Jonah's Road

Each week, there are countless CD’s that happen to come across this much cluttered desk of mine. As is usually the case, the artists whom I recognize usually land in one stack, and the rest in the other. Every now and then, a project comes along that sounds just as good as any other album in the stack. That happened to me recently, when I popped in this CD from the Sydney, Australia-based group called Jonah’s Road. Comprised of members John Kater, Jay Collie, and Rodney Auld, this presents an unusual scenario.

There is not one cut on this album that doesn’t sound like it couldn’t compete with any other song on mainstream Country Radio---and possibly win the match-up. There’s not a case where the instruments aren’t tuned correctly, or the vocalizing isn’t on pitch. Simply put, in this reviewer’s opinion, Jonah’s Road are ready for the big time here in the United States after dominating the scene across the ocean.

“Someone Like You,” the lead-off track, has tight harmonies a la Restless Heart, but the trio manages to sound very much like---no one. They have their own sound, which is a welcome change from a lot of sound-alike bands out there right now. That’s not to say that you can’t hear influences all over this project, though. “Tequila & Wine” has a feel very reminiscent of 70s icons The Eagles and America, but has enough of a Country sound to play on the airwaves.

The guys write their own songs, play their own instruments, and sound amazing doing so. Whether it’s the rockin’ feel of cuts like the infectious title track or the thumping “All Mine,” Jonah’s Road is ready for the leap to American stardom----though only if they want it. It might be a little presumptuous to assume that any act experiencing musical success away from the United States dreams of hitting it big on this side of the pond….but if Jonah’s Road wants it, they just might be the next big thing….Trust me, they’re that good!

CHUCK DAUPHIN - Music News Nashville www.musicnewsnashville.com

I still remember hearing Jonah’s Road on the radio for the first time – where I was and how excited I became. It was immediately obvious that this band had the potential to go all the way — just as Keith Urban so clearly did (only the Yanks didn’t figure it out for a few years).

And the reaction to Jonah’s Road’s debut album, Hold On, showed that music fans and industry figures all over Australia agreed, with the album winning Best Independent Release at the 205 Victorian and National Country Music Awards, taking out Best Independent Release at the US-based Independent Music Awards, and seeing them nominated for two Golden Guitars in 2005.

That excitement has returned — and increased considerably — following the release of Jonah’s Road’s brand new album, Counting Down the Days, which was launched during this year’s Tamworth Festival.

Jay Collie summed up the difference between Counting Down the Days and the group’s first album succinctly: "This time we decided we really didn’t want to make most of the album in my bedroom — we needed to take it a step further!” he said, laughing.

And it’s quite clear to even the most casual listener that the band achieved their aim — the production standards on Counting Down the Days are superb, largely due to the hard work of Jay and his fellow band members John Kater and Rodney Auld, with the help of one of country’s finest producers, Matt Fell.

Counting Down the Days — like Hold On — is a strong, cohesive album full of country-pop style songs that are catchy, melodic and extremely commercial — but which clearly have something important to say.

“We really put a lot of time and effort into the songs for this album. We wanted them all to be really strong, and worth including,” Jay said. For me, a song is an entity — when I’m writing, it’s quite an organic process, and very unpredictable. The song will often assume a life and character of its own, so eager is it to be written. At times, they’ll just come pouring out.”

Songwriting for Jonah’s Road is very much a collaborative effort, with Jay and brother Jasper Somerville-Collie taking on a large part of the task, but John Kater and Rodney Auld also contributing. All three band members have also contributed their lead vocals to Counting Down the Days, which has not only produced a diverse and exciting album in vocal terms, but also demonstrates just how talented these three musicians are.

The first single, “Counting Down the Days” was cowritten with Travis List, and was originally inspired by how frustrated Travis felt at having to wait for three months until he could join his new wife in the United States.

“We originally wrote it for where Travis was at the time, but then ended up recording it — the funny thing was that we forgot to tell Travis, so the first time he heard it was in Tamworth this year,” Jay said.

The poignant “Don’t Look Back” was also inspired by a friend of Jay’s. It is the tale of breaking the generational cycle of abuse that often accompanies alcoholism. It is a song that Jay says he “hopes has a happy ending”.

The other song on the album that really tugs at the heart-strings is the beautiful “I’m Still Here”. Whilst a sad song, it is also incredibly positive and rich in memories and emotions. Not surprisingly, it is Jay’s personal favourite.

