PEACE JONES ARE A MUSICAL GROUP from Asheville NC USA. The band features a guitarist / flautist P DeCirce who is bringing the flute to the front of modern music.
PRESS QUOTES
"Peace Jones are a killer band!" -- Kim Clark of WNCW
"What DeCirce does – a tactic employed by reggae great Bob Marley – is sneak the message in between a contagious groove and a catchy hook. First, get the crowd dancing, then expand their minds." -- Alli Marshall, The Mountain Xpress
"Working-class funk-rock with a reggae vibe, featuring Paul DeCirce's artistic use of the flute and quirky lyrics." --Topix.com
"Peace Jones is genius; amazing flute with skilled and funkified keys, strings, and percussion. Sometimes reggae-infused and sometimes straight up funk, these guys do it all so well. Totally original stylings with a natural vibe - nothing forced or corporate about Peace Jones - it’s 100% from the soul." --IndiePro.Com
"Peace Jones combines elements of old and new that result in a varied list of references to classics and contemporaries, including Beck, Jethro Tull and Cake. The rhythm-centered, funky, bluesy grooves serve as a vehicle for DeCirce's lyrics that often have a political message." -- Jer Cole, The Knoxville Sentinel-News
"There's no stopping this pied piper of funk... Peace Jones, as well as their minions of fans, just wanna have fun, but don’t call them unenlightened or unaware. Political incorrectness/correctness doesn’t blur their juice—instead, it empowers their rock ‘n funk adrenaline." --The Indie, Asheville NC
BIOGRAPHY
Peace Jones performed their first gig in June of 2004. Fronted by wild-eyed Flautist / Guitarist / Songwriter Paul DeCirce, PJ is well known in the Western North Carolina region as an innovative and inventive group. Considered to be adept in a number of cross cutting genres, Peace Jones play everything from 70s soundtrack funk to ska-reggae to rock and roll epics, from mellow country ballads to experimental flute jazz meanderings, to slide guitar hard blues and front porch harmonica jammin'.
Peace Jones reflects the acquired musical exposure of DeCirce, who hails from Syracuse NY. His urban upbringing was in late 70s funk and then 80s style hip-hop, while at the same time a thorough education in his mother's record collection. So it was Bob Dylan and RUN-DMC all at once.
This conglomerative mixture results in a kind of Urban Americana.
The band's songs are rooted in American styles of blues, folk and ballad, while at the same time inserting heavy amounts of groove, R&B rhythm and 'hippy hop.' The result is unique only to this band; many regional critics have hailed PJ as some of the most unique and catchy music produced in the region...period.
Funkmaster P 'Drum' DeCirce has been a staple of the Asheville NC music scene since 2000. First as a drummer well-known for his style and versatility (featured in the July 2003 MODERN DRUMMER), and then as an emerging frontman, guitarist and flautist, DeCirce has been unflinching in keeping the path on the positive and progressive tip. The band has endured many hard roads, yet night after night, Peace Jones continually come up on the top of the list in many club and critics lists as 'da real deal, dawg.'
Joining P on the vibe is Eric Ciborski. Ol' "I'll Smoke-em if u got'em" is from New Dirty and was also deep in the New Orleans scene when Katrina struck. His fluid keyboard playing adds to much to P's wah-drenched sound. Scott Blanchard from CT is on the bass and back-up vocals. He is also the resident politician and collective (im)morale of the band. Todd Omley is the drum-meister, lickety-splitting down any style that P dares to bring forward and Todd can already do that style because he 'likee'.
The band released their debut CD in 2004, The Path Narrows , it featured an introduction to the band's sound with songs like "Slice and Dice, Martha" and "One Good Thing." In October of 2006, the band released their first full length Down to the Bone . This CD has been moving well regionally, with no less than five tracks making it to the listener-supported WNCW's airwaves for four strong months.
2008 marks a vital year for Peace Jones in their movement to bring positive messages of peace and justice to their widening audience. The band is currently in the studio, recording a new full length CD and plans on a heavy string of performance dates in the fall. Keep a close eye for appearances near you and keep PJ on the list of 'upcoming bands to watch.'Psychedelic Trip MySpace Layouts