Jason deVore - I'm On A Beach

DeVore shared, “‘I’m On A Beach’ derived from a trip I was on while down in Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico with my family. I had just quit drinking and it was my first trip south of the border going ‘sober’. I have a long history of going down to Rocky Point with my friends and band since the age of 18 and we’ve had MANY wild times down there. This time, in particular, I was getting up early with the sunrise to get a morning run in on the beach. This was the kind of morning where I just sat down and allowed myself to soak it all in, while reminiscing of days of old. There wasn’t a soul on the beach, only me. I suddenly said to myself, out loud, ‘I’m on a beach, and there’s no one around.’ I instantly had an idea for a song and thought, Jason, don’t let this one get away. Go upstairs and write it NOW. So I ran upstairs, wrote the song in I’d say a matter of 25 minutes and that was it. I then played it live without memorized lyrics at Circus Mexicus with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers and it became an instant hit for the fans that weekend. I can’t wait to get the fully produced version out there and playing on everyone’s stereos.”

Speaking on the video, Jason added, “The very talented directors Eric Cannon and Justin Bergonzoni from Illmatic Productions worked with me on this video, as a follow-up to the video we all made for ‘Turn It Off!’. How we arrived on this video concept is a fun and somewhat funny story because it certainly isn’t the original concept. We did two days of shooting in a row, one for each video. During the making of ‘Turn It Off!’ I had to put on and take off the Joker face paint so many times it ended up causing burn marks on my face. So the next morning, when I woke up to shoot the ‘I’m On A Beach’ video, I kinda tripped out when I saw my irritated face. I didn’t want to spend the whole day trying to cover it up with make up because some of the burns were actually kind of scabbed up and there’d be no hiding them. It was 7 a.m. and I thought of a completely new story line right there on the spot. I immediately called Eric, waking him up, and frantically yet excitedly told him that, even though the video shoot was only a couple hours away from starting, I was determined to make this new idea work and get us both on the same page. He came over to my place where we ran through the idea and hashed out a fully thought-through process. Then we packed the cars up with every deflated pool floatation device I had and more and headed toward the open desert. Conceptually, the idea of the video is that I had just had a very long night hanging out with friends in Mexico and then I wake up in the middle of the desert without a clue as to what happened, where my friends went, what happened to the ocean, and even if the whole experience was real or just a dream? Picture very roughly the movie ‘The Hangover’ with some fun new twists and turns. I used the blisters on my face and some red makeup to cover myself with an extreme sunburn and it worked out beautifully. The video takes you on the euphoric, hallucinogenic, and almost Hunter S. Thompson type of journey of a man trapped in the desert, searching to pick up the pieces of his night to help it all make sense. Along the way he is dehydrated, hungover, delusional, and starts wondering what is real and what isn’t. All the while this is happening, he’s lost and getting depleted but at the same time he’s celebrating his little successes and victories, bringing to light the idea that everywhere can be your beach, no matter your situation in life. It’s all about how you choose to deal with it and how you choose to look at the situation. So it’s all about perspective. With that in mind, there’s a scene in the video where there are two beach balls I find along the way. One is red, one is blue. Something of the red pill/blue pill option to determine your reality, throwing a bit of ‘The Matrix’ in there. It’s a fun unplanned Easter Egg that we sneaked there to help make full sense of the story line.”

First inspired by the songwriting and music of Jeff Buckley, Jason DeVore's solo work effortlessly melds rock 'n' roll, folk, punk, reggae, classical, and gospel influences into a vibrant, fresh, and exhilarating sound that is simultaneously daring and innovative, yet unmistakably embodies his incomparable style.

Collaborating with talents such as Bob Hoag (known for his work with The Ataris, Dear and The Headlights, The Format), who produced (with additional production by Jason DeVore and Kristen Taylor), co-engineered and mixed 11 of the album’s 12 tracks, three-time Grammy Award-winner Tom Lord-Alge (credited with projects for Blink-182, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, The Rolling Stones), who mixed the album’s opening track and lead single ("Turn It Off!"), and Grammy Award-winner Jason Livermore (recognized for his work with Rise Against, NOFX, Hot Water Music, Descendents) who mastered the album at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, ''Til The Voice Goes Out' showcases a seasoned DeVore who has reached unparalleled heights in both songwriting and musicianship.

“I started this journey long ago in 1994 with my band Authority Zero,” explained Jason DeVore. “We were just a bunch of kids looking to escape and lose ourselves in music and hang out. We came together that summer and started just jammin’ some chords. I started singing along, and the rest is history.”

It certainly wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Jason DeVore has actually made history. For 30 years, he has been known the world over as both a solo artist and the lead singer of Authority Zero, a band who, alongside alt-rock stalwarts Jimmy Eat World and Gin Blossoms, helped put Arizona on the musical map.

Formed in Mesa, Arizona, Authority Zero quickly dialed in a signature blend of anthemic melodic punk rock with reggae and southwestern influences that perfectly showcased DeVore’s powerful, emotive, and dynamic voice, as evidenced by songs like “One More Minute”, “Revolution”, and the band’s cover of “Mexican Radio”.

