Jimmy Deveney Music Brings Cook County, Illinois to Albuquerque. Joe Smith, stringer (Joesmithstringer.com)
The most exciting part of being human, for us thrill junkies, is simply not knowing what will happen next. It drives some people mad, but the ones who are a little twisted, like me, are over in the corner sipping a Tito's and Sprite, perplexed at the squares who thrive off the routine; the ones satisfied with the mundane; and especially the slaves of mainstream peer influence.
Some of us like to explore without using a map and get lost in towns we've never heard of. Some, perhaps, get excited about blind dates. A select few of us, like to jump out of perfectly good airplanes. In a much smaller demographic, some of us will drive 12 mph through the War Zone on a Thursday afternoon, just to see if there is a vintage stereo amp/receiver for sale (shopping cart not included). The very tiniest minority of us will, gulp, attend a live music event without knowing what style or genre the music is. Ohhhh the horror. Bring it!
I've survived a few thrill rides, war, volatile relationships, and Florida, but this new thrill is fortified with discovery and appreciation for the community I now live in. I am learning a lot about myself while getting out and exploring the music scene here and the insanely under-appreciated artists who pour their souls into their craft. I have become, quite literally, a live music junkie. In the search for the legal substance that fills my life with joy and passion, I keep my nose to the grindstone and an eye out for flyers, word-of-mouth, community venues, and promotions from other musicians. I am wildly fascinated by how well artists support other artists here in the Land of Might As Well Make This a Better Place.
I know a guy, who knows a guy, and that guy posted a flyer for Jimmy Deveney Music at Tractor Brewing, Wells Park. I went to a couple of shows there before the pandemic and the first artist I heard upon my high-dessert arrival was Kirk Matthews. I was excited to get back to Tractor Brewing and I was DAMN EXCITED to hear Jimmy Deveney and his gang of super dapper soul brothers play music.
{Kirk. If you're reading this, we miss you brother. Real talk.}
Anyone reading this ridiculous adventure series by now, has maybe figured out that the man behind the curtain (me) is a hardcore, bonafide Gen X'er. To the Core. Look up any variant on the Gen X search and I will fit nicely in the center of all of them. One of those soul-sucking internet searches will reveal that we used to watch movies on a single floor TV, piped in via antenna on the outside corner of the house, while sitting in a room dubbed "the living room", after a full course meal, cooked by our mothers: beans, taters, and whatever meat was on sale at Kroger; fresh buttermilk biscuits with every meal. Twernt 'no Grub Hub and even if there were, twernt nobody gon come out that far to deliver. You just sat on the floor, after dinner, and watched The Blues Brothers, four years after cinematic release, like a normal kid.
Listening to The Blues Brothers was my first childhood memory that involved multiple ethnicities and blended genres in a singular musical production. I was excited and it helped me develop a theory that not everyone was racist in this world (just my parents). I also have a sneaky suspicion that The Blues Brothers are the reason I despise labels, or the senseless attempts to categorize music. Anyone familiar with the movie will understand the comedy here when even Jake and Elwood try to describe their own music. It's hilarious and sadly, still relevant...42 years later.
From the moment Jimmy Deveney and the boys opened, until the very last note was played, it was a fun thrill ride, and for me, nostalgic as Coca-Cola in a glass bottle (the original recipe). I felt like I was on the concert hall floor with Jake Blues somersaulting his big ass down the isle. Aretha Franklin was in the kitchen serving up five fried chickens and dry white toast while belting out R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Donald "Duck" Dunn was strumming that bass like it was an appendage assigned at birth, while smoking his tobacco pipe. Elwood Blues was stage right, tap dancing in place with a harmonica in his mouth. Matt "Guitar" Murphy cradling his guitar while looking like a yoked night club bouncer.
Except Jimmy Deveney and the boys weren't in Cook County, Illinois. And it wasn't 1980-something. They were right here in Albuquerque, in the high desert, on a clear night, at a local brewery, having fun with their crisp, clean sound and their blend of high fidelity funk soul rock country and western gospel rhythm and blues that oddly sounded like Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico got together and hitchhiked to Chicago to do one last show to raise money for Mother Mary Stigmata's orphanage. You can't lie to the Penguin and Jimmy Deveney sure as hell ain't lying to New Mexico. Their stuff is sweet and nostalgic, sprinkled with some heavy, heavy high-desert relevancy and fun.
And if it isn't already clear that they were having fun doing what they love, Michael Moxey on guitar was wearing an authentic, completely original MTV t-shirt. From back in the day when MTV actually played MUSIC. Not everyone will appreciate the nostalgia of that shirt worn by a band member, but that is ok. It was a subtle clue to the dynamic range, light-heartedness, and high-spirited presence of these fine gentlemen.
Speaking of fine upstanding gentlemen, it is essential to note, that during their set, Jimmy took the time to say a few profound things to a relatively new up-and-coming musician that he invited to open for them. Jimmy Climbs once told me that "artists sometimes perform in the ether and don't know how the audience is receiving their music" so it was epically obvious to me that Jimmy Deveney is one of those exceptional humans who can, and will lift up other artists with their direct and public feedback. It was a first-class gesture indeed, and I know personally that Brother Barnaby was utterly humbled by the genuine praise.
There is a spirit within all of us, molded by spectacular human influences in our lives. I have no idea if Jimmy and the boys even know the Blues Brothers, but my intuition is telling me that Aretha Franklin, John Belushi, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Cab Calloway, James Brown, Ray Charles, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, John Lee Hooker, and many others are looking down on Jimmy Deveney, Matthew Tobias, Michael Moxey, and Jeff Wilson while swinging, tapping, and smiling behind those pearly gates...all singing along to "Next Year's Model" or "Bathtub Charlie" and from their legacies, sending divine praise to the High Desert Soul brothers of Jimmy Deveney Music.
Author's note: If you're looking for the FULL RANGE of Jimmy Deveney's arsenal, please check out his music online and you will be FILLED with brass, organs, keys, horns, strings, and many other instrumentals. He does a helluva job using a variety of instruments to bring home that authentic high-desert sound. I am STILL sifting through his online library!
