Like a lot of creative types, Nathaniel Jacobs doesn't know exactly where his ideas come from. Including the really big one that landed the El Cajon, California, kindergartner a coveted feature spot on "The Story Pirates," a top-rated podcast that turns kids' stories into songs and skits performed by the Pirates' stellar cast of actors and musicians.
Nathaniel's story, "The Strawberry Band," was so inspiring to the Story Pirates crew, the song they created to go with the sketch became the title track of the Pirates' latest CD. But if you ask the 6 1/2-year-old how he came up with the idea of a rock band that is eaten by a shark, he responds just like the budding writer he is and the future rock star he could be.
"It just popped out," he said with a shrug. And then he asked his mom if he could please go play on the playground.
Which is perfect, really, since creativity that feels like play is how the Story Pirates roll.
Founded in 2004, the Story Pirates is a group of educators and performers who have turned kid-created stories into live theater productions, books, educational programs and albums. The center of the Story Pirates universe is the podcast, which won the 2020 iHeart Radio award for best kids and family podcast and has been downloaded more than 20 million times.
Its guest stars include such high-profile fans as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kristen Bell, Claire Danes and John Oliver. But the superstars are really kids like Nathaniel, whose wild stories have inspired podcast episodes with titles like "The Boy Who Had a Pet Ice Cube," "If Dogs are Janitors" and "I'm Toast, Man," along with such hummable tunes as "Cats Sit on You," "Backstroke Raptor" and "Banana Clown."
The sketches and songs are written and performed by professionals, but the creative spark resides in the fertile brains of the Story Pirates' young audience members, whose imaginations are firing in ways that adults don't even have the neurons to imagine anymore. The podcast creators receive about 1,000 story submissions a month, which makes Pirates' captain Lee Overtree a very busy man. And a happy one, too.
"I am always looking for stuff that is original, that I haven't heard before," the Story Pirates co-creator and creative director said from his home in Brooklyn, New York. "I look for stuff that makes us laugh and for things that move us in some way. There are so many to choose from, it is not a task that is cumbersome. It is a joyful, joyful part of the process."
Nathaniel's joyful Story Pirates adventure started over a year ago, when he was just another 5-year-old fan of the podcast. He and his graphic-designer dad, Joshua Jacobs, were listening to the podcast when the crew threw out one of its "Story Spark" prompts, which give listeners ideas about stories they might want to tell.
This one challenged kids to write a story about a band. And if there is one thing Nathaniel Jacobs knows, it's bands.
Maybe it's because his dad proposed to his mom at a Phish concert. Or because his parents played music to him while he was still in the womb, thanks to sounds piped in through the pair of BellyBuds speakers mom Jenna wore for his listening pleasure.
Whatever the reason, he grew into a kid who knows all of the words to the "Hamilton" soundtrack, who makes long Spotify playlists featuring Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin and other rock bands, and who likes to put on imaginary shows at the little amphitheater in Harry Griffen Regional Park in nearby La Mesa, California. He also grew into the kind of kid who can come up with a story like "The Strawberry Band."
"This is very clearly a kid who knows about bands and how concerts work," Overtree said. "The details made it really funny and special to me."
The heroes of "The Strawberry Band" are human musicians who turn into strawberries when they perform. The drama comes when the members of the Strawberry Band are swimming at the beach and they are suddenly eaten by a shark.
Fortunately, sharks are allergic to strawberries, so the band lives to tell the tale that became the subject of the July 23, 2020, edition of the show. And the jaunty, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"-inspired song became the title track to the Story Pirates' "The Strawberry Band" album, which was released on April 9.
"When we got the email (about the podcast), we just started freaking out. We were so proud," said Jenna, who is senior director of curatorial affairs for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. "Then they turned it into this Beatle-esque song. It was amazing."
It's been nine months since "The Strawberry Band" made its Story Pirates debut, and the boy behind the story has moved on. He's learning to play the guitar, and he is busy being big brother to sister Sylvia and being a student at Mt. Helix Academy, where his current favorite subject is math.
But when the time comes for Nathaniel Jacobs — possible future writer, rock star, scientist, pilot or marine biologist — to explain how he got to be where he is today, the Story Pirates will be there with proof that he has always been someone who thinks outside the box. All of the boxes.
"A friend of ours said, 'Nathaniel has an origin story now,'" Joshua said. "It is an incredible feeling to see him blossom like that."
