JIM WARD
Jim Ward is a journeyman. From the iconic post-hardcore group At The Drive-In to Sparta, his alt-country project, Sleepercar and through to his current incarnation. Never one to stop learning, experimenting and using the building blocks of each experience to construct an illustrious career, Jim has woven a rich and full life from a kaleidoscope of experiences. As Jim declares “I have loved and lived ferociously, and will continue to do so until I die.” Some twenty five years on and with a back catalogue that would be the envy of any musician, the creative flame that burns within is as strong as it ever has been as Jim brings to the world his latest record, Daggers.
An album that is fuelled by an optimism and positivity despite numerous obstacles and personal challenges. At its core the record stands as a testament to the highest of ideals and most venerable aspirations. It is with a firm moral compass that Jim comments on what is essentially his eternal focus in that “I hope that I can keep growing as a human and be kinder and more understanding - that is all I want to convey in music is love and life and goodness”. Such admirable goals are not ones that necessary come easily and without requiring constant vigilance in the face of so much negativity. As Jim openly describes “I tend to live in the darker part of emotions, I have battled anxiety and depression like a lot of people and have found that making music is a life saver for me.” An insight that shows not just a personal vulnerability but an empathy for the human condition and awareness of the ravages that can come from fragile mental states and the pressures of the wider world.
That heightened alertness to the wafer thin edge between sanity and sanctity, struggle and capitulation is reiterated when “I think if I had wallowed in the misery and fear- I would have been in a very bad place”. A statement that captures the moment and sentiment between acknowledging the emotional and psychological state one is in and the fight required to hold at bay the tide of disquiet and melancholy that lurks within. For these reasons it was why making Daggers was a “necessity”. The necessity that Jim alludes to is in part to combat the crippling effects that anxiety and depression that anyone is susceptible to but in particular to the conditions around the time of its creation, namely the global pandemic. “I wrote the entire record in about three weeks, there was definitely a need to make music that would ease my anxiety and fear about the situation we were all living through. It started as a nightly meditation with my guitar and within a few days turned into a record. It was unintentional, I only meant to practice as my own way of maintaining mental health. It turns out when the world is bat shit crazy, I make more hopeful music than in normal time, it is weird.”
Enquiring as to whether creating the album on a personal level was a cathartic experience, Jim states that “the strangest part is that it ended up being made quickly, with very good friends, without ever leaving my house. I was never once in a room with anyone, still haven’t been actually but that music connection/phone calls/emailing tracks back and forth really kept me afloat when I could’ve easily been adrift.” Musicians often record in unusual or difficult situations but during a global lock down it was an entirely new one for everyone concerned so to hear Jim’s opinion regarding pandemic recording processes versus what he has previously encountered throughout his career is an interesting one. “I think because it was a “solo” album, which just means my name is on it and I made final decisions, but it took many people to make so, not really solo- but either way, I think that because I was able to give people the freedom to do as they wished, I very rarely directed anything specifically (everyone on this record is a monster musician, so no need to direct) and had no one to question what I was doing, made it a little easier to work in this environment. There was no one that was going to be upset by my choices, just me to answer for it at the end of the day was kind of freeing.” It was with some old friends; Incubus bassist Ben Kenney and Thursday drummer Tucker Rule that the record came together. Learning exactly what Ben and Tucker each brought to the recording table was a typically Jim Ward approach in that “I didn’t ask them to do anything other than what they felt. We were all boxed up in our houses, we all just wanted to make music with our friends and there were no expectations so it was very honest and sincere.”
That openness and creative freedom leads to understanding Jim’s own processes and learning how for him personally the sequence of creation unfolds. Going from that moment when the creative spark ignites, wrestling that intangible quality into a sonic entity and ultimately laying it down on tape, “I almost always write later at night with an electric guitar unplugged, so it has developed my style because I need to play big open chords to really get a sound that way. When I pick up a guitar, it either happens right away or I put it down, I don’t practice my songs or learn other peoples or learn scales and anything of the sort. I just use guitars to get what is somewhere in me, out. Once an idea is born, I plant it and keep checking back, watering it, trimming it until it is a full grown musical piece- then I write vocals and lyrics”. An approach that is rooted in a much earlier time in Jim’s career during his Sparta days whereby producer David Garza sagely instructed Jim “to trust the river, the river is your musical journey and there will be fast parts and slow parts, sometimes you get caught up in the trees or your raft sinks, but you have to trust the river will deliver you to your destination. I love that, I named the record that because it is so fitting.” It is insights like this that really start to paint the picture of Jim Ward, his processes, experiences, inner thoughts and world view.
Every experience, every moment and “every day has been a piece of the puzzle that is today, I couldn’t begin to separate or figure out what came from where or how. I am so deeply grateful to have had the experiences in my life- I say this often but it is totally true, if everything stopped right now for me, I have had a great life.” This the ultimate statement from a man who unashamedly battles those inner demons daily, to profoundly and stoically rail against those negatives and in turn offer to the world music that is defiant, strong, loving and energising. It extends beyond the current climate of Covid and into the ages as truly universal music that has a global message, one that speaks a common denominator and is soul food that Jim has grown and tendered to for us all.
As Jim mentions when recalling some of those first shows he ever played in places like L.A. and countries like Japan “the idea that a kid from El Paso was part of something that had fought its way to these cities left me speechless. I am most proud of the journey, not the destination with this life.” A journey that continues and with his latest record Daggers, it becomes one more stone laid down in the enduring path that Jim has carved out for himself to live by and for the rest of us to enjoy. As the journey for Jim continues and knowing just how fundamental music is to his existence, he offers the most befitting comment of all in answer to the question; what does music give you that nothing else does?, that being, “unguarded & unconditional love”. A sentiment that radiates from every fibre of his being and of which is encapsulated in every track of the album that he has gifted to the world.