Mention must be made of the three songs performed by Rodney on Counting Down the Days. Whilst all three singers have superb voices, Rodney’s has a compelling quality that is creating quite a stir in the country music industry. His sensational version of “Time Before” — a song the band has been performing live for a while now — is a standout, as is the wonderful “Long Gone”.

Jay also well and truly does justice to his tracks, amongst them the over-the-top “Tequila and Wine”, with all the elements of a dramatic Western movie plot, and the funkiest and warmest wedding song you’ll ever hear, “Thank God”. The exquisite “All Mine” is another real highlight of this album — probably because the song and its delivery are clearly so heartfelt. And it’s hard to go past “Someone Like You” and “Why Does She Love Me?” for potential gold-plated hit singles.

The album concludes with “Giddy Up”, a song written specially for a group of hard-core fans who’ve dubbed themselves “the Giddy Up Girls”.

“They’ve been so incredibly dedicated that we really wanted to include a song for them — they know who they are!” Jay said.

Already Jonah’s Road have made a mark on the awards front this year, taking out Song of the Year at the inaugural ICE Awards, and also being named Best Group at the 2007 People’s Choice Awards.

They travelled to the United States in 2006 to begin the ball rolling for a release of their album there, and are hoping to return late in 2007. Currently, Counting Down the Days is winging its way across the Pacific, where it is sure to impress record company executives and industry heavyweights alike.

SUE JARVIS - Capital News, March 2007 www.capitalnews.com.au

The three young men that make up the band Jonah's Road have a long list of musical achievements behind them, and a bright future ahead of them. They won a stack of awards in Tamworth this year, including the Best Group at both the 2007 People's Choice Awards and the Tiara Awards. It's not surprising that they are winning awards; they are a world class act who sing beautifully, play magically, and write songs to rival the best that is coming from the current Nashville songwriters.

Their contemporary brand of country is along the lines of the group Rascal Flatts, only these boys are doing it better. The title track 'Counting Down The Days', is an amazing song musically and lyrically...ditto the single 'Why Does She Love Me'. However there are 14 tracks here that are worthy of attention. One is the striking ballad 'Don't Look Back, then there's the hauntingly beautiful 'I'm Still Here', or the Latino sounds of 'Tequila & Wine'.

Counting Down The Days should break Jonah's Road into the big league, and if it doesn't there's something seriously wrong with the world of Country Music today.

ROSIE ADSETT - Country Update, March 2007 www.countryupdate.com.au

JONAH'S ROAD has released their second album, Counting Down The Days, with a very successful launch in Tamworth. The new album represents a significant step up in recording quality for the trio.

The new album exemplifies the talent and diversity that sets these guys apart from the rest of the field, particularly in a broad country music sense.

We have learnt a lot since the first album three years ago and naturally as musicians and songwriters we have all matured. On this album I think we 'gelled' a lot more and the sound is tighter and our harmonies better."

Outstanding harmonies are the signature trademark of Jonah's Road. Their music has always had a contemporary edge to it and there have been plenty of comparisons made between the Sydney trio and another famous male trio, Rascal Flatts.

For Jonah's Road it's not about trying to be like the American group, the similarities come in the same type of music which Jay, John & Rodney enjoy. Their progression as musicians and songwriters is easy to hear on Counting Down The Days which has a global feel to it.

The album could be as much at home in the US as it is here in AUstralia with themes and subjects of the songs connecting with a wide market and not only country.

Having impressed country fans throughout the week of the festival with their gigs in and around the Country Music Capital, the launch at the Services Club came hot onthe heels of their winning the people's Choice Award for Best group.

With a fresh feel to the album and a sound equal to any on offerin the US, the lure of heading over there has always been a serious consideration.

With the release of Counting Down The Days, it's only a matter of time before Australian country fans of Jonah's Road will be sharing them with a much broader audience.

BOB ANTHONY JNR - Country Update, March 2007 www.countryupdate.com.au

Every now and then you come across a band that really ‘jumps out’ at you as being destined for greatness. For me, one of the most promising acts in Australian country music is definitely Jonah’s Road.

These guys, with the release of their new album Counting Down The Days, have truly announced that they are a band of substance.

Interestingly, like Keith Urban (and one doesn’t make that comparison lightly), this album has the depth and genre-crossing ability that will appeal to not only country music fans but also music lovers generally.

