Oliver’s Army Marches On

Last night me and about a hundred other folks had a blast at LBG watching America’s best Elvis Costello Tribute Band – Oliver’s Army. Like us, they hadn’t practiced or performed in several months, but you wouldn’t have known it. They delivered all of the classics with nary a trip-up, slowdown or mistake. I could hear everyone perfectly and really rocked out to all the up-tempo numbers in the first set. While lead signer Russell Bartholomee doesn’t wear the traditional black frames anymore (another lasik success), closing your eyes, you’d almost swear it was Declan up there. The vocal delivery embodies every nuance in strong fashion. You gotta check these guys out.

Lots of folks got up to dance, including Brian Wheat of Tesla fame! I had the honor of hanging out with Jeff Keith, lead singer of Tesla. I think he took a shine to me since we shared the same first name. Both guys were extremely friendly and outgoing. My right breast is still sore from the painful yet affectionate squeeze Jeff gave it as he was leaving – HEHE!!!

The Reviews Begin

Thanks for the plug and shout out Cindy!

More reviews (positive and negative) coming soon.

Here are some fan/friend e-mails:
Mark Pittman sez – Hey, I listened to yer latest last night on my big stereo, and the phrase that kept resounding in my brain was “pure pleasure”. Mixing and mastering helps loads, no? Not that it was bad before, but everything that previously stuck out in a negative way seems to have been smoothed out in the m&m process.

Harvey Barham sez – I’ve had Sweet Simulacra in the car stereo for the past few days and have given it a good listening to. My faves are the title track and FIRST FIVE. The title track is a huge homerun and by far and away the hit single on the record. That chorus is herion-like it’s so addictive. You were smart to make that tune the album opener (for shameless marketing purposes.) I used to think ELECTRCITII or DOWN was your best, but I think this tune has given those a serious run for thier money. As for the song FIRST FIVE, I thought it was one of the better “rockers” on the album. AS per usual, I favor your simpler tunes over the more complex ones. You done good, man. You have every right to be proud.

Wendy Moore sez – I thought the whole album was great. Starting with the title song was a perfect high-energy beginning and ending with the mellow “Hollywooden Dreams” a great way to say good bye. I think the diversity of tunes throughout kept it interesting and the clever and original lyrics always impress me. The vocals on this album blow me away – the melodies and harmonies are great and the range Jeff has is amazing.

The band is truly all-star quality and just makes each of the songs come together nicely. Great music for sure! My fav songs were the title song of course – catchy and energetic; and probably a close second would be “Be Cool” – it starts solid with cool organs and goes into that kick-ass bass line, then continues with Jeff’s awesome voice range, clever lyrics and some really interesting music going on the entire time. It was hard to choose though I really liked them all. Good job on the whole album – I was definitely impressed.

If you have thoughts – positive or negative, send them to me – joneserooni at comcast dot net

Dada’s Back! Lots of chances to see Jones Thing

With the much needed rebirth of Club Dada almost complete… (thanks to Bob Cummins and the rest of the patron saints of Dallas Music) The Jones Thing has been invited to play some gigs there…

Saturday, April 8th – 9:30pm – Full-Band Musical Performance Opening for AIRLINE

Saturday, April 29th – 9:30pm – Full-Band Musical Performance Opening for Sorta.

Check back soon for exact times, though you should prolly be there by 9:30pm each nite.

In addition to these two shows, we will be adding even more shows at this famous venue. Will let ya know when they are solid.

(now… how do we find time to practice more…)

Miscommunication = An Internet Radio Station

Yesterday Amanda (PR/wet nurse for the JT) and your’s truly appeared on Miscommunication. Thanks to Paul, Grubes and Ceepe for having us on and Bridget for opening her home to us.

Hear me overplug the site, band and cd!
Hear Paul ask the tough questions!
Hear the Monkey Puppet grill Ceepe!
Hear other words and things!
More publicity events and news soon.

Download Segment 1 – Intro
Download Segment 2 – Jeffy
Download Segment 3 – Jeffy Pt. 2
Download Segment 4 – Ceepe News
Download Segment 5 – More Jeffy/New Sponsor

Sweet Simulacra overload

Hey Kids,

Just wanted to thank everyone who came to the show last night. Saw a lot of folks I hadn’t seen in a long long time. It was a great success. We had a blast. I wanted to sit down and watch the band with you. Chris, Joe, Eric and Trey are such bad asses. Not bad for 3 2 short practices in the last 2 weeks!

We sold lots of copies of the cd (thanks Amanda and Val) and I’ve now made it available direct via PayPal. Digital Distribution (emusic, iTunes, etc) coming very soon via cdbaby.com distribution – tho we don’t make that much money that way.

Thanks to Cindy at TexasGigs.com for the publicity. Thanks to Amanda for creating a great press release/kit.

On Sunday me and a few of the boys will be appearing on Miscommunication.net – another great local podcast. Will letcha know how that goes.

I am hoppy-cited about everything.

Cd Release party/gig info…

(bump)

Thursday, March 9th – 9:30pm – CD Release of ‘Sweet Simulacra’ / Full-Band Musical Performance

Where? The Lakewood Bar and Grill – 6340 Gaston Avenue between Abrams Road and La Vista Drive. Call for detailed directions at 214-826-3888, or get a map here.

Plenty of booze, food, seating and dance space.

OMG – see a live performance of most of the album by the band, along with the classics you crave. There will be an opening and closing act, so get there early or on time.

There wil be NO cover charge and those attending will get the cd cheaper than retail, and be the first to buy it before anyone else. Wow! Such a deal! Members of the press (with pr card sent out in press pack) will get a free cd to review and then trash or resell on ebay.