Trevor Jones Music

New Site

trevorjonesmusic — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:16:46 +0000

This blog will be continued for the time being at http://www.trevorjonesmusic.blogspot.com .

Thanks

Band Battles

trevorjonesmusic — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:43:56 +0000

Many band members hate each other. Creative tension is inevitable in any group or organization and life on the road and in the studio puts extra stress on everyone. I’ve heard bands like Weezer don’t speak to each other at all, unless the are in rehearsal or about to go on stage.

How creativity perpetuates itself in these situations boggles my gourd. How can you playfully bounce around musical ideas whilst knowingly disliking your bands members? Your personality is your musical personality. I suppose it really breaks down to the dynamic of the style of music you play.

Improvisational music requires pitting your musical personality against those you play with. This manifests itself in a myriad of musical variables. The drummer might perceive a song as dragging and sluggish while the bass player thinks the tune is rushing. A singer might have to strain over the volume of the drums while articulating a passage.

This is different from music that involves no improvisation. This isn’t to say that music that is purely compositional isn’t creative or malleable.

I just know that the dynamic give and take between me and my bandmates’ musical personalities reinforces our friendship (friendships which were present before we started playing music to begin with, thankfully).

And to all the bands that don’t get along: music is a unifying force and employing that force will only help your musical efforts.

Final Countdown

trevorjonesmusic — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:14:52 +0000

21 days until summer tour…
32 days until the album drops…

Frogs Gone Fishin’, has just announced that we will release our debut studio album, “Tell Me True” on June 17th. We have been working on the tracks for over a year in Nashville, Denver and the seclusion of the Colorado mountains. It’s a very fun album to listen to and I cannot wait to start touring under it.

Tour starts on the 6th in Denver at The Walnut Room with the Boulder Acoustic Society, so I’ll be leaving New Orleans on Tuesday with Andrew Portwood (vox, guitars) to drive the tour-mobile (mid-90′s Suburban) to Colorado to meet Steve (bass) and Mark (drums/perc) and start rehearsal.

One final note: I purchased a Paul Reed Smith Hollowbody II this week. It is one of the most beautiful guitars I’ve ever played and sounds like a complete monster when you plug it in. For about a year of rent money, I invested in an instrument which I’ll have forever. Nothing can come close to the creative propulsion produced by a world-class instrument.

Monday, monday, monday.

trevorjonesmusic — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:03:53 +0000

Monday means the start of the business week for most people. For the self-promoting musician, the week never stops. Gigs last until late at night, yet other businesses (booking agencies, the post office) open as usual in the morning. Unlike other industries, most live-music happens on the weekend , while most business -type-business gets done during the week for the full-time player.

I get a great feeling from being productive and am lucky enough to be working on the release of an album, our summer tour, and the planning and execution of a festival in Colorado next summer all at the same time. So…back to work on a Monday.

Went down to the crossroads…

trevorjonesmusic — Sun, 11 May 2008 18:43:20 +0000

Last night’s gig served as a personal crossroad in my musical life. It was likely The Zoo’s last gig until those of us who have been in college for the last four years again visit New Orleans for a musical reunion. Who knows how long it will be until that day.

I’ll be back. I love this town and am playing music on tour with Frogs Gone Fishin’, guys I went to high school with who I am now fortunate enough to record and tour with.

Last night was probably around the tenth time The Zoo has played the Howlin’ Wolf, not to mention all the other clubs (Tipitina’s, The Maple Leaf) we have played, or sat in at. It wasn’t the rowdiest or biggest crowd we’ve had by a long shot (opening for Talib Kweli was around 4,000 people), but I could feel a respect for the musicians I play with coming from the club and audience that simply wasn’t there four years ago when we started.

We managed to bring around two-hundred souls to that club four years ago and you know how they repaid us? Confiscating all our beers and some other personal items backstage. Granted I was yet to be of legal age at the time of that first Zoo gig, but this is New Orleans now people. This was a far cry from the free beer and backstage privacy we received last night.

The music industry is funny like that. There is not an even continuum of advancement, like in other professions. You are shit on until you break the threshold of the musical community (New Orleans has a very small and penetrable scene, thank god). I suppose this blog will attempt to highlight the crazy incongruities and idiosyncrasies in the music business as I move forward into my professional music career.

As I leave the deep south crossroads in New Orleans and head out on tour, I’ll keep everyone posted on how I see this crazy business along with stories about some well known musicians, my experiences promoting, marketing, writing, and existing in the world of music.