This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jake Thomas may now live and work in San Antonio, but he's unquestionably a Utahn.
He's a graduate of Mountain View High School. He roamed from Orem to Ogden playing in such notable local bands as London Bridge and Quite Frankly. He's the son of local music legend Steve Thomas, known both for fronting The Todes and St. Thomas Axis, and for his time as program director of Provo radio station KEYY.
So even if Jake Thomas no longer calls Utah his home, this Monday's show at The Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City with his new band, JT Bevy, is still very much a homecoming.
"Lots of family and friends," Thomas predicted for the set in a phone interview with The Tribune.
Including, most important, some right onstage with him.
He's particularly thrilled that the JT Bevy lineup for this brief tour has included his 26-year-old son, Tyler, on drums, and his sister, Megan X Thomas — best known as part of New York-based all-female tribute band Lez Zeppelin, and also briefly as a touring member of a certain metal band that shall remain, ahem, nameless — on bass.
"Normally, she's not [in JT Bevy]. She's in New York, she's lived in New York for the last 12 years. … She just happened to have a little time period off. She just got off a major tour with another band," Thomas said. "So I called her and said, 'Hey, I think I wanna do this. Do you have a couple weeks you can do a little tour with me?' And she said yeah, so we're doing it."
The inspiration for it came about because Jake Thomas and his Bevy bandmates just released their debut EP, "Madness," in April.
Music has long been an important part of Thomas' life — "I grew up in the music thing," he said. "I don't ever remember not having music around." In addition to playing in various bands over the years, he's dabbled in recording and producing other small acts.
Somewhat paradoxically, moving to Texas four years ago to focus on his full-time gig in real estate eventually wound up opening the door for him to re-enter the world of music.
"[I] just never thought I would actually sit down to do a project. But I've got the time and the money, I guess, right now to do it. It's kind of an expensive hobby!" he joked. "And so I thought I would just put something together and put it out there for myself. … It's just a passion I've always wanted to fill, and so we're doing it."
If limited to a singular categorization, "Madness" would probably exist under the umbrella of alt-rock. That's its realistic starting point, anyway.
But what are starting points if not spots for divergences to take place? As Thomas' website proudly proclaims, his music has "shades of electronic, rap, classic and pop country rock. You could say it's a mix of Blink 182, Linkin Park meets Incubus, Neon Trees and Fall Out Boy with a touch of Foo Fighters meets Keith Urban.
"I've always been really diversified in my music likings. Especially playing in Quite Frankly and London Bridge — they were cover bands, and we played any song that was in the top 10, it didn't matter if it was rap or metal or whatever it was. So I've always had that background behind me," he said. "And working in studios, I've recorded and produced people that were rap all the way through to country music. And so I'm just a total fan of music, it doesn't have to be a certain genre. … I don't have any preference of style, it's just whoever writes good songs is who I'm excited to listen to. That's kinda how I put together the EP — whatever came out, that's what came out."
As for the songs' subject matter, "Every big rock band has their sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll music, and this may touch on that a little bit, but more so I wanted it to be uplifting and in a positive light," Thomas said.
He's already "about half done" with his next EP and believes his new songs "are stronger than the ones on this EP."
He's well-aware he's not destined for superstardom, wryly noting, "I'm old enough to have my 26-year-old playing drums for me." But that's not the point.
Can this EP and the next one do well enough to make JT Bevy anything more than that aforementioned "expensive hobby"?
Maybe. Maybe not.
"Either way, I'll always continue to do it for fun," he said. His longer-term plan entails "opening a studio and recording and producing other bands, for sure, on a regular basis."
But that's down the road. For now, he's just focusing on this tour, and its finale in the friendliest of confines.
He knows there'll be old friends and fans there. Now, he's just hoping he can make a few new ones.
"This isn't a band of a bunch of people showing off onstage in how good they can play — this is a group of people who grew up with music around us and who believe music is a celebration," he said. "Everybody in the room gets to enjoy that and celebrate it. It really is just gonna be a good time with a whole bunch of people having fun and singing along."
Twitter: @esotericwalden —
With Color Animal, Van Moon
When • Monday, May 29, 8 p.m.
Where • The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City
Tickets • Free