Jonivan Jones: Simplicity Spawns Universal Enlightenment

If American frontiersman Daniel Boone or folk hero Ansel Adams could sing and write music, people would expect they would have sounded very much like singer/songwriter/guitarist Jonivan Jones.  It stands to reason since Jones shows an awareness of the environment and mankind relatable to the way Boone did as a navigator and explorer of America's frontier and Adams did through his photographs of America's old west.  The only difference between Jones and his predecessors is that music is his source of creative expression and his contribution to cultural stimulation.

"There's just SO much out there to write about," he deems.  "I write about everything:   relationships, loss, gain, death, taxes, frailty, another person's perspective, the ocean, etc."  He undertakes, "I hope to appreciate and embrace what is there so that I can continue to develop it the way some of my most respected songwriters have, I think the most valuable way to do that is to say something very complex in a very simple way sometimes."

He goes on musing,"Approaching it all from a simple and real place is so liberating too.  I'm a songwriter and that's all I have ever really aspired to be if I'm going to be truly honest with myself.  Whenever I have tried to force too much more than that, the recipe usually falls apart or loses it's genuineness."

Simplicity spawns universal enlightenment in Jones's songs.  A trait that audiences can correlate to many of his musical influences, whom he states include, "A lot of big name staples: Lucky Laroux, Jimmie Rodgers, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash."  He cites many more artists that have impacted him, as the interview continues.

Having written and recorded music as an independent solo artist for  some 10 years plus, Jones's latest single "Wading through Whiskey"demonstrates his personalized touch to melodies with a penchant to speak from his soul, again citing more musical influences who showed him how they channeled their emotions and thoughts into their music such as, "Hell's Kitchen, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Dwight Yoakum, Bob Will's, Nirvana, PJ, Radiohead, Soundgarden."

He recalls about his experiences while recording the single, "I had been in the middle of some pretty significant life changes.  As I departed one chapter and started another, there were some difficult moments that anyone in my situation would probably experience.  So, I decided to take some of that and create a song that was actually about pulling through the tough stuff."

"The hook is that the positive," he discerns about the song, "is captured within some sad words and I think that's realistic as not everything is always cut and dry.  There are times when something may not seem positive from the outside but it's up to the individual to ultimately determine what that moment means to them.  As it is in any song, you determine your own meaning."

"Wading through Whiskey" puts Jones's discoveries about himself into music.  Simultaneously, the cover of the single reflects his self-discoveries in the photo that he chose for the cover of the single.  "I created that picture one day while getting some pics to use for different promotional things," he explains.  "That man is actually myself looking up at an old bridge that I've know most of my life back in Arkansas.  The image on the bridge was symbolic of a moment of introspection and or reflection and it had some ties to some great memories from my past so it just kind of accidentally worked as a cover."

He shares about recording the single, "Normally, I might re-record it with more bell's and whistles but I believed that song could stand alone as a single in it's own form.  So it's a just a little rough around the edges taste of the album that I hope to record this spring."

Jones's upcoming album to be released in the spring 2020 is entitled The Afterwhile and touches on his personal growth as he mentions again, "I had turned a pretty significant corner in life and music.  With that has come a bit of clarity in the realization of who I am.  Naturally, I wrote songs touching on some of that.  So those songs are about some of that personal stuff but also about things like: the Ocean, some great friends/people I've met, some are about celebrating a specific relationship and one is actually one of the first songs that I ever wrote at the age of 14 that I re-worked as a grimy bluesy type rockabilly song.  Definitely a lot of fun," he remarks.

From blues liken to his influences such as "Muddy Waters, Son House, Howlin Wolf, Magic Sam," Jones incorporates grit and soul into his music.  From folk liken to his forerunners "Neil Young, Tom Waites, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Alan Lomax's Early Library of Field recordings," he finesses a poetic phrasing in his lyrics.  From rock 'n' roll's vaults liken to such luminaries as "The 13th Floor Elevators, The Black Angels, The Doors, Elvis Presley's Guitarist Scotty Moore," he infuses passion in his songs.  From jazz sources like "Hubert Sumlin, Booker T (Bukka White) Washington, Taj Mahal," Jones  exercises his flair for improvising in his songs.

When composing music and lyrics, Jones admits, "I do not use anything other than myself, a guitar, harmonica, bass lines (on guitar) and a little recorder to capture the ideas when they pop up, later I polish them into the songs that they become.  The melodies come from a place inside myself and are usually connected to an overarching thought or sentiment, sometimes very deep or personal and other times very simple, and hopefully, light and fun."

