Review Fix Exclusive: Jerry Thomas Talks James Thomas Band’s ’The Loves of My Life’ And More 

Review Fix that’s with The James Thomas Band’s Jerry Thomas, who lets us know all about their creative process and goals for the rest of 2019 and 2020. 
Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?
Jerry Thomas: When I was young I was switched from being left handed and made to become right handed by my parents.
This process caused me to develop a horrible stutter in my speech. I had an uncle that encouraged me to sing out my words.
When I did sing my stutter was gone. I did talk very little because of my stutter. So singing became an avenue that I used
to communicate to the world around me.
Review Fix: What makes you unique?
Thomas: Well I think everyone on this earth is unique. There are those who can sense people’s emotions and thoughts then transpose those feelings and thoughts into words and music. I have studied people my whole life.
It’s all about communication. And if I can tell a great story in the process then I have been successful.
Review Fix: What are your goals in music?
Thomas: I would love to bring people back to communicating on a more personal level.
With the abundance of social media we seem to be just talking at each other.
Instead of bringing people together, we are building barriers to isolate ourselves.
I can remember a time when people used to sit down and talked to one another.
My greatest goal is to show people thru my music, that we are all alike and we all have the same hopes, dreams  and fears.
Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?
Thomas: Well being born in the South I have had multiple musical influences.
We as a band bring modern jazz, Memphis blues, Country Rock,
Motown, R&B, Country ballads, Southern Gospel, Southern Rock and as a songwriter I was deeply influenced by the storytelling of my first musical hero, Hank Williams.
My greatest regret is that I wasn’t around during Hank Williams‘ career. I would have like to see him perform in person. But as a songwriter, I can appreciate his process of telling solid stories in his unconventional music style.
I believe it was a great injustice that Hank was not appreciated for the innovation he brought to country music. Hank’s rockabilly outlaw music paved the way for not only Elvis Presley but transformed modern country music from it’s hillbilly roots.
Review Fix: What makes the soul music special?
Thomas: If you are referring to my Northern Soul or blue-eyed soul style of singing, I would say I was influenced by Northern Soul singers  Robert Plant and Steve Winwood. I loved their progressive rock,  rhythm and blues, blues rock, pop rock, and jazz styles with the upbeat tempo. I have taken the formal English blues song and brought it back to America in it’s fullest expression.
Review Fix: Who will enjoy this album the most?
Thomas: I think the younger generation of music lovers today are seeking authentic unmanufactured music. They are looking for honesty and an emotional connection.
What really amazes me is that they are looking for quality over quantity. Kids now days can tell who is bullshitting at making music and expressing themselves. They want real experiences and honest communication.
Review Fix: What makes this album special?
Thomas: Our album, “The Loves Of My Life” doesn’t have a B track on it. Every song can stand on it’s on feet, so to speak. Every song was crafted to be the best song on the album.
I think it’s the attention to detail that we put in every bar and note with its effect on the lyrics and melody line, that makes this album stand special.
Review Fix: What’s the standout track? How was it written?
Thomas: I believe most people will say that “Eileen” is the stand out track.
With it being first track released of this album it will be naturally regarded
as the most remembered.
“Eileen” has a broad appeal in many genres. I think Country Music radio stations will like to play it because like a great Hank Williams song, it tells a story.
And what is amazing, it’s a true story.
“Eileen” was one of the first songs that I wrote. I was in high school when I read in our local newspaper about a Duke University co-ed, whose first name was Eileen.
She was in downtown Durham, North Carolina where she got distracted, stepped off the curb and did not notice a garbage truck running a red light.
The garbage truck hit her and killed her instantly. Every day that week, the local newspaper featured Eileen’s short life with her academic accomplishments and her career goals if she would have graduated.
I was seventeen at the time and very impressionable. I was a singer in the school choir as well as in various local bands.
The last article about Eileen, was about the fact she had the voice of an angel.
That broke my heart and the only way for me to get over it was to write this song about Eileen.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Thomas: We are assembling fellow studio musicians to perform these new songs in front of audiences here in the south. There are three core musicians and myself involved in recording this album.
To bring these songs to a live audience we will need about five more very talented
musicians to perform these songs to their premium level.
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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14260 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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