Reno Jones

Singer/guitarist Doug Chapline leads this 9-piece band through it's second recording in a live performance before a large, enthusiastic audience. The band's other singer, Jerri-Sue Dawson, takes the feature role on nine tracks. Audio samples from all 13 selections are available at www.renojones.com.

Reno Jones sets this November 2002 weekend on fire. R&B, Pop ballads, and sultry blues impressions capture the imagination. Chapline and Dawson sing with genuine authority. "Route 66," "Since You've Been Gone," "Honey Hush," and "Little By Little" come with enjoyable soundscapes. Baritone sax, trumpet, trombone, tenor sax, piano, bass, drums, and guitar fill all the holes in these arrangements.

The band stretches out in both group and individual expression. Tenor sax solos by Mark "Junior" Norris leave an indelible impression. The band is at its best on "Can't Get Next To You," where Dawson and Chapline share the vocal lead. Sizzling guitar jams, a driving drumbeat, and throbbing, doubled bass lines give the song motion and a superb, dramatic character. Furthermore, the band's exciting jams stand for something special, as a result of the ever-present appreciation exhibited by their audience.

Joining the band and its audience while listening to their recorded performance, we get to experience all the fun that took place that weekend at C.I.W., without coming to terms with any unpleasantness that may surround such an institution.

-- Jim Santella

- Southland Blues

Material: Reno Jones is a rare nine-piece band that plays a mix of originals and big-band blues covers. The overall feel of their set is reminiscent of early Steely Dan or Chicago, with more emphasis on blues-based signatures.
Chapline’s lyrics are bluesy and often comical, featuring phrases that are entertaining (“I’m old enough to be your daddy/But young enough to be your man”). Jones’ songwriting, however, makes use of a more traditional blues style with songs such as “How Do I Say Goodbye.”
Performance: Many of the songs in this set were brass-driven and the result was often thrilling. The band is made up of excellent musicians who play their instruments with emotional and musical subtlety. Even with nine members, the arrangements are never muddy and the audience can always tell which instrument is leading. - Music Connection

“A tremendous asset to any show!”
Christy Enderle, Entertainment Supervisor, L.A. County Fair
--------------------
“Reno Jones blew them away with their original tunes and impressive performance.”
Chris Clark, Account Executive, Extraordinary Events
--------------------
“They’re better than half the bands that play here.”
Duke Collister, Production Manager, The Greek Theatre Los Angeles
--------------------
“Reno Jones is one of the best bands I have had the pleasure of working with. Their professionalism and consistency never cease to amaze me every time we have used them on any of our events. Great horn section and Jerri-Sue’s voice is powerful, but full of emotion and warmth. What a great band!”
Jim Sides, Managing Director, Meyer Sound Germany
--------------------
“You’re obviously very good players…. My guess is that you do a lot of corporate events (or should).
Bruce Iglauer, Founder & President, Alligator Records, Inc.
--------------------
“Tight Horns and a powerful vocalist make Reno Jones a remarkable band, overloaded with talent… It’s a killer band that deserves wider recognition.”
Jim Santella, Southland Blues Magazine


- Reno Jones

by Ron Thunman
"When it comes to rising stars you'd better get used to hearing the name Reno Jones!"

