John Jones profile picture

John Jones

About Me

John Jones' whole life has been centered around music. He heard The Beatles and Rufus & Chaka Khan from the time he was born. He had his first record player at age two. His first records? Not Mary Had a Little Lamb or Sesame Street...try The Ronettes, Beach Boys, and Heart. He started studying piano at age nine. After a pre-teen fling with Top 40 pop, he discovered R&B and jazz in high school, and shifted his piano training to classical. His 20's and 30's led him to electronica as well as the singer-songwriter movement of the 60's and 70's. These days, his influences are so varied, the best genre John can come up with for his music is...well, "music."After the triumph of R&B diva Maysa recording his ballad "Everything" for her 2002 album "Out of the Blue," John's songwriting muse started working overtime: his catalog of originals is nearing the 50-song mark. A dozen of those tunes are featured on his independent debut album, "Homegrown." The CD is available on iTunes, cdbaby.com, and indierhythm.com.When he's not recording or rehearsing songs for various piano bar shows around Chicago, John can be found working out at Cheetah Gym, challenging friends at Mario Kart, or relaxing with an episode of Roseanne or Will & Grace.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 17/11/2005
Band Website: www.johnjonesmusic.com
Band Members: John Jones - vocals, piano, keyboards, and programming
Influences: (iTunes alphabetical): Aqualung, The Beatles, Beck, Carly Simon, Cassandra Wilson, Carole King, Chris Isaak, Coldplay, Elton John, Fiona Apple, George Michael, Holly Cole, Jack Johnson, Jamie Cullum, John Lennon, John Mayer, Joni Mitchell, Mitchell Froom, Pearl Jam, Rickie Lee Jones, Sheryl Crow, Sondre Lerche, Tchad Blake, Tracy Chapman, Vonda Shepard, Wendy & Lisa, Wilco
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

Check out my Wendy & Lisa cover!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXI2tCuBceQ "Red Bike," from Wendy & Lisa's "White Flags of Winter Chimneys." Check them out in my Top Friends or www.wendyandlisa.com
Posted by on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:24:00 GMT

Add my widget!!!

Add my widget to your page and you will greatly increase the chances of me winning a record deal.  Just click "Grab this" to support an independent artist out of Chicago.  The karma will be awesome! ...
Posted by on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:51:00 GMT

Screw the Grammys. These are the Jonesys!

Ok. Since the music industry let so many fantastic records slip through the cracks in 2008, it's time I take things into my own hands. Welcome to the first annual Jonesy awards, recognizing true artis...
Posted by on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:02:00 GMT

3160!!!

It's been a while...but I'm finally returning to Lakeview for a pair of shows. If you have some free time on Thursday, January 8 or Thursday, January 22 between 9 pm and midnight, stop on by 3160 N. ...
Posted by on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:06:00 GMT

Time and place...and hate crimes

I've been thinking and talking about my second album since summer of 2007. Since then I've given it at least three deadlines, all of which have come and gone. Then this June I had surgery to remove ...
Posted by on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:01:00 GMT

Cool weather jazz

I wonder how many people's moods respond to the weather as much as mine do. Today's cool breeze is so soothing, so refreshing...Cubby's taking a nap on a windowsill and if I could fit on one, I would...
Posted by on Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:40:00 GMT

Random ramblings...

(This was written yesterday, Thursday 8/28, around 5 pm, but the blog server was down...)Ah, blogging! So much better than talking to yourself&I was disappointed it was so overcast today  I was plan...
Posted by on Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:25:00 GMT

Enjoying the silence

My surgery Tuesday went well - I got on the table and they started the anesthesia. "Can you feel that, Mr. Jones?" "Yes, it's cold." The next thing I knew, I was in the recovery room with Thomas at...
Posted by on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:21:00 GMT

Portishead - Third

Ok, I admit it. When it was literally handed to me by a friend of mine, I couldn’t resist the temptation to have the new Portishead album and soak it up. Of course I’ll be buying a few c...
Posted by on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:45:00 GMT

Still on hold...

Today I went to the Bastian Vocal Clinic in Downers Grove and saw pictures of my throat. Scary stuff - no wonder last night’s show hurt like hell. I’m swollen and inflamed - "an overdoer...
Posted by on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:26:00 GMT