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Photography by Brittany Feenstra
The music scene here in Phoenix (though a bit fractured) is diverse and rich. Phoenix’s venues are on par with those of LA or New York. So why is it so tricky for bands to develop deep roots here? Why do so many artists feel it necessary to venture elsewhere to break? We have all the ingredients for an arts hub here in the Valley, but there are unique challenges that have made our city, in some respects, difficult to “make it” in.
The city’s most ubiquitous example of a breakout success is beloved alt-rock staple Jimmy Eat World. Currently touring on the heels of their 9th studio album, a wealth of classic records under their belt, and fresh off the release of two new tracks “Love Never” and “Half Heart”, there’s no sign of them slowing. While the band has come a long way from their Mesa, AZ start, what’s slightly more intriguing, perhaps, is how close they’ve stayed.
Frontman Jim Adkins is a busy guy. In between sets in Europe, he was kind enough to share some thoughts. I wanted to know what the scene was like when they first started. How has it changed? What does he think Phoenix could do to better cultivate the arts? What does he miss from home when he’s across the globe?
MLP: Is it true that all the Jimmy Eat World guys grew up together in the Valley? Were you all from Mesa?
JCA: Yeah. We all are K-12 Mesa kids. Actually, our drummer Zach's mom was his and my preschool teacher. Zach and I grew up in the Mt. View high school side and Tom and Rick were on the Westwood side of the city.
MLP: Can you walk us through the moment/ event that first inspired you to becoming a musician?
JCA: My dad played guitar. So I remember music always being around as a little guy. Probably what made me want to really learn music was early '80s MTV. Watching stuff like the wall of water in The Reflex video or the beyond thunderdome vibe of Rock You Like A Hurricane. Or maybe even Rock of Ages where there's these rocker guys and then one of them is cruising around with a glowing sword... bad ass.
MLP: You've toured the world many times over, but do you recall what your first gig was like? Was it at an AZ venue? If so, which one? What do you remember most about it?
JCA: Our first show was in the back of the used clothing store Name Brand Exchange. It was by Fiesta Mall sort of. I don't remember how we got invited to play. It might have been an owner or partner's kid who was throwing a party. That is what most of our early shows were like, just spaces that kids took over and had bands play. Most only lasted about 8 months tops before getting shut down.
MLP: You’ve referenced local staples like Casey Moore’s & Sky Harbor in your songs... What venues or hangs did you spend most of your time growing up? Is there one spot that’s perhaps no longer around - that you miss most?
JCA: The one that jumps out right away is the old Nita's Hideaway. Nita's and Modified were the scene hubs for me and the people I hung out with. They were the incubators for developing musicians to mix ideas, collaborate and hang.
MLP: Can you put into words what the music scene was like here in Phoenix when you started out?
JCA: Generally it is a lot like it is now. Good people doing great work in spread out and smaller pockets of mini-scenes. Difficult to rally the connection and wide based support to break out of the host-scene. It would have been rare if any local band drew more than a thousand people. Things I was into and involved with on the east side were probably not on the radar of anyone in Phoenix proper or even Tempe. A part of that was also due to when they changed the venue alcohol laws. There was a time where every venue, even small bars were all ages/bar with ID. When they changed it to only allowing under age kids in if a venue was over a certain size or sold a certain amount of food vs booze most places turned into pure 21 and over. It just wasn't worth it for most places to offer a fenced off area for under 21 to attend live music. That limited the places we could put on shows. You really had to embrace the DIY ethos if you wanted to do anything at all.
MLP: How is it different now?
JCA: I'm so busy working on our stuff and touring that it's harder to keep up with what is happening. I'm not sure where the small, developing musician incubator/scene hubs are. Crescent/Valley Bar and Rebel Lounge are close. And Trunk Space. One thing I have noticed, and it isn't an AZ specific thing but more of a general music thing... people put way too much effort into self promotion. You are never going to win over everyone so spending writing time trying to master all social media is pointless. The fundamentals of how people make a real connection with your work is by getting in front of them and melting faces. And you only get better at playing by playing.
MLP: Do people ask you what AZ music is like when you’re on the road? What do you tell them?
JCA: Sometimes I do get asked that. I tell them it is great for creativity. But no one cares. Which is a mixed bag because you can do something ambitious exactly your way if you want, and see it realized. But like I said before, hard to rally the support to break out. You have to be in it for pure reasons because that is the only real reward you have guaranteed.
MLP: You could’ve left AZ a long time ago. You could’ve claimed another city of origin a la many a successful AZ bands. Why didn't you?
JCA: Where am I going to go? LA? NYC? What am I going to be able to do there that I can't here? Plus, we travel so much anyway we get to experience the best of what other places offer anyway without having to stay too long.
MLP: What do you love about the Phoenix arts landscape?
JCA: The mixed bag of support vs difficult breakout potential makes for an environment where the people working in art are doing it for pure reasons.
MLP: What’s your hope for the future of Phoenix? In what ways would you like to see it grow?
JCA: I think it has no choice but TO grow. I only hope it happens the right way. Tempe really messed up when it went for growth by eliminating the unique character that drew people there in the first place. ARTS! It is only now somewhat recovering. Whatever your take on the old Tempe scene, Long Wongs was one of those incubator-potential places. A dirt lot is really doing so much better for the local music identity there? Not meaning to kick people when they are down here, I know everyone realizes that mistake of turning Mill Ave inside out. But it's a warning other expanding municipalities shouldn't forget. Big investment can backfire if you aren't protecting the thing that makes it special. Maybe the thing to do is look a slightly more developed arts scene. Maybe a pace like Austin. Consider their history of growth and take in their mistakes and their solutions. Phoenix needs to stop the development of the 4-5 story faux art-lofts in favor of high-density projects. Maybe that isn't possible with flight paths but that's a big difference I can see right off the bat with us and a place like Austin. More people means more exposure. And also more personal ownership over the community's development as a whole. The thing I would really love to see in development is purposely leaving some room for future self-empowerment of arts.
MLP: What do you miss most back home when you’re on the road?
JCA: Mexican food. If you are traveling, especially overseas, just stay away from anything "Mexican". It will bum you out.
MLP: What's one haunt you'd recommend to a Phoenix visitor?
JCA: Maybe Crescent Ballroom. Great food and always hang potential. Also music discovery potential.
MLP: Do you have any crazy tales / experiences from the Phoenix music world that you'd be willing to share? The weirder the better.
JCA: When you think about it, the whole endeavor is pretty weird.
Phoenix has grown a ton over the last few decades. During Jimmy Eat World’s formative years the city saw nearly 30% growth. Now we’re ranked 5th largest in the country. The arts community has grown too, just perhaps not on such an obvious trajectory. While there have been some moves in the right direction amid the rise, there have been some missteps in preserving and building up the music scene. Somehow, many of the same isolation issues from the late 90’s persist in 2018. Like Jim said, Phoenix is full of “Good people doing great work in spread out and smaller pockets of mini-scenes. Difficult to rally the connection and wide based support to break out of the host-scene.”
We want to do our part to help fix that. We want to help facilitate those connections. It’s hard to keep up with everything that’s going on, and even harder when those things are outside our immediate circle. With Gila, our goal is to shine a spotlight on what’s happening. We want you to know about all the amazing art that’s being made. We want you to be here.