30 Sept 26th-Oct 2nd, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Sober and Solo Jason DeVore’s new album is a celebration of life — the good and the bad. BY CHRIS COPLAN J ason DeVore’s already got a busy 2024 thanks to the 30th anniversary celebration for Authority Zero. But then he went ahead and decided to release a new solo record to boot. “I take this as seriously as Authority Zero,” he says. “It’s such a baby of a project, even though this is my 18th year as a solo artist, which is kind of crazy.” Still, it’s not that crazy to “double dip,” as it were, with the release of June’s “’Til The Voice Goes Out.” In recent years, DeVore’s made big personal changes, and he’s found himself with both considerable energy and motivation as well as a newfound creative drive. “With the changes in my own life that I’ve made, and redirected my conscious efforts toward things, I’m focused to make sure all of the things are very well attended and very well done,” DeVore says. He can “put every ounce of energy that I’m not doing something with the band into my solo stuff, ... which I just like to call my solo career rather than a side project.” And that classification matters: DeVore’s solo career is quite different from his Authority Zero output. “I get 70- or 80-year-olds that come to my shows. They’re not into Authority Zero,” he says. “It keeps people guessing. You can have so many facets to your life and your person.” As such, the mission statement has always been to be his own thing. “It was my intention to do this solo project free of the ties to the band name,” DeVore says. “If we were playing out, I’d be at open mics around town. And I’d say, ‘You can’t use the band name. I just want you to put down Jason DeVore.’ I really wanted to have people that listen to this music have no idea. Some will, I’m sure, but I want them to be there and enjoy the songs. It’s been cool starting from the bottom and doing all that legwork again.” Part of that whole process is that DeVore proves to be much more earnest and open on records like “’Til The Voice Goes Out” — his baseline is tailored to different wants and needs. “I’m extremely vulnerable on solo records, which is a huge thing,” he says. His solo work is about “taking my voice to the extremes that I’ve done — it’s almost the opposite with Authority, which is high intensity, but in a different direction of intensity. It’s different emotions and different registers to push myself always and see what’s the capability.” To some extent, DeVore recognizes that “people might view me differently as a frontman of the band because of it.” However, he just has to do what’s best for him at the moment. “But part of me doesn’t care anymore,” he says. “I think it’s a thing with growing up, and having done this and finding your- self and a peace in who you are without trying to impress anybody and just doing it for yourself. If people want to come along for the ride and they appreciate that, you’re so grateful, but you’re not forcing anybody to be with it for you.” That attitude likely stems from DeVore’s more recent-ish sobriety. It’s certainly had an effect with his work in leading Authority Zero, but it’s a decision that’s really influ- enced and shaped his solo stuff. “There was a little bit of a moment when I had my first year of sobriety, I didn’t tell anybody about it,” DeVore says. “I didn’t tell any of the world, didn’t tell any of the fans of the band, didn’t make it public because it’s my own journey. ... I was doing it for myself, but I also did it for (the fans). To give fans the band they deserve, the frontman they deserve and the voice they believe in and deserve.” At the end of the day, however, DeVore just had to find a new definition of “partying” and celebrating. He says, “We let the other people do the drinking. And I can do that better for them now and let them have a better time. I was a little worried that people would be like, ‘Well, that’s the end of this. That’s the sober guy; he’s not going to have anything cool to say. He’s not going to be fun.’ Rather, it’s the opposite. I want to get out there and live harder and have more fun with you now.” Not drinking has made DeVore Jason DeVore’s new album, “’Til The Voice Goes Out,” is out now. (Photo by Jim Louvau) >> p 32 ▼ Music
