Jim Jones UK
Jim Jones UK
South West, DEV, UK
Folk / Acoustic / Indie
| Status | is grateful for all the support this weekend!!! |
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Bio
“Emotive confessionals and keening ballads… A troubadour in the real sense – just guitar, lyrics and voice. And what a voice, with more than hint of Bruce by way of Taunton rather than New Jersey…” – americana-uk.com
The short story…
Jim Jones is a musician whose songs are passionate, honest and fuelled by hope. He lives in Devon with his family.
About
Who is Jim Jones?
The long story…
Singer/songwriter Jim Jones was born in 1975 and raised on a large council estate in the London New Town of Crawley, West Sussex – a place that shares its musical heritage with The Cure, a band Jim would later admire and draw inspiration from.
The family moved to North Devon in 1988, to try and start a more peaceful life, but the recession of the late ’80s and early ’90s led to his parents’ unemployment and the loss of their home.
Already feeling displaced in his new settings, Jim escaped by screaming out his frustrations as part of a punk band (whose sound, he says, was inspired by The Cure, Joy Division, The Clash, The Police and, oddly, Frank Zappa).
In his mid-teens, Jim had some life-altering experiences that lead him in a more melodic direction, writing songs with lyrics and emotion grounded in his own life. He attended art college for three years, but found more satisfaction by enrolling in a music course to help hone his natural skills.
It was at college he formed alternative rock band C-14, who played rammed venues together for seven years, supported the likes of fellow West Country rockers Reef and headlining to a 4,000-strong audience at surf’n’music festival GoldCoast Oceanfest.
During this period, Jim also played support to Suzanne Vega as a solo artist and found a new buzz in expressing the same passionate and emotional songs, stripped down to just his voice and an acoustic guitar. The response to this led to Jim playing an acoustic set at Glastonbury and gave a taste of how his musical career would develop.
After some difficult personal experiences, Jim once again found himself pouring raw feelings and frustrations into his songwriting. As C-14 drifted apart, he started collaborating with locally based Loose Records recording artist Peter Bruntnell.
Alongside Bruntnell and former C-14 members, drummer Ken Kerslake and bassist Allan Kendall – performing as Small Town Mentality – Jim took a year to write and record the album Monochrome. Sadly, despite a good reception for the record, other commitments pulled STM apart and Jim started work on his first solo album.
After the cathartic but emotionally bruising experience of recording the melancholic Monochrome, Jim worked again with internationally acclaimed songwriter Bruntnell, who plays on and helped produce Daylight & Stars.
The album has captured a lighter side of Jim’s journey, tipping its hat to the things he loves while still acknowledging the fragility of life and the occasional testing twists it can throw up.
Always honest, always emotional and always filled with glimpses of something beyond, Jim’s music has landed in a place it’s been leading to his whole life. His songs capture moments most can relate to, with frankness and hope.
Daylight & Stars is hopefully the first of many solo projects, with plenty more glimpses to come.
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