been a long work in progress. I’ve released two singles already; “Acceptance” and “Tempest” both came out last month. Then I have another single coming out this Friday; it’s a re-release of a song called “Rumination” that I remastered and re-recorded. I’d say those three songs give a good indication of it; it kind of combines alt rock like early Coldplay with some electronic elements like Glass Animals, and some Grizzly Bear vibes. Thematically it’s about a journey of self-expression; it’s a lot of internal and external battles, like the relationship with self and relationships with others. Those are kind of the essential themes of the EP.
ME: I’m looking forward to hearing it. My last question is, beyond the EP, what’s going to be next for you?
JACOB: First and foremost, I’m getting a band together. The day after the EP drops, we’re having a debut show at Linneman’s and I’m really excited about that. The set’s coming together really nicely. Then there’s a couple other shows I’m playing; this year I’m doing Summerfest’s Ground Floor Stage. In terms of releases, I’m working on a couple smaller projects with Matt Froelich and Hallowtribe. Then after that, I think I’m getting together a full album that’s basically already written, and I’ll be getting together some production and recording for that soon.
Visit 5PM to Nowhere’s website here.
