Jacob Keplinger

Jacob Keplinger is a guitarist and audio engineer based out of Western Massachusetts. He is best known for founding The Free Rock Trio and New Threads, as well as co-founding Pink Hat Records.

He formed New Threads in 2016 with Justin Siegel at Middle Tennessee State University. The band was formed just days after the two recorded their demo tape, known as Seymour Butts. He released four studio albums with New Threads (Death in the Afternoon [2017], NEW THREADS [2018], Felonious Wilma [2019], and Threadsboro [2019]) before moving to Massachusetts in July 2019.

In Boston, Keplinger and Siegel teamed up with Siegel's cousin James Siegel, a bassist, to form The Free Rock Trio in the fall of 2019. The band has released four studio albums, with the first three in 2020 and their latest in 2021 (Free Rock, Buford, Gone Wild, and New Threads is Dead) and two live albums (Bootleg Series) so far.

He released multiple albums in the early 2010s on his own and with Maple Cap, before his days with New Threads. While those albums are deep in the vault, he released the final album in Mesa Dog Records' catalog in September 2017 titled The Russ Anderson Mixtape, which featured multiple tracks that would go on to be a part of New Threads' discography like "The Camping Song" and "Body."

In 2020 he released his first official single on Pink Hat Records titled "Downtown." The track was recorded during the COVID-19 crisis, and Keplinger has stated that an album is in the works. A second single was released in February 2021 titled "Hardship." No further music has been released or hinted at- this is likely because the solo album he prepared was eventually recorded by The Free Rock Trio and released as New Threads is Dead. "Hardship" was omitted from the tracklist, replaced by "...is Dead?" and "Downtown" was never intended to be a part of the release to begin with.

Studio Albums Discography
With The Free Rock Trio:


 * Free Rock - February 21, 2020 (Pink Hat Records)
 * Buford - April 10, 2020 (Pink Hat Records)
 * Gone Wild - October 2, 2020 (Pink Hat Records)
 * New Threads is Dead - July 16, 2021 (Pink Hat Records)

With New Threads:


 * Death in the Afternoon - March 24, 2017 (Mesa Dog Records)
 * NEW THREADS - May 11, 2018 (Pink Hat Records)
 * Felonious Wilma - January 1, 2019 (Pink Hat Records)
 * Threadsboro - July 12, 2019 (Pink Hat Records)

As a solo artist:


 * Acoustica - December 13, 2013 (Mesa Dog Records)
 * Good Morning, Afternoon - October 25, 2014 (Mesa Dog Records)
 * Why Am I Keeping This To Myself? - June 13, 2015 (Mesa Dog Records)
 * Safe Travels - January 1, 2016 (Mesa Dog Records)
 * Girl for the Summer / Do it to Me - July 2, 2016 (Mesa Dog Records)
 * The Russ Anderson Mixtape - September 25, 2017 (Mesa Dog Records)
 * "Downtown" - May 29, 2020 (Pink Hat Records)
 * "Hardship" - February 12, 2021 (Pink Hat Records)

with Seymour Butts:


 * Seymour Butts - December 2, 2016 (Mesa Dog Records)
 * Infinity War - May 25, 2018 (Pink Hat Records)
 * Jazz Music - July 25, 2020 (Pink Hat Records)

with Maple Cap:


 * Cherry - October 20, 2015
 * Metamorphosis - August 2, 2016

Live Albums Discography

 * Live at Last (Maple Cap) - April 14, 2016
 * Bootleg Live, Vol. 1 (The Free Rock Trio) - November 29, 2019
 * Bootleg Live, Vol. 2 (The Free Rock Trio) - July 9, 2020
 * Bootleg Live, Vol. 3 (The Free Rock Trio) - September 26, 2021