To my ear, the strength of this album lies in the band’s ability to build great songs in a number of styles, but always with a sound that is accessible yet sensitive.

The most known songs from the album to date are Why Does She Love Me and Counting Down The Days (the latter reminiscent in some ways of fellow band Taxiride – with a solid “Aussie Adult Rock/Pop” sound). However, the real strength of the album I believe is its variety, placing those tracks beside powerful ballads Staying Here Tonight and I’m Still Here. Then there’s the Country Rock flavours of Tequila And Wine and Time Before – and while one is reluctant to ‘categorise’ songs on an album or try to pigeonhole a band’s style, it does show the broadness of music styles that Jonah’s Road seem to have in their reportoire – and therefore their potential to be accessible to a wide range of music listeners. This coupled with the fact that lead vocal duties are shared on the album, means that we get a further variety of sound and great harmonies (not to mention the obvious fact that these guys are seriously multi-talented). And despite this variety – the album still cohesively sounds like the work of a band with shared taste and musical vision.

Seeing the album launch and showcase during the Tamworth 2007 country music festival, it was clear that this band has already built a loyal core of fans, and one would think that with the growing exposure they’re sure to receive in coming times that this will only increase.

Counting Down The Days is a seriously exciting album not just for Jonah’s Road, but also for a burgeoning Australian country music industry looking for its next big export.

ALAN LOGAN
Programming Director
PureCountry.com.au - Pure Country, February 5th 2007 www.purecountry.com.au

Taking plenty of heart from their success at the Tamworth Country Music Festival, Sydney band Jonah's Road is looking forward to their Toyota Muster appearance in more ways than one.

For lead singer, Jay Collie, it will be his first Muster playing as Jonah's Road but more importantly, the Muster will also be the venue for the band to launch their debut album, Hold On. "The feedback we received from Tamworth from the EP was very positive, and hopefully that will continue with the album" Jay said.

The band is having their album launch on Thursday, August 26 in the Muster Club at 8:20pm and extend an invitation to those who will be there to come along and hear first hand, their new material. It will be one of four gigs Jonah's Road will be performing at the Muster and with the success of their first single off the album, 'Getting By Without You', they are looking forward to the release of their second single off the album, 'Forever's A Long Time' which went to air early this month.

Featuring tight harmonies, strong instrumentals and an enthusiastic approach to their music, Jay said they were starting to make inroads into markets outside NSW. "We had friends who were listening to the radio in Queensland and heard our song there," he said. "They rang to tell me that at first when they heard the song, they thought it was some US band like Lonestar or Rascal Flatts but were surprised when they heard it was us."

For Muster patrons, there'll be no need to be surprised, just impressed with the launch of what promises to be a dynamic new act on the Australian country scene.

Hold On by Jonah's Road will be distributed by One Stop. - Country Update (Aug '04)

Country Music is used to watching its success stories evolve, and one of the latest examples is hip new band, JONAH'S ROAD.

The normal transition is to see them grow slowly from unknown and inexperienced artists to major performers - but that's not quite what happened with JONAH"S ROAD. This talented trio has literally burst on to the scene fully formed - and ready to take not only Australian country music, but also the international scene, by storm.......

The first time many country fans and industry pundits came across Jonah's Road was after the 2003 MusicOz Awards, where they took out the Mark Holden Songwriting/ producer prize, and were finalists in both the Country and Artist of the Year categories. The Sydney based band (which at the time was a four-piece outfit) made its mark with an acoustic version of the beautiful ballad Long Way Home, penned by Jonah's Road lead singer Jay Collie and his brother Jasper Somerville-Collie............

The song was a striking demonstration of their awesome songwriting talent, as well as Jonah's Road exquistie vocal harmonies and supurbly crafted music. "It was really only a demo - just a quick acoustic version of the song that we recorded. But it got a really good reception, particularly when we played it at the awards," Jay said. Because it was so popular, Jonah's Road have included the acoustic version of Long Way Home on their debut album, Hold On, released at the end of August and launched at this year's Gympie Muster. The album stamps Jonah's Road as one of the freshest, most exciting and most appealing young bands to emerge on the country scene for quite a while...................

