Jones the band

We are proud to debut the a haunting video for the Chicago/Minneapolis-based trio JONES. The (warning) blood and anger-filled video is for the title track of their debut EP, Are You Still Gonna Love Me Now That I'm Dead? and was directed by bassist Nick Rush. - Deli Magazine - Chicago

This is an exclusive track “Texas Pete” from Jones, who’s new album is coming out in April, with a release show at Lee’s Liquor Lounge on April 10th.

Here is a previous article Rift did on the band – Jones – at Memory Lanes.

http://jonesrock.com/ - RIFT MAGAZINE

While it’s true that blues-influenced rock and roll has been on the upswing in the last decade, few acts are doing the genre the full reverence and giving it the needed moxie that JONES is. Between guitarist/vocalist Clayton Hagen, bassist Nick Rush, drummer Ian Tsan and the talented guests assisting on their new EP – the cheekily-titled Are You Still Gonna Love Me Now That I’m Dead? – there’s more romance present than on any Black Keys record, more shimmy than the Alabama Shakes, more sinister overtones than Jack White. Though at it for four years now, it’s as of this brilliant trio has been patiently waiting to show some of the big-timers how it’s done.

Most novices will call a song “blues” based on its guitar solo, but the solo alone doesn’t make a song (let alone does it make it “blues”) and JONES understands that from the get-go. Over a charming shuffle tempo, there’s honest-to-god pleading going on in the sweet “Baby Bear.” Closing track “Lubbock” sports gutsy storytelling (you won’t find a vivid lyric like “the gospel was a girl” coming from many bands these days) while opening cut “21 Megaton Bomb” – making its video debut here on the blog – blasts through with crunchy distortion and all three members firing on all cylinders, which is another angle setting JONES apart from the pack: Rush and Tsan never seem stagnant or just there to add background to Hagen’s flash, like their contemporaries. Instead, bass lines don’t simply follow guitar patterns; they quite noticeably interact with them. On cuts like “Texas Pete,” Tsan is a monster, pounding out the frustration that Hagen gives to lines about untrustworthy bosses and being hundreds of miles from home. JONES is a band in the true sense of the word: Everyone shares the spotlight and no one takes a backseat.

JONES began in 2011 when Twin Cities native Hagen called old friends Rush and Tsan after the split of Hagen’s previous act A Night In The Box, a Minneapolis soul and bluegrass staple with two albums under their belt and a loyal nationwide following. Now That I’m Dead? was recorded by Mark Yoshizumi (whose previous work includes projects with The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Plastic Crimewave Sound and Brighton, MA) at Minbal Studios in Chicago, and features a slew of guests including Sarah and the Crosscuts’ Sarah Hotlschlag on saw/vocals, JJ Evans (Rambos. Crow Moses) on guitar/piano and Kevin Dorsey of The Histronic on organ.

There are more than a few witty turns of phrase on Now That I’m Dead? that point to the traditional God-fearing that went into old-school blues and gospel: “I never got religion / but religion got me,” from the howling title track, or “If you don’t get right with God / He gets right with you,” from the classy, heartfelt ballad “By The Moon,” which could’ve easily been an outtake from Bright Eyes’ folk-laden I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. So staying in that theme, as the band amps up to the release of the EP with a new track every week, one has to wonder if JONES – full of seemingly unending talent and natural grit – are playing the blues or if, in some divine, unexplainable fashion, this most-American of arts is indeed acting through them.

JONES opens a stellar bill at Chicago’s renowned Beat Kitchen in April. Details are linked here. - Radio One Chicago

