Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Jones.
Hi Brandon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was raised on bluegrass and folk music. My dad was an amateur banjo player and two of his brothers were guitarists. Every family get together was a bluegrass pickin’ session. My dad also surrounded himself with friends who were musicians, and I spent many a night in our living room or around a campfire listening to live music. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized how unique, and awesome, this was.
My formal music training came in school band, and I majored in Music Education in college, ultimately earning Masters and Doctoral degrees in conducting and holding a professorship for 19 years. When I was in grad school over 20 years ago, I got the urge to learn guitar as a different kind of creative outlet from conducting. One of my cousins who grew up like I did around music, and an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, had started playing out and urged me to do the same. I started playing solo gigs in public in September 2017, and I’ve been active at it ever since. It has not only been a fun creative outlet – I half-jokingly call it my therapy – but it’s been an incredible way to meet people around town and form friendships both in and out of music.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Learning an instrument is never easy. Even as someone who’d had over a decade of formal music training, it took countless hours to learn guitar, and work up songs that I liked signing and sounded good at. Once I had about 30 songs I contacted my first bar owner with a little demo video I had made, and to my surprise he emailed me back in a half hour asking me to meet with him that night. As soon as I shook his hand, he asked “What’s your rate?” a question I wasn’t even prepared to answer. It’s not always been that easy to book gigs, but I’ve learned the importance of being authentic, being professional, and maintaining good relationships. Something that has prepared me for my latest venture – working as a licensed real estate agent.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I perform modern and classic acoustic guitar covers from the 1960’s through today. I started out with a lot of the kind of music I grew up with – acoustic greats like John Denver, James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel – and I’ve ventured out to include classic rock, lots of ’80s and ’90s rock, alternative and pop, and more recent music. I like to have a wide variety of songs since I tend to play at venues and private events where people want to make requests, so I’ve got a song list of over 300 now. I’ve begun utilizing some tech like a looper, lead guitar effects, bass, and drums so I can get a more full band sound when the atmosphere calls for it. But I still love playing intimate solo acoustic when appropriate. As someone with a classically trained ear, I’m particular about how I sound from a quality, acoustics, and amplifier standpoint, as well as how the songs come off. Not every song should have an acoustic cover, but I’ve surprised myself by some that work as well as they do. We are in a world that needs personal connection now more than ever, and I strive for my performances to engage audiences in that manner.
How do you think about luck?
I’d say I’ve been pretty lucky. Despite growing up in a lower income household, I had two parents who were always supportive of any endeavor I wanted to pursue. I was lucky enough to find a professorship in the area that allowed my wife and I to raise our kids near family and for her to continue in her amazing career.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bjonesguitar.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bjonesguitar
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2059465397620246
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Eycy5dDMpLwr8lN4sbG0A