Jonah's Road also recently headed north to Gympie, for their first ever Gympie Muster. And, according to Jay, they made the most of the event. "The Muster was just amazing - we had a fabulous time, particularly at the album launch which we did on the Thursday night in the Muster Club," Jay said. "We had a big crowd there, and they were ready to party. It was a great chance to play all the songs from Hold On, as well as a few other originals and covers."......

But the focus was very much on the new album, and - not surprisingly - the response was overwhelming. "We weren't sure what to expect, but we found that not only did our loyal band of supporters keep turning up to every gig, but lots of new people really loved the music and became instant fans," Jay said. The style of Hold On is hard to pigeonhole - it could slip just as easily into the pop or adult contemporary markets as it does into country..............

"For me, the song is the most important thing. You have to have good songs to make a successful album, so we've worked hard on getting the best possible collection of songs together for Hold On," Jay said..........

Hold On seems an appropriate title for Jonah's Road's first album, because as far as these boys are concerned, the journey's only just begun - and it's set to be an exciting ride. Already the next album is being planned, and Jay, Rodney and John are hoping for some finals berths in next year's Golden Guitar Awards. Meanwhile, they're letting their music speak for itself - and it's making quite a statement.

SUSAN JARVIS - Capital News (Oct 04)

There will be debate about 'how country' this album is, but with music this good, who really cares? This is a world-class album of hooky, commercial, well-written, well-produced songs that deserves multiple rotations on every car CD player. Every track is a winner, but the first two singles, the current one, Forever's A Long Time, and the previously released Getting By Without You, are a great introduction to the band's style. Other highlights include the beautiful Missing You, Long Way Home (I actually prefer the bonus acoustic version), Hold On and Forever More.

Part of the magic of Jonah's Road is the exquisite three-part harmonies from the band's members, Jay Collie, John Kater and Rodney Auld, but it's really the songs that make this album so special. It's not often we get a debut album which has all the elements like Hold On. Jonah's Road is a welcome addition to the country scene, giving it a new dimension and setting a whole new standard.
One/Stop/ Bunza BEJR003
SUSAN JARVIS - Capital News (Oct '04)

The Entrance and surrounds came alive over the 10th, 11th & 12th March with top quality country music and thousands of country fans for the sixth annual ANZ Central Coast Country Music Festival....... The Memorial Park Stage, sponsored by Newcastle Airport, was the focal point of the festival with headline artist Adam Harvey delivering a power packed show........

Jonah's Road were a huge hit when they performed with many people now knowing why they are predicted to be 'the next big thing' in Country. it was a unique experience listening to an all male group who can do a great Dolly Parton cover!...........Overall the weekend was a huge success paving the way for an even bigger and better festival in 2007! - Capital News (April '06)

Sydney band JONAH'S ROAD can't contain their excitement about performing at this month's Tamworth Festival.

And that's not surprising, given that they're widely tipped as the festival's hottest new act. "We're going into Tamworth this year with a much higher profile than we've had over the past couple of years," said the band's lead singer and main songwriter, Jay Collie. "We've released our debut album, we're finalists in several awards, including the Golden Guitars, and our video's been aired widely on CMC, so people are actually starting to know who we are now."

"I just LOVE Tamworth - the excitement, the people, and the chance to play music day and night. But this year is shaping up to be really special," Jay added. Certainly Jonah's Road will have plenty of opportunity to play. At the time of writing, they'd been booked to perform no less than 22 shows over 12 days, with a few more still up in the air...........

Following the release of their first album, Hold On, in 2004, Jonah's Road have been nominated in the final five for two categories at this year's Toyota Golden Guitar Awards. They're up for New Talent of the Year and Group/ Duo of the Year with their single Getting By Without You, and also reached the top 10 in the Album of the Year category with Hold On. "We were blown away when we found out we'd reached the finals in two categories, but it was also a big thrill to be included in the year's top 10 country albums - especially for an independent band that was pretty well unknown a year ago," Jay said.........

By the time Hold On was launched at the Gympie Muster, Jonah's Road had well and truly been noticed by the country music industry and the album - with its superb production values, great songs and distinctive, contemporary sound - showed that all the hype was justified.........

Plenty of country fans have discovered Jonah's Road over the past couple of years, and the band's fans are sure to be at as many of their 22 gigs as possible. But things are likely to be a lot more crowded this year as the message about Jonah's Road spreads like wildfire on the Tamworth Festival
grapevine.

SUSAN JARVIS - Capital News (Jan '05)