With influences varying from The White Stripes to Avail, Ben Harper to Robert Plant and Minneapolis to Chicago, rock and roll trio JONES promises range above all else with their EP “Are You Still Gonna Love Me Now That I’m Dead” set to release in April 2015.
The title track, released as a single, pierces the heart of rock and roll, featuring front man Clayton Hagen’s Jack White-meets-Robert Plant vocals and raw guitar licks. Even more impressive is the flawless timing exhibited by drummer Ian Tsan and bassist Nick Rush as the track jumps between whimpers and wails.
While timing is key to their music, it was more crucial in the formation of JONES.
Beginning in 2004, Hagen fronted Minneapolis band A Night in the Box, but after a seven year run the band drifted apart.
“For six months or so I tried a couple of solo projects and a couple bands, but nothing clicked,” Hagen said. “Ian and Nick urged me to keep playing music and suggested I bring my guitar next time I came to Chicago.”
In 2011, Hagen followed their advice, which led to a 10-hour jam session, two demo tracks and the formation of JONES.
Hagen made the trip from Minneapolis to Chicago 15 times in the band’s first year and continues to do on a less frequent basis. While the distance limits the ability to practice and perform, the band embraces this obstacle.
“The music itself has stayed super distilled and we’ve avoided wondering if we over-practiced and overthinking everything,” Hagen said.
Rush said he is always surprised at how easily stuff comes together, especially for having one member live 500 miles away and how rarely they practice. The trio insists on being unanimous for band decisions and finds it easy to agree on things.
Contributing to JONES’s ability to mesh is the longstanding friendship between Hagen and Rush. While growing up in the Minneapolis suburbs together the two were jamming since before they were teens. After drifting apart in middle school, Rush befriended the new kid in school, Ian Tsan.
Rush and Tsan founded Grape Juice Records while living together in San Francisco and later moved to Chicago. Tsan’s prior bands include Linus, Minneapolis Henrys, Rambos and Butcher’s Boy.
Before forming JONES, the three musicians bumped into each other in the Minneapolis and Chicago touring circuits, supporting each other when possible.
“On my very first your with my old band we had one of those shows where like eight people showed up,” Hagen said. “My old buddy Nick Rush walked in with like twenty people and asked if we wanted to play a show later on with more people at it. So we followed him and played for like two hundred people later that night.”
JONES can expect a warm welcome as they return to the Minneapolis music scene on October 17 with a free show at Memory Lanes. Hagen said fans can expect a high energy exhibiting songs from the unreleased EP. - Rift Magazine

Clay and Nick of Chicago / Minneapolis band Jones joined Jesse Menendez on The MusicVox to talk about their sound and play an acoustic version of one of their songs live!

The MusicVox airs Mon-Fri 4-6pm on 89.5 FM (NWI) / 90.7 FM (CHI) and streaming at www.vocalo.org/player - VOCALO

Female Basic opened up Thursday evening at The Hideout, kicking things off with a set of throwback tunes and oldies covers reworked as harmony-heavy uke ballads. The trio, Rachel Landrum, Bekah Miller and Anna Phalen, shared and swapped vocal duties, making for a playfully dynamic performance. The mood was set with a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang," a rendition as cool and mysterious as a late night breeze. Female Basic glided on a mixture of guitar, banjo, ukulele and stunning vocal work, giving the show a pleasantly nostalgic flavor. That isn't to call Female Basic a nostalgia act, because they're not. The personalities of the three singers came off as clearly different- individuals with a remarkable chemistry/magic whose electricity gives these traditional tunes a fresh sound. No, the word for that isn't nostalgic, it's classic. Sprinkled throughout their aesthetically on-point and plain fuckin' fun string of originals were covers of "classics" like "Jolene," "Leader of the Pack" and a particularly exceptional romp through Diane Renay's "Navy Blue" that ought to be the new anthem of the Coney Island Mermaid Day Parade. They wrapped it up with a charmingly awesome cover of "The Sign" that, as happens with the Ace of Base version, was stuck in my head for the rest of the night.



Jones| via Facebook
Next up were Minneapolis/Chicago-based potential challengers to the Impossible to Google Local Band Name crown currently held by Running, bluesy rock trio Jones. Clayton Hagen's nasty, deep-fried riffs sizzled across the debris of Ian Tsan's granite-heavy pugilism; a powerful combo whose explosiveness was expertly conducted through a take on the old standard "St. James Infirmary." It was a desperate performance in the best possible way, three players throwing seemingly everything they had into every note. Showing off their range, one of the next songs was a kind of fractured reggae jam sauced up by another big vocal showing from Hagen. Jones saved one of their best for last, blasting through a rocker with a Joe Perry-esque riff and some more demolition from the rhythm section. It may have been "Are You Still Gonna Love Me Now That I'm Dead?", which is streaming on the band's Soundcloud, but even if that's not it, well, now you heard a cool new song. You're welcome.

Closing out the evening was Quinn Tsan, whose set was filled with sorrowfully magnetic songs built around lush instrumentation and stellar vocals. A little bit folk, a little bit country; Tsan and her band breezed through a performance that made it hard to believe she's only briefly been on the scene as a solo artist. Her group had the versatility to pull off swaying, autumnal melodies ala Karen Elson while still allowing her free reign to get a bit more eccentric on peppier tunes- think Regina Spektor bouncing around a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah number. They were precise and sweetly comforting, deliberate while staying endearing, all while showing off a knack for mood-building that most young acts don't develop so quickly. Tsan ended the show on a song that featured some gorgeous lap steel work and another devastating vocal performance- as strong a tune as any played all night.

It's a cliche to call an act "one to watch out for," and it's even worse to slap that label on three who played in the same night. Fuck it. Keep an eye (ear?) on these bands. While this gig wasn't a formal "showcase" in any way, the embarrassment of riches in Chicago music was on full display Thursday night. - WINDY CITY ROCK