Liza Mitchell
As a traveling musician, Isaac Corbitt spends a good deal of time on the road. Regardless of where he is in the world, he always misses the city he calls home.
Corbitt wrote and recorded his first original solo song called “Jacksonville” as an anthem to his hometown. The track is a series of stories about growing up in the city, raising hell down by the St. Johns River. Many of his friends went on to college after high school to prepare for a life away from Jacksonville. But Corbitt is dug in and proud to honor his hometown.
“Yeah, Jacksonville! I am so excited about that. It’s sounding really, really good now,” says Corbitt, who recorded the track at Icon Studios in Orange Park. “It’s snapshots about me growing up in Jacksonville. Everyone’s got their own perspective of how they grew up. I spend a lot of time away from home and everywhere I’m at I’m always screaming “Duuuval.” Everyone’s like what are you always saying? What does it even mean?’”
For Isaac Corbitt, Duval is more than the county where he grew up. It’s a word that signifies his place in the world. “It’s about Jacksonville and snapshots of my story in it. There are two types of people in this world. Some people grew up and went to school and did their perfect thing and some people like me raised hell,” Corbitt laughs. “It’s all about us drinking on the river and having a good time. The second verse is about me riding around with my friends. My buddy got shot and put in jail so that’s in there. I’m saying when he gets home, we’re going to party it up.”
Corbitt was on the road when he wrote the song and no doubt missing his home. While he’s written original music to perform with other artists like the Melody Trucks Band, with whom Corbitt regularly tours, writing “Jacksonville” was the first time writing a song in his own voice. “I think I was in Nashville and really missing Jacksonville,” he recalls. “I did it live with just me and a guitar in my backyard and it ended up getting like 25,000 hits. Once that happened, a lot of people started asking me about it.”
The song officially dropped Dec. 19 and it’s already caught the attention of local media. Isaac Corbitt performed “Jacksonville” when he was making the rounds to promote his trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba with Brady Clampitt to play for the troops.
“People started calling me and asking how can we get this song? I said it’s not recorded yet,” said Corbitt of the song which is different from the soulful sound he’s known for. “Jacksonville” is more rap but still features guitar, mandolin and his signature harmonica. Once it’s released, the song will be available on iTunes, Spotify and all digital streaming services.
“I’ve never put out anything as Isaac Corbitt ever before. This is the first thing and go figure, it’s a hip hop song. All the good and all the bad stuff in my life has led me to right here. I’m really excited for this to come out. It’s better than I could have ever planned. I don’t know what kind of traction it’s going to get and I don’t know what to expect. I’m excited either way whether it gains traction or doesn’t do anything. It’s still a song I love and it makes me feel better that it’s out there for the ears to hear but I hope the Jaguars pick it up.”
See Issac Corbitt’s full press kit here for more information or follow him on Facebook.
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