J.D. Graham - Palace West Live (2022)

Jeremy Graham was born in Weatherford, Oklahoma and raised in a Hydro, a small town in central Oklahoma. He fell in love with music listening to his Grandma Babes records collection as a kid which included Debbie Boone and various other Country Gospel albums. His Dad’s music tastes also shaped his love for bands like Mountain, The Eagles and Genesis. “I still remember the 8 track tapes in that old Scout, I can still vividly see the album artwork and hear those melodies.”

His family moved to Yukon, Oklahoma (a suburb of Oklahoma City) when he was in the 6th grade. His musical tastes dramatically changed as a result of his surroundings. “I got turned on to a few metal albums and knew I wanted a guitar. My Mom got me guitar and I sat in my bedroom getting stoned and learning every Slayer, Testament and Megadeth song I could. I was fascinated by the technical guitar playing.”

He continued playing Death Metal with his close friends on and off for years. His first child was born when he was 17 and it was time to grow up real quick. He struggled with panic attacks and anxiety from an early age and he started looking for something to “calm him down.” He quickly started smoking a lot of pot and popping pills. This addiction would continue to grow out of control and lead to divorce and repeated trouble with the law.

He remarried 2005 but still had not divorced his addiction to pills. He left Oklahoma for Arizona in 2007 shortly after a 3 month stay in Denton County Jail in Texas. He found a job in Phoenix wrenching on Air Conditioners and Refrigeration and moved his wife and her daughter to Gilbert, Arizona. He was tired of playing metal and wanted to try his hand at writing songs and singing. He began to writing songs and playing them with some friends in the Phoenix area. He started a full-time band (Sour Diesel Trainwreck) and they began recording and touring. Although they had some success nationally, his addiction seemed to always get in the way. His songs in the Sour Diesel days were a reflection of his active addiction and reckless living. “Looking back, I don’t know how in the hell those guys put up with me in a daily basis because I was completely out of control.” He made some connections in Mexico and frequently traveled south of the border to the “Pharmacia.” His life was unraveling.

In 2015, his life would forever change. He was involved in a car accident that took the life of another man. “I was an idiot, I had taken pills and smoked weed that morning and although I wasn’t “high” that evening by my standards, I certainly was not sober.” He was charged with Aggravated Manslaughter and the Band decided to call it quits. “We all knew what was coming and I applaud those guys for hanging around as long as they did. I was a walking disaster.”

He was in and out of rehab while going through the legal process but still couldn’t stop his addiction. “After the accident, I hated myself and had no desire to live. My drug use was supercharged. That was the worst year of my life. I didn’t just hit the bottom; I dove towards it I bounced off the other side.”

He eventually pled guilty and was sentenced to 6 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections. “I was scared, ashamed, depressed and full of anxiety but I was finally ready to face my demons head on. One of us wasn’t making it out of prison and at the time I honestly didn’t know which one was gonna die.”

While incarcerated, he helped to implement a successful music education program and worked as a music teacher for 45 cents an hour. He was writing songs while sober for the first time and working around the clock on his craft and sorting through the hell he had created as an addict while working on his relationship with Jesus. He was granted permission to record a few songs behind the walls when administration heard the message of hope in the songs he was writing and believed they could have a positive impact. He released “Razorwire Sunrise” from prison in 2018 recorded by his longtime friend and band mate Duane Woods from Pyramix Studios. The Warden gave them 3 hrs. in an empty visitation room with two prison guards. “It was crazy, the yard was still mostly locked down due to a riot, they came and got me from my cell and took me to the chapel to get a couple of guitars and escorted me to visitation. I’m not sure I was ready record that day with everything that was going on around me. The album was recorded with single takes and isn’t perfect but I was trying to get a message of hope out there with the song Razorwire Sunrise.” He was singing and playing guitar in the Worship team for both English and Spanish speaking services. “I never dreamed in a million years there would be instruments in prison, it was truly a blessing.”

He was transferred to a minimum-security yard 4 days after the recording where he continued to teach music and helped create the arguably the most successful music education program in the AZDOC. With the help of his good friend and former manager Dolores, they successfully facilitated almost 20k in instruments and equipment for the music education program. Jeremy taught hundreds of men how to play guitar, sing, write songs and how to express themselves through music in a dark and violent environment. “I was in the darkest pits of hell with the most broken men the world has to offer and watched music save them with my own eyes. It’s one of the most powerful elements in the universe. It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done to this day.” The music program is still going strong as he helped groom the next wave of teachers before he got out by combining responsible behavior, accountability and work ethic in his curriculum. “It was hard sometimes, holding guys accountable in that environment for showing up on time and doing their homework. We had a 1 year waiting list for guitar class at one point and I had to make sure the guys in the class were taking it seriously. If they weren’t, they were removed from class and placed at the end of the waiting list. I was teaching 5-6 classes a week with 8 to 10 guys. We didn’t have enough guitars for more students. It’s hard teaching one person let alone 10 guys at once wearing orange that aren’t used to being held accountable, but I had to stand firm in the face of repeated “confrontations” because I saw the endgame. I made an emotional investment and commitment to every one of my students and I love them all to this day.”

Jeremy continues to put his faith and trust in God and live life on life’s terms. He has been out of prison since February 22,2022. “I often wondered what my release date 2/22/2022 meant for me and all I could come up with is God was giving me all my second chances at once and I better not screw it up. I hate to think of what would happen if I took this experience for granted, prison was one of the best experiences of my life.” He continues his path fueled by faith, redemption and sobriety, writing poignant songs about his journey both past and present. “My brother asked me what the goal was with my music and I told him connection, whether that was talking to someone struggling on a barstool after a show or telling my story through a song to a crowd of people and reaching a stranger’s heart. Human connection is all I want; I think it’s why we’re all here.”