Blues by the Bay will unfurl its 11th edition on July 14 and 15. The lineup includes legends, rising stars, and great West Coast headliners. The amount of blues and R&B that will be unleashed on the audience over those two days will be nothing short of legendary.
Will there be big names? How about Canned Heat, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Big Mo, Zach Harmon, Corey Harris and David Jacob-Strain, and that is only the first day of the event.
Day two will be just as much fun, with arguably better music. Charlie Musselwhite, Sista Monica, and Elvin Bishop are seasoned and quality. When you add the likes of Guitar Shorty, who just happens to be Jimmy Hendrix's brother in law, it just keeps getting better. J.C. Smith will open the Sunday show and his brand of blues will begin to put the crowd of music lovers into gear.
There will be two categories at this year's festival. One category holds the stars and the other category is reserved for the rising stars, and when it comes to rising stars you'd better get used to hearing the name Reno Jones. Reno Jones is not related to Indiana Jones or a car salesman from Fresno. Reno Jones is one of the most exciting and entertaining R&B groups to come out of Southern California in a very long time.
You could say that the band was started out of spite. Current band member and spokesman K.O. Skinsnes had been a member of a '70s jam band, but they developed professional differences, or as Skinsnes said, "I got screwed, and decided to create a new band, my way."
His way began with a concept of heavy brass that worked smoothly with a strong female vocalist and culminated with a nine-piece blues band that is hard charging in the future of R&B. The brass magic starts with Skinsnes on trumpet and flugelhorn. Roger Ehrnman plays tenor sax and Chris Searight plays the baritone sax. They needed a trombone, but could not find a good fit. That all changed when the lead singer Doug Chapline was installing an air conditioner for Mike Crandall. He noticed a trombone leaning in the corner of the room and before he knew it Reno Jones had completed its brass section. Now, what about that female singer?
One of the band members had been approached a year or so earlier by a young lady from Minnesota that wanted to sing in a band, and she was pretty good. She had given him her phone number and miraculously he still had the number in an old list. Even more miraculously - especially in the music business - she still lived in the same place and had the same phone number. Her name was Jerri-Sue Dawson and her singing abilities were the perfect fit for this developing group's style.
Reno Jones was finally taking shape. They had leadership, a brass section and a quality singer. They also had Doug Chapline, who is not only a great male lead vocalist, but a very gifted and talented guitar player. After adding bass player Mike Burnham, Larry Paschall on drums and kazoo and keyboardist David Jones, the nine-piece band was complete. Now all they had to do was get good and start making a name for themselves up and down the West Coast.
They did all that and more as they continued to improve and balance all that brass, and vocals, with sprinkles of drums, keyboard, guitar and kazoo, with just the right amount of flugelhorn mixed in. They steadily improved and as their talent multiplied, they wanted a 'unique' place to play and maybe do a music video. Someone came up with the idea to play at a prison and thus began a nearly yearlong adventure that culminated in a "recorded live" CD.
First they needed a prison to work with and then they had to get permission. Selecting a prison was easy since it was relatively close, but getting permission was another story. To shorten it a bit, they dealt with clearance for the project through Sacramento and then had to jump through hoops for the warden. Finally, around 2002, they were ready to play at The California Institution for Women, located in Chino. They played four shows over two days and the inmates loved the music. It worked out great for Reno Jones as well, as they combined the four shows into their second CD titled, "Live From Inside the California Institution for Women."
Reno Jones is happy to be a part of Blues by the Bay, and they look forward to being the second act that appears Sunday July 15 at 11:50 a.m. This fun-loving group will have you dancing along or at least tapping your toe as they unleash some of the best R&B this side of Southern California. Their sound will set the stage for the blues that will flow throughout the day at Blues by the Bay.
If you get to only one festival this year, make it Blues by the Bay. The combined talent of this show is incredible. Should anybody ask you to do anything else on July 14 and 15, tell them that you are busy with the blues. - Times-Standard

By LUANNE J. HUNT - Inland Living Magazine, July 2008

Great Music is more than catchy melodies and skillful playing, according to the founder of the R&B/blues band Reno Jones. A brilliant song has the ability to take listeners on a wonderful and unexpected journey.

“Blues is an energetic and emotional experience and that’s how we treat it,” K.O. Skinsnes said. “Everyone in the band is in it for the music, and whether we play for 10 people or 10,000, we always have the time of our lives.”

That philosophy has helped Reno Jones become one of the Southland’s most requested acts at fairs, festivals and city concerts. The band will perform July 21 during the Monday night concert series in Claremont.
Skinsnes gets a rush thinking about how far the group has come.

“Before Reno Jones, I was in a ‘70s cover band, which I got unjustly thrown out of,” Skinsnes said. “So I started Reno Jones out of spite, and it really took off. We decided we wanted to stay away from clubs and do more unique gigs. We’re definitely in it for the adventure.”

Since 1997, Reno Jones has been performing its diverse mix of cover tunes and original material at The Starlight Bowl, Los Angeles County Fair and the Inland Blues Festival, as well as other venues.

The band has opened for Ray Charles, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and The Four Tops. It also won the top prize at the Monterey Blues Festival’s Battle of the Blues Bands in 2002 and 2003. Notably, the band performed four concerts in 2003 at the California Institution for Women in Chino. Getting into the facility wasn’t easy. It took nearly nine months to get clearance to entertain at the prison.

To mark the concerts, Reno Jones recorded one of the performances and released it on CD. “Live From Inside” features a variety of original and cover tunes, including “Baby, I Love You,” “Route 66,” “Standin’ On Shaky Ground” and “Since You’ve Been Gone.”

“It was amazing at the prison,” said Skinsnes, who plays trumpet. “The ladies were screaming, and we felt like the Beatles at Shea Stadium. They were so loud we couldn’t even hear ourselves play. These are the kind of gigs we love to do.”

Reno Jones also is featured in the documentary film “Channeling Herzog,” directed and edited by Sundance Film Festival award winner Harry Knapp (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”). And the nine-member group recently released its own documentary, “10 Years — Live!” It celebrates a decade-long career, and includes footage from some of the band’s most memorable shows.
- Inland Living Magazine