J Dewveall

SLAVE OWNER'S GOSPEL: Listen and Watch the Music Video

“Slave Owner's Gospel" is a journey through the messy history of the American Church and racism, from the times of slavery to Jim Crow and the civil rights era, then into…

I keep singing them sad, sad songs. Always have, always will. I know that sad songs don’t speak to everyone, at least not musically, but they speak to me. Why? I can’t exactly put my finger on it. It’s something…

I'm not really into Christmas, haven't been for 20 years or more. The reasons have changed over time, but my ambivalence about the holiday has remained steadfast. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Christmas. I still participate in many…

Back pockets exist for days like today. My schedule has been very hectic over the past few months and, sadly, the free monthly music blog has not been getting the attention I would prefer to give it. Still, I'm really…

My friend Jason is often joking around about how I'm just a Goo Goo Dolls cover band. I can't tell you how many times he has thrown out Goo Goo Dolls' song requests to me, knowing that hell would probably…

Every now and then, I sit down to write a song and something just flows out of me. Usually, I spend weeks, months, or even years reflecting on ideas and melodies, writing and re-writing until I’m somewhat satisfied with what…

Waves of amber and a lack of majesty
Sinking into a shining sea of blood 
A sparking ember, I’ll roll up my sleeves|
Shake the dust off of my feet and love 

Please remember why I’ve come 
Please remember what…

Summer is here and Nashville is abuzz with talk of live music. I must admit that I’m a little jealous of the friends who are already out playing shows again and I can’t wait to actually get out on a…

1. Let The Mystery Be by Iris DeMent

2. What is Process Thought? by Jay McDaniel

I wish I had this book a decade ago when I first started diving into Process. If you're at all interested in Process, I…

Happiness comes in many forms. Today, my joy takes the shape of Sun Tiger, the brainchild of my 8-year-old daughter, Vada, and her vivid imagination.

She wrote the lyrics, sang, AND played the drums on this song! My heart is…

It isn’t often that I look back on the older songs I’ve written. This is due, in part, to the fact that I don’t carry the curse of popularity and I’m not constantly asked…

In our early days of parenthood, Melanie and I loved singing lullabies to our daughter at bedtime. Most nights involved me playing guitar and picking my way through some song that we had deemed important for her little ears to…