For the first decade of the band’s existence, during which time two major-label releases were written and recorded, DeVore was content with writing songs exclusively for Authority Zero. That all changed when he first heard Jeff Buckley.

“Listening to Jeff Buckley’s music quite literally changed my life and outlook on singing,” recalled DeVore. “It was so beautiful and passionate in a way that I had never tapped into with my own songwriting. The melodies, the finesse, the flow, and intensity—it would raise the hairs on my neck. All of it captivated me. I was immediately inspired to pick up an acoustic guitar to learn to play it and to simultaneously learn to sing better and more cohesively.”

Then, once he had written his first batch of Jason DeVore songs, DeVore started going out to open mics and playing his new songs under his own name.

“I simply wanted to play my songs and be heard without the band name tied to it, so I could get an honest response and reaction," said DeVore. “All the while I was thinking to myself, I want to do this. I feel I can do this. I need to do this.”

Unsurprisingly, DeVore’s solo songs received a positive response. And just like that, he was no longer solely the lead singer of Authority Zero, he was now officially Jason DeVore, a solo musician in his own right.

Now, 20 years and three solo albums later (and that’s on top of six new studio albums from Authority Zero during that same span of time), Jason DeVore is ready to release his new full-length album, ‘Til The Voice Goes Out via Double Helix Records (Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.A.), in collaboration with SBÄM Records (Austria) and Caffeine Bomb Records (Japan).

Nothing short of his magnum opus, '‘Til The Voice Goes Out' reveals a mature DeVore who has reached new heights in songwriting and musicianship.

“This record is what I’ve longed for all three of my past records to be on a professional level,” admitted DeVore. “That goes for every part of it—the production, the performers, and even the songwriting itself. The sheer talent of musicians and producers on this record is beyond any level I’d taken my other albums before, and it is apparent from the very first chord.”

When DeVore first enlisted the help of his dear friend, Kristen Taylor, who operates Underdog Studios in Mesa, Arizona, to help him record and produce a new single, “Courage”, they both thought it would be a one-and-done project.

“We were having fun in the studio, so we just kept recording until a vision started to form,” DeVore chuckled. “Then, when Double Helix came on board, it was game on—almost as if the wall had been torn down and the possibilities were suddenly endless. The folks at Double Helix kept saying to me over and over again, and I quote, ‘We want this to be the best record you’ve ever made and one that you can be proud of, whatever that takes.’ Those words have not been said to me in ages and it got me so inspired and fired up.”

Newly motivated and with a lofty goal set in his mind, DeVore sought out some of the best local musicians to help him write to their specific instruments and strengths and to play those parts on the record. He also recruited local legend Bob Hoag (The Ataris, Dear and The Headlights, The Format) to help DeVore and Taylor produce and engineer the record and to mix 11 of the album’s 12 songs at Flying Blanket Studios in Mesa, Arizona. To mix “Turn It Off!”, the album’s first track and lead-off single, DeVore turned to three-time Grammy Award-winner Tom Lord-Alge (Blink-182, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, The Rolling Stones). Lastly, to add the icing to the cake, DeVore asked Grammy Award-winner Jason Livermore (Rise Against, NOFX, Hot Water Music, Descendents) to master the album at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Set to be released on June 7, 2024, DeVore’s finished product, ''Til The Voice Goes Out', seamlessly combines elements of rock 'n' roll, folk, punk, reggae, classical, and gospel music into a sound that is at once bold, new, and exciting and yet distinctly, familiarly, and uniquely signature Jason DeVore.

At times hopeful, energetic, playful, and bombastic and others wistful, regretful, somber, and nostalgic '‘Til The Voice Goes Out' paints the picture of an artist who has seen it all and done it all—and is extremely happy to have lived to tell the tale.

“So much has transpired since my last record and I have gone through a great deal within my band’s career, my personal life, and my broadened outlook on life,” reflected DeVore. “I quit drinking alcohol over two years ago and that has changed everything in my life for the better— physically, lyrically, mentally, you name it. I’ve truly found myself again. The unique thing about this record is that it really is a ‘healing’ record for me. Half of these songs, ‘Count Me In’ being one of them, were written while I was on tour overseas and at my very my lowest point before putting down the bottle. The other half of these songs were written upon my awakening and transition to clarity. It’s been quite a journey to say the least.”

So DeVore—now older, wiser, and happier—stands poised to once again step out from Authority Zero’s shadow to put his solo art out there for the masses to see how they will receive it, just like he did those many years ago when his solo career first started.

“My only hope is that people will enjoy this record as much as I’ve enjoyed making it,” concluded DeVore. “This has been such a magical and personal journey from start to finish and my heart is on my sleeve yet again on this record. I genuinely hope it takes the listener on a musical and mental journey that covers both the best of times in life and the hardest of times because it is important to remember and embrace them all. Life is short and we’re meant to live it.”