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Fred is Jess; Jess is Fred

Austin, Texas, country singer-songwriter Jess DeMaine (Fred Frieling Jr.’s stage name, his clever adaptation of the saying “just a man”) recorded at Sonobeat studios on North Lamar in Austin, Texas, beginning in November 1971 and continuing, off and on, into 1972. The sessions, produced and engineered by Sonobeat co-founder Bill Josey Sr., demonstrated Jess’ impressive vocal talents. Jess was a frequent spotlight performer, as front man for the The Country Music Revue at Austin’s Dessau Dance Hall and Broken SpokeThe Broken Spoke, on South Lamar, is Austin’s legendary and authentic honky-tonk, whose motto is “Last of the true Texas dancehalls and damn sure proud of it!”. It retains it’s original 1960s decor. For 60 years, the Broken Spoke has hosted almost every major country music star and launched the careers of hundreds of Central Texas country acts. in April 2023, the Texas Historical Commission awarded the Broken Spoke an official Historical Marker, calling the honky-tonk a “cultural treasure”..

Although Jess’ first Sonobeat sessions were in 1971, he recorded additional tracks at Sonobeat in 1972. His minimalist performance – just guitar and vocal – of the Jerry Foster-Bill Rice songs Hand of Hurt and Your Kind of Man certainly showed off his powerful and expressive voice. In one version of Hand of Hurt (recorded with back-up band Tommy Hill and the Country Music Revue, with whom Jess recorded at Sonobeat in 1972), Jess was coached by a band member before launching into the song. Bill Sr. apparently never created mono or stereo mix-downs of Jess’ tracks; only the original half-inch 4-track session master tapes are in the Sonobeat archives.

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A life-changing accident

By the the beginning of 1974, Jess had taken the reins of The Country Music Revue, but in 1975, he left the band and moved to Nashville to record with Mel Tillis. Jess had only been in Nashville a couple of days when, cruising down the highway on his motorcycle, he was shocked to find a coiled snake riding along with him. Losing control of the motorcycle, a devastating crash that followed broke Jess’ back, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. After a hospital stay in Nashville, he returned to Texas to recuperate, using the time to write Love Comes from the Other Side of Town, turned into a hit by country star George Strait, and the children’s song Little Cowpoke. Jess moved back to Austin in the mid-1980’s, founded The Songwriters Studio, and under his real name, Fred Frieling, for years served as director of the Hearts in Spirit band at Christ Lutheran Church. A 1961 graduate of Concordia CollegeFounded in 1926 in Austin, Texas, as a high school affiliate of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. In 1951, the high school upgraded to Concordia College, granting 2-year Associate in Arts degrees. In 1980, Concordia became Concordia University, granting 4-year Bachelor of Arts degrees. It’s now known as Concordia University Texas., that his father and four siblings also attended, in 1991 Jess began part-time work at the College, also joining its Oakwilt Boys band. Fred died September 24, 2021, at age 80, at his home in Manor, Texas.

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