The Velvet Jones (is DEAD, stop adding us) profile picture

The Velvet Jones (is DEAD, stop adding us)

About Me

The Velvet Jones delivered a brand of music that fused organic acoustic rhythms with edgy electrifying melodies. Founded in 2000, as a power trio made up of lead singer/acoustic guitar player Nick Applewhite, Michael Pratt on bass, and drummer/percussionist Rudy Flores, the band has steadily evolved as membership has fluctuated. By December 2001, Jason Thomas, the electric guitar and keyboard player who originally dubbed the band before the group was solidified, rejoined the family Jones after moving back from San Diego. Returning from a hiatus in April of 2005, Michael Pratt pulled double duty during his tenure with the band Gnosis and came back into the fold, reuniting the original lineup of The Velvet Jones. In the band’s final incarnation, the sound encompassed blues, folk, rock, funk, latin beats, and jam band elements. Many experienced the smooth resonance of The Velvet Jones at a variety of northern California nightspots, and online on that lovely addiction called Myspace. The greatly anticipated single was due and the long-awaited debut album should have been released in 2008. Alas, through a brutal balance of perfectionism and underachievement (and having a venomous, bitter little man steal our first attempted album tracks and studio), The Velvet Jones died as it lived in a haze of excuses and frustration with nothing to show for it but lots of laughs, friends, and liver trauma. Good times, good times.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 02/05/2005
Band Members: JASON THOMAS (keyboards, electric guitar), MICHAEL PRATT (bass guitar, eventual theremin), RUDY FLORES (drums, percussion, MC), NICHOLAS APPLEWHITE (acoustic guitar, vocals/incessant babbling), MATT PINDER (electric guitar and backing vocals; most of the time, that is)Electric guitars on the studio recordings by Joe Menegus II Society.
Influences: As a band, we are influenced by life itself, and the hurdles of life (such as being in this group).Individual band member influences:Michael Pratt: I wish I had the talent that James Jamerson had in his toenail clippings, he’s the man, hand’s down. Don’t get me started on Jamerson unless you want a James Jamerson lovefest; other more direct influences include John Entwistle, Flea, John Paul Jones, Robert DeLeo, Radiohead, Les Claypool, Drew Roulette of Dredg, O.G. Nintendo, Joe Menegus, Tye Zamora from Alien Ant Farm, and Duff.Nicholas Applewhite: Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young.Rudy Flores: George Clinton and Big R aka Rudy Flores Sr.Jason Thomas: Bowie, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Keef, The Black Crowes, Izzy Stradlin’, Beatles, and The Doors.
Sounds Like: The Wu-Tang Clan (Iron Flag era) mixed with Pavarotti and a dash of the Gap Band. OK, not so much, but we're along the lines of Cake/Jack Johnson jamming with Pink Floyd...........AND EAZY-E! Alright, the Eazy-E part isn't true, either. I can't lie to you, baby.
Record Label: Somebody sign us, I'm tired of Ramen.

My Blog

TO ALL OF OUR PEOPLE:

These next couple shows will be the last with The Jones line-up as you know it. I honestly hope to see everybody that’s brought us joy on stage, at bars, and in circles passing various ...
Posted by on Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:01:00 GMT

The Single Drops

Nixl Rose has proclaimed that we're looking to have the single out by May 5th at the absolute latest. We sure overshot that hopeful Christmas release date, didn't we? So, that said, if we don't have n...
Posted by on Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:00:00 GMT

GERALD LEVERT DIED, and I had no idea.

One of the great voices of our generation has died.   And I JUST found out.   Why wasn't this all over the news? I know the blood type of Britney's trailor spawn and news of a massive loss...
Posted by on Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:08:00 GMT

Studio Tracking, Day Two

Cheers to Nick and Rudy for handling they shit. We now have drum tracks for 13 songs; so, you know what that means.   WE GOT AN ALBUM, SON!   But, Jeers to their poor phone skills. I sat ar...
Posted by on Sun, 01 Oct 2006 22:47:00 GMT

Studio Tracking, Day One

WE ARE ALL THAT IS MAN! We went into the Insane Productions studio in Sacramento Friday to set up drums and dial in tones for tracking. At best, I thought we would've gotten our drum tones nailed and ...
Posted by on Sat, 30 Sep 2006 20:41:00 GMT

the NEW new record

So, FINALLY, everything is in place to record tracks for a new demo/possible EP/possible album that will replace the album tracks we "lost" recently this spring. We'll be recording the drum tracks at ...
Posted by on Wed, 23 Aug 2006 04:35:00 GMT

Good news, bad news?

OK, so I'm looking at things with ther glass half-full these days, so here's the good news first:Rudy's baby's mama had their son sometime just before Christmas. Some friend I am right, "Hell, I don't...
Posted by on Fri, 06 Jan 2006 23:52:00 GMT

FUCK ALL, PEOPLE, GET A DAMN HOBBY ALREADY!

It's time we stop with the retarded bulletins. The repost this shite or you'll have bad luck bulletins? It's a damn chain letter. They weren't fun decades ago, they sure as hell aren't fun in their in...
Posted by on Thu, 11 Aug 2005 01:14:00 GMT

Patience Grasshoppers...

So, we finally got some freakin' songs on here. Better late than never. 3 of 4 songs are with Matt Pinder from their 2003 sessions. The only thing I play bass on is a very ancient version of (and my f...
Posted by on Thu, 26 May 2005 14:49:00 GMT

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, NIGHT!!!!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, NIGHT!!!!Holed up in Jonestown Studios drinking something a little stronger than Kool-Aid (Purple of course). Trying toA)upload tunes to one'these newfangled pagesB)work on shiny new ...
Posted by on Sat, 07 May 2005 20:10:00 GMT