JD Graham on Exercising Moderation and Working Towards a Goal

Tell us about your tour vehicle.

Years ago when I was out with a band, we were packed in a Ford F-250 crew cab pulling a U-Haul trailer. We had a luxury of leasing a Mercedes Sprinter van for a couple of runs. These days I’m rollin’ mostly solo and usually rent a small SUV for the longer runs.

How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?

A lot of the places I play feed me and I’m super grateful for that. As far as healthy eating, I try to exercise moderation.

How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?

I change strings after every 3 shows. I like new strings. It’s been a while since I’ve broken one.

Where do you rehearse?

I have a music room in my house that I have set up pretty cool. I tried to build a creative space that I could do a lot of writing in. Back in the band days, we had a place we rented and there were around 20 other bands in the building. I could write a book about the things that went on there. It was a little wild.

What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?

“Lost”

I stare at the sky to guide my way
I’m lost in the sun that never fades
My eyes are gettin’ heavy as the sun goes down
Maybe tomorrow I’ll find another town

Describe your first gig.

I was a bass player in a speed metal band way back in the day in Oklahoma. I can’t remember the name of the venue, but we opened for Kataklysm. I got tired of playing metal and stuck my feet in the water of songwriting when I was 30. My first gig in that world was at Smokey’s Bar and Grill in Mesa, Arizona. I played 2 of my songs and a few covers. There were less than 10 people in the room, but I felt like I was playing Madison Square Garden.

What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?

Thankfully I get to play music and share my story of redemption through song these days. I’ve also worked on air conditioning most of my life and still dabble in that world to make ends meet from time to time.

How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?

Now that I’m over 6 years clean and sober, I’m making more money than I ever have playing. I am more focused and constantly on the grind. Looking back, I don’t know how I functioned before I got sober. As far as the future, I have no clue what it holds. I will continue to write songs about my life and play them to whoever will listen. Some of the coolest things I’ve ever done didn’t pay a dime.

What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?

I wish I had invested in my music career a little earlier. Playing for a living is hard work and requires an insane work ethic and a lot of sacrifice. My buddy Ryan Culwell said ‘nobody’s comin’ for us,’ and it’s true. You have to relentlessly work towards you goal. No one will work harder for you than you.

Graham grew up in Yukon, Oklahoma where he spent the first 30 years of his life developing his skills in hostility and perfected duplicity. An anxiety disorder at the age of 11 introduced him to the wonderful world of drugs when he was prescribed valium, and by age 15 he was raiding every medicine cabinet he could find. By 18 he was a bona fide seller skilled in the art of harvesting multiple doctor prescriptions, and in the scientific breakdown of exactly how much drugs his body could take each day. By young adulthood Graham was deep into his addiction as well as his angst, which he showcased through reckless living and slinging guitar in several death metal bands. In 2010 he morphed into a more southern rock sound with his band Sour Diesel Train Wreck and released an album in 2012 to some national success and shared stages with Reckless Kelly, Stoney Larue, Cody Canada and The Departed, Jason Boland, Turnpike Troubadours, Shooter Jennings and Molly Hatchet. In true coming of age fashion, Graham met some new people and started going to shows and open mics. His introduction to bands/artists like Cross Canadian Ragweed, Brandon Jenkins and Jason Isbell started to calm the waters a bit by the sheer impact of the truth in their writing. Their willingness to lyrically “bare the soul” hit Graham deep, and that influence mixed with a lifetime of much needed confession cast its spell, and his inner songwriter was born.

In 2007 Graham relocated to Arizona, and 10 years later a catastrophic car accident dealt him a 5-year prison sentence and a last chance to salvage his soul. Still the loyal addict, he pursued the score for drugs in the pen purchasing $500 in pills on his second day there, pills that were never delivered. Instead, Graham was delivered when some church folks visited him in his cell to ask about his music. He resolutely acknowledged that God was most definitely at work in his life, and at that point he made a decision to stop drugs forever. With only his refection staring back at him in a dark cell and his mind uncluttered for the first time in 25 years, Graham’s long burdened conscience began to speak, and by the time those confessions all had their say he had written 160 songs. His first ever sober writings, Graham made history at the Arizona State Prison when he was allowed to record his first album Razor Wire Sunrise. The title-track was the first song he wrote in prison inspired by the view from his cell each morning and all the decisions that got him there. By the time Graham walked out a free man 5 years later, he had left behind a deep impact on the community there in the form of a very successful music program he started that is still being taught today. With an actual curriculum and over $20,000 in donations, the program sparked a year and a half waiting list for classes.

A Pound of Rust, his latest album, was released on 23 June. Connect with Graham online and on the road.