Joshua Jones

“If you want something done right, sometimes you just have to do it yourself.” He grew up listening to the big hair guitar gods and dreaming of power chords through a Marshall stack. But Joshua Jones’ real musical journey began after he’d tired of the mechanical, pre-fabricated songs he knew and played as part of the metal scene. One day a friend introduced him to Ani Difranco and it changed everything. His perception of himself and his music shifted and soon he stashed the electric and picked up an acoustic guitar. After seven years of trying to express himself and his experiences in various bands that never seemed to leave the garage behind, it was time for him to go out on his own and do it himself. And as naturally as taking a walk or breathing, he began writing songs that challenged the accepted songwriting ‘rules’ of verse, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, and embraced wry characterizations and pinpoint descriptions of the people he knew, had met or wanted to meet someday.

In addition to his songwriting and performing skills, Joshua’s years of guitar instruction provides him with the knowledge and ability to do just about anything he wants with a guitar. He is determined to ascend to new levels of mesmerizing guitar work and marry it to the songwriting skills of his newly discovered favorite artists, Bruce Springsteen, Shawn Mullins, and David Wilcox. Although well established, hearing and studying these artists with an emphasis on the craft of songwriting combined with his background in metal produces a unique and exciting perspective within Joshua’s work.

Listening to his songs on his debut CD and in the flesh, the influence of the “rock ballad” of the early 90s is still evident in his music and lyrics, albeit in a fresh, unique, totally-Joshua way. “It’s hard to ignore where you came from and what started you on a journey in the first place”, he says. While he merges all of his diverse influences together in what has become a unique, inimitable style that not only provides plenty of artistry, passion, and craft, but also a lot of Joshua Jones’ style of breaking the rules.