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Meet Deal James

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Deal James.

Deal, before we jump into specific questions about your art, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started taking my music seriously when I was 19 years old in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. I started a band, played some shows, recorded a few EPs. At the end of it, I was still painfully unaware of the bigger picture. None the less, I was hooked on the idea of pursuing a music career. When the band ended I moved to Florida to hang out with my Dad and play cover tunes at the bar he was working on Fridays.

I had no idea Stuart, Florida would host a small but mighty music scene that was equipped to teach me everything I would need to know about making a living doing music.

After about six months I was hosting an Open Mic at the most popular venue in town, I had residencies at two different locations and I had booking agents reaching out to me to fill the holes in my schedule. After a year I was living in a recording studio, became an intern for a talent buyer at a venue booking national acts, running sound at a professional venue for local bands, sitting in on editing and mixing sessions at the studio and being asked to help write, produce, play on artists original projects. I had fronted multiple projects and had been in charge of the booking, writing, recording, promoting and branding of each one. I was in Florida for almost six years. I left a few times for summer trips but I knew I was learning there and I wanted to stay until I was ready for more.

My philosophy was to say “Yes” to everything. Sometimes I even lied when someone asked “Have you ever ran sound? Ran an Open Mic? Played country music? ” I said yes. I willed my self to learn or to become comfortable for the sake of my pushing my career forward. I said yes to every friendship, to every party, to every gig, to every job. I painted a Music Shop once. I helped load in and load out gear for big shows. I gave lessons. I sang vocal tracks on songs I wasn’t a fan of. I played some gigs for free to get my foot in the door. I worked with people I didn’t like. I was an intern when I had no business being anyone’s assistant.

For me, the difference in my life when I say “Yes” to everything as opposed to when I make excuses for not jumping at new experiences, makes a monumental impact on my progress or lack thereof.

I decided I had soaked up everything I could in Florida and it was time to test my philosophy and business plan somewhere else. I chose to go to Phoenix Arizona to be closer with my extended family, play golf with my dad and spend time with my sister who had been traveling through the area often.

I am happy to say that Phoenix has been very good to me. The venues, the people, the experiences, the scenery and the music! I was able to bring my mindset and work ethic to a new place and with my experience become an active member of the music community in a very short time. I have worked in a studio, I have run sound at local shows, I have been recording and I have made close friends with some of the scenes most active members. I am thankful to everyone I have met and have gotten to work with.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
On the surface, everything has been smooth. Financially I have done well playing music. Getting gigs, respect amongst my peers and getting prestigious opportunities have all come pretty naturally. But mentally I kick my ass.

As an artist or any creative person, I believe most commonly our biggest enemy is ourselves. Self doubt. Insecurity. Ignoring your true self. Not embracing what makes us unique. Having the fear of your work not being accepted or worried about how others may judge you. This mental purgatory only brought me contempt. A silent governor in my soul, not allowing me to be happy with my work while fooling me into believing it is what I had to do to be successful.

I was rarely satisfied with my performance. I was always trying to improve or tweak my sound and my gear. I was self conscience about my image and was worried people were not recognizing my brand. There is a very thin line between being AWARE of what you need to do for your career to flourish and BEATING yourself up about it.

Physically, I was not born a natural singer. Or I wasn’t raised on the kind of music that would inherently teach you how to sing properly or with good technique (for the male voice at least). My first experiences singing were filled with mainly a-lot of yelling, rapping and almost always inspired by alcohol and trying to impress the girls at the party. This path got me all of the free beer and drugs I wanted but didn’t result in the most pleasant vocal tone. A lot of my friends and family asked me not to sing and didn’t want to be involved in projects with me where I was the lead vocalist.

But the funny thing about judgment, criticism and the complexes we are all brought with… Is that they can cripple you or they can empower you… Sometimes even both.

I surrounded myself with really talented singers. I watched them, listened to their tone and how they attacked notes and phrases. I asked questions. I took lessons from them. I asked for critiques on what they heard coming from me. In my own time I would practice what I had learned, but sometimes still had gotten nowhere and felt I would never be the singer I wanted to be.

At one point though I also looked at my fans and people who supported my music and they loved my voice the way it was. I was learning that I was UNIQUE. I wasn’t a bad singer I just had a very particular sound. With this epiphany, I decided that I still wanted to improve and have better technique but I didn’t want to lose what made me special. I then was able to exhale a little more about the whole idea. Surrendering to MYSELF, not the idea of being something I’m not.

Then came the biggest struggle of all. My realization of a truth I had known but I didn’t want to accept. The truth that my music, my voice and my mental health had reached a point where no more progress could be made if I didn’t take alcohol out of the equation. I had been drinking since high school. Almost every day I found a way to catch a buzz. When my music career started, of course, drinking was amplified.

It was an obvious answer to my woes as a singer that drinking every day couldn’t be good for my vocal cords and maintaining any sort of consistency. But the mental, emotional and anxiety related issues that were uncovered when I put it down rocked my world. I had held myself back for so long and called it strength, powered by numbness, only to see how little I had done for my mind. My worst fears had come true. I truly hadn’t done enough.

My sobriety, in the beginning, was very difficult. I had to confront things about myself that I thought I had in the bag. But this time when Id face them, it was authentic and true progress would be made. My struggles once again left me more empowered than paralyzed.

My voice flourished, my mental awareness widened and my capacity to be even more focused and driven was revealed. I have seen my true potential because of this struggle and for that, I am incredibly thankful for this time in my life. Phoenix has been healing for me. To move here with an old mindset, yet an entirely different approach. To find that I could get all of the same successes without the one thing that made me most comfortable. Everyone here has made me feel welcome and a member of the community. Even when I don’t go drink for drink with them all night, which is what I prided myself on doing before…

Please tell us about your art.
Number one I am a performing musician. I play cover music at bars, restaurants and private events. I play alternative, funk, r&b and rock music. I play an electric baritone guitar which has a lower register than a traditional guitar. I am known for choosing a set list that is different than a normal solo acoustic cover set. I choose songs people know, but not the obvious choices. For the most part, the feedback I get is that people appreciate a fresh playlist and many of the songs I choose are not guitar heavy in the original composition.

The way I play guitar is also unique. It’s very percussive and with a slap bass feel. You can hear the snare and the kick drum in how I play so I almost feel like a full band all by myself.

I also sing a lot in my falsetto which was a joke when I first started but people enjoyed it. It seems to be a part of my act that sticks along with the rap songs and looping tracks so I can play lead guitar on top.

Secondly, I’m a songwriter and play songwriting showcases and original music venues when the opportunity arises. I write funk, rock and pop alternative music. I think what makes my songs unique is that I feel like I can write any style or genre of song. Almost like my cover set, I don’t discriminate from any kind of song. I feel it, I play it or in this case, I write it.

Thirdly, I believe every job in the music industry is important. This is also what I’m most proud of about my business. I will run sound, I will give lessons, I will test gear, I will do the social media, booking, recording, sound engineering, I will make phone calls, I will restring the guitars, I’ll wrap cables and I will set microphones. If we need a door guy I’ll be it, if someone made a mess I’ll clean it. If we need a drum track I will try to learn it. If we need a synth part I will start turning knobs. I believe every aspect is important and I don’t believe I’m above any of it.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My Mom would randomly bring me home CD’s of different kinds of music. She would bring home Pink Floyd, Santana, Incubus, Nine Inch Nails, John Mayor, Sublime, Jamioriqui, Chris Issak and Stevie Wonder. I don’t know if she was trying to shape my taste in music or if she was buying what was on sale or which album art she liked the most.

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Image Credit:
Robby J Elizondo

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