We all have two lives, in theory. The first life is spent wrestling the demons of our ancestors, our programming, and our ego, which is nothing more than fear of losing something that doesn’t exist.
During the second life, the blood oath is cemented. Not bartered. Not negotiated. Whether by choice or by force, the oath becomes so, revealed perhaps, by the crushing hammer blows that pound us to rock bottom.
The second life is cause for celebration. Singer/songwriters do this by sharing their power of growth through trauma, with selfless and artistic vulnerability to the world, open for anyone to consume it; to connect to it. Some artists celebrate their second life with sobriety, allowing the truest version of themselves to deconstruct the ego and programming acquired while living in survival mode, the first life, while elevating their artistic craft through explorations of self, perhaps the plotline to every Star Trek episode James Edward Deveney watched on tape every afternoon, before going out to get drunk with all his friends.
Sobriety is the deep space where personal growth pinnacles. It is not a final destination but a necessary human state of existence to evade the Vorta’s and Jem’Hadar’s of the Dominion; the engineered militants of our own minds, The Founders.
Sobriety is the sterile arena where artists create, absent fear, or perhaps utilizing it, liberating the mind to live long and prosper by transferring power through a symbolic or coded messaging system, derived from their own human suffering, the most powerful of all human growth sources.
Jimmy Deveney and The Hold Fast Union have a sterile arena, of sorts, and the lads call it “the hang” and it is not to be disturbed, physically or spiritually. Within the walls of Empty House Studio for the last year or so, five incredibly talented, focused, and mostly-like-minded musicians gathered weekly to arrange and produce a high-desert soul rock album that captures the creative vibe of men who have found their boyish joy in life again, celebrating it with intricate and catchy instrumentals, and a variety of musical approaches.
High Desert Soul is the studio recorded hippocratic oath from healing musicians Jimmy Deveney, Matthew Tobias, Jeff Wilson, Scott Gaeta, Ken Johnson, Jesse Van Dam, and Melissa Rios, in a production of sound that originated in their souls to connect with those keen on a rock-n-soul sound with modern bluesy grooves that gently carries the spirit through the nostalgic high plains of their own growth. Out of darkness.
The music, sometimes jumping into a fun, jazz-like swing, delivers clever metaphors of feisty romance, uncanny realism, and wicked instrumentals from the expert cast of bandmates to thoroughly convince the listener that the suffering has waned, the soul exploration has extended far beyond sobriety, and now it's time to celebrate life with novel wonderment discovered after battling the demons of addiction and the fear of perceived loss when severing toxic attachments.
Jimmy Deveney, the vocalist, was gifted with a sort of midwest and midsouth soul, tossed around in some west-Texas tumbleweeds, and pinnacles here in the New Mexico high desert. The songwriter, band, and production team give this album a light-hearted, enjoyable, and danceable vibe that nods to several musical genre influences in one album. The Hold Fast Union, which now includes Charlie Elmore and Ken Easton, harmoniously display their devotion to produce relatable music that represents the artist while connecting with a demographic of humans who are perhaps, enduring the excruciating effects of human suffering.
Handprints jumps out front and immediately brings the listener into a world where energy is continuous, irony rules supreme, and time clocks don’t get punched, all set to nostalgic vocals, classy humor, and high-desert philosophy in a bouncy and funky groove that give the song a sensational vessel on which to sunbathe in the tranquil waters of ego death.
No Matter is a brilliant flagship anthem for someone who has merely discovered the darkness and vows to keep working, despite the odds against them and likely despite the repeated attempts of others who tried to give love, sadly during the first life of fear, and the demons that taunted the mind mercilessly.
In an eerily cool 80’s country influence with glorious keys, What You Gonna Do takes us on a dreamy, west coast bop in the realization that the human body is indeed connected to Mother Earth and one would do well to take care of it; the Wu-Tang reference gives homage to the diversity of Jimmy’s Gen-X influence and musical listening pleasures. This song is ridiculously fun and nostalgic, with their signature high-desert soul tone and structure. Roll the windows down and lean back with this one!
Roll On is a big-band, bouncy, uplifting beat housing a spiritual message to not be stuck in your own muck, and if you choose to do so, we gotsta roll on baby. Killer horns and a delightful guitar solo on this one where the bass line keeps you bouncing and that snare drum makes it all enjoyable as the lyrics fairly warn the masses to either get on board or get to stepping!
Jimmy and the band use a clever romance with Oh! Nadine to artistically disguise addiction and the likelihood of losing loved ones who threaten repeatedly to walk out; until they finally do, leaving the abuser to sort out their own stuff, or die trying. Harmonies give it exceptional depth and convincing tones. A gentle guitar solo over an iconic drum line that slingshots out of Turn 4 with a haunting dose of levitating keys. The closing is perhaps the most beautiful piece of the album where the storyteller reveals the source of his songwriting power.
Please set back and fasten seatbelts as Hopes Leaving Town blasts the album into a wildly unique, high octane, revving in the red with that guitar solo and a bass line that will make you smile the entire time you’re flying off the edge of the cliff. A wicked, bluesy, and funky roller coaster of chilling harmonies, a mesmerizing rhythm, and flaming keys all working to fuel the message that hope has in fact, left town in this pre-apocalyptic state of our current environment.
A New Orlean’s swing beat fittingly charges Like A Hurricane in the intro that gracefully cedes to glorious vocal harmonies, truly giving it the high-desert soul sound the band continues to refine. It’s a fun and vocally powerful bop.
I Wanna Be With You is the noble announcement to a love interest, after winning most of the battles that were fought against the demons from the first life, that gives credence to the physical and emotional act of intimacy. A realization that time is fleeting with a melodic, yet urgent bass line cadence to move the body. The band goes down a reverse-reel hypnotic sound in the second half of the song that works freakishly well to add funkiness to the album.
A delightful, island vibe intro takes us into a dreamy, reminiscent motion picture of what the artist’s first life was like in All My Friends. Intrinsic memories of a life that perhaps spurred addiction, wanting to be accepted by the residents of his toxic kingdom. Hauntingly painful memories fuel the never-ending fight to expel the demons, long after sobriety. A story of hitting rock bottom, and the observable capacity to replay those stories for others to use in their fight.
Action has a prominent opener, clever lyrics, and a bouncing rhythm that pushes human action to the front of this art piece and closes the album with a truth bomb proclamation to the masses. Doesn’t matter what is tattoo’d on our bodies, what we believe, or what we tell people, action is the only game in town for those who are not only struggling with addiction, but those who continue to grow through self improvement, which is nothing more than human action in service to one's own self exploration.
Written for The Crossing New Mexico by Joe Smith, Stringer
Jimmy Deveney and The Hold Fast Union welcomes newcomers Charlie Elmore and Ken Easton, and will celebrate the release of High Desert Soul on Friday night, Sep 29th, at Juno Brewery in Albuquerque, with special guests JD Nash and The Rash of Cash.
All songs written by Jimmy Deveney
“Roll On” music by Jeff Wilson - Lyrics by Jimmy Deveney
Produced by Matthew Tobias and Jimmy Deveney
Recorded and Mixed by Matthew Tobias at empty house studio, Albuquerque NM
Mastered by Doug Van Sloun at Focus Mastering, Omaha NE
Vocals, All Guitars, Casio: Jimmy Deveney
Bass: Jeff Wilson
Drums: Matthew Tobias
Keys, Backing Vocals: Scott Gaeta
Backing Vocals: Melissa Rios
Horns: Ken Johnson and Jesse Van Dam - Horns Arranged by Ken Johnson