"I think or I'd like to think that there's a lot more self realization at this point," he comments about how his songwriting has grown over the years.  "The words I write now are more anchored in some basic tangible parts of life while still painting a bigger picture for the sake of the song."

He regards, "I've definitely taken a much simpler approach to music the last few years and it's really been liberating and opened more doors than the times that I may have over complicated it.  I think one of the biggest things that I've gained in the last 7 to 8 years is that a song doesn't always have to be on volume 11  to have it's impact, and that there's a quiet intensity that's sometimes so much more effective in the delivery of the song."

Comparing his songwriting today to when he began as a solo recording artist with his indie release Animalsound, he realizes it's "completely different in that it's something that I can set down with a guitar and re-create anywhere, and back to a simplification that I mentioned and with Animalsound sometimes I would get very far away from that.  In my head I was following the spirit of Cat Power or something like it and  it was so much fun but after awhile it became a struggle to re-create some of that live.  This new material is genuine and I've embraced that core the way some of my favorite songwriters do."

Seeking material that feels more genuine is reflected in the musical influences that have emerged through the new millennium.  These include, "The Cactus Blossoms, Ryan Bingham, PJ Harvey, just to name a few."  He recognizes, "My influences have really not changed too drastically over time.  I listen to so much of everything.  There are some independent artists out there that put out such great material as well and for me anything made with heart and not afraid to take some risks has my attention."

Some of the risks that Jones has needed to take come with being an independent artist.  He imparts about the path he is taking, "The road to putting out my own music is just filled with challenges but some of them are just part of a process and others are bigger, more existential challenges.  Some of them are writing, recording, advertising, distribution, performing the content as it is without losing the simple reality that it's entertainment."

Understanding the entertainment factor that comes with putting out music for public consumption, Jones searched far and wide across the internet to locate sites where his music can be streamed.  Some places where audiences can find his music include, "Spotify, Itunes, Youtube, Facebook, SoundCloud," he lines up, "and anywhere CD Baby digitally distributes so quite a few places, if you google my name then you will get some links to the website jonivanjonesmusic.com as well but no relation or connection with the Jonivan Jones that runs a political driven blog."

What inspired Jones to write and play music brought him back to his formative years, as he propounds, "Whether it's music or some other form, I am incredibly drawn to create tangible work.  At a very young age around 13-14, I began writing really rough versions of songs and melodies that I would capture on an old tape recorder, which I found at a relative's house.  I believe that some of the music I grew up with and the different artists that I had discovered around that age (13-14) were the driving force to create songs and also sounds.  I learned early on to emulate a lot of guitar sounds also, and that varied widely because my interests were broad in the sense of what we think of as genre's within music."

He reminisces, "So I started playing around age 13 but I did not play in front of people at a venue until I was about 15.  That was in an old blues club in the town of Hot Springs.  I was allowed to sit in with the band for a cover of  'The Thrill is Gone'.' 

"The motivation to play music," he speculates, "and hopefully connect with people has been there ever since I started writing original music/songs, although it has changed in some ways quite a bit.  I think the reason that I chose to write original music was ultimately driven by the creative part of myself, and also because I realized within other original music that there was a lot of room to forge something new and different."

Currently, Jonivan Jones is moving ahead, looking forward to performing his original songs live.  "I'm currently booking dates," he broaches, "so I'll get out there after this release just as I did before.  I've played solo, with a three piece, as a two piece and with all sorts of instrumentation from bass and drums to a homemade washtub bass to homemade foot pedals.  Usually the circumstances have dictated if I've played solo or not, I've met some GREAT people out there in different towns where I lived or roamed and I look forward to reconnecting with them again one day and maybe playing together again.  Sometimes I ramble around the country a bit and often that causes me to be solo."

When Jones isn't writing, recording or performing his music, he ventures into working on some of his other interests, which he lists as, "Family, Animals, Opportunities to give back to Veterans, Artist's and Communities, Welding, Creating Rock/Stone Carving and structures, Cooking, Local Breweries, Environmental Clean up whether it's volunteer or organized by an organization, The Outdoors of this amazing world we live in."

A proponent of environmental preservation and a rambler set on the path to move across the countryside similarly to Daniel Boone and Ansel Adams, Jonivan Jones is unknowingly carving out a place for himself as a modern day folk hero.  Whereas Boone had a talent for venturing into the unknown and Adams expressed his explorations  through his photographs, Jones uses his music to reach and touch audiences, communicating his feelings and thoughts, finding that his self-awareness spawns universal consciousness of what was once unknown.