JOHN-PAUL JONES GROUP NEWS

It has been a busy but great year.  2018 saw us play many great shows. Market On Main was a great place for us to play. Pre-Riverfest Event was a great event as well. Iowa State Fair we had a great time. Being on of the Finalists in the Iowa Blues Challenge was an honor. Jessica Peine Memorial Ride and Benefit. We recorded all of our shows on DVD. November saw the release of our own promotional DVD video. December has been a busy month of planning for next year.  Look for us to be back out on the road 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2019. We will be recording live on the road and new material will be released as it is mixed and available.  Plans are in the works to have a great season. Jp would like to thank: Heather Dawn - Merchandising S&L Entertainment - Camera Crew Tyler Hernandez - Production Assistant John Jones III - Audio Tech Brian Hearity - Sound Engineer Wes Konrad - Sound Engineer Steven Jones - Drums Sally Henry - Bass Jesse Price - Bas...

We have a new short video clip out of our performance last week in Ft. Madison Iowa at the Pre-RiverFest at Vinnie's Longbranch.  What a great crowd, great charity event. We also received notice that we will be playing the Bud Light Stage at the Iowa State Fair.   We have been steadily recording songs for multiple up-coming EP's we will release over the winter for your listening pleasure as well as a series of DVD's. I hope you will enjoy the rest of the summer and will come out and see the John-Paul Jones Group If the if the video does not play for you just go here to listen to new music. https://www.facebook.com/tours/403576206776109/ 

WORKING WITH PERFORMANCE MUSICIANS CONVERTED TO STUDIO MUSICIANS As you may be aware of now,  the John-Paul Jones Group is a band that consists of a revolving door of musicians who contribute at one time or another to either live performance, rehearsals or recording sessions. When working within the context of a studio, its important to understand the dynamic the self-produced solo artist has with schedules and musicians.  The first thing, to remember, NEVER ask your fellow musicians to play on your record for free in your studio... its something that should not happen unless you are all going to share in the expenses and profits of the project. If its not in your budget to pay cash, then trade studio time or something tangible with them.  I personally live in an area that musicians are traditionally not paid for such activity.  Most of the musicians I know hold day jobs.  We are what I call "semi-pro"  meaning some of us make a partial living...

CopperTop Studio Journal 04-21-2018 Well the EP Volume No. 2 are in from the duplication house.  I would like to thank EasyDisc.Net for their great service. I also want to thank Jesse Price for all the help he gave here at CopperTop Studios.  We are wanting to sell these EP's if you want an early bird price ($6.00) come over to the Best Western in Fairfield, Iowa we will be supporting the Southeast Iowa Blues Society and we will be giving away a CD Sampler and if you would like you can also purchase the EP Volume #2 - A Tribute to Rory Gallagher.  (Those who are fans will  know why I named the EP "Volume #2". I want to give special thanks to the musicians who worked on EP Volume #2  Don Brown thanks for giving us a hand on the drums.   Sally Henry, thank you for all your support and great bass playing, can't do it without you.   I want to thank my manager Heather Dawn for all the hard work and support you give us. I also n...

Well as you all know its tax season, and after going through all my businesses taxes, my children's taxes and my wife's taxes.  I was a bit frazzled to say the least. Well instead of wallowing in my frustration? (which should of been relief.  I went straight to the studio and recorded vocals for two songs for the NEXT EP Volume 3 which is to be released June 1st 2018 Listening to the third track the drums were not recorded well, so we have to record this song over again. Again don't forget May 1st, EP Volume No. 2  "A Tribute to Rory Gallagher" will be available to purchase. We are taking pre-orders on our website. We will have some at the Southeast Iowa Blues Society Member Appreciation Celebration in Fairfield Iowa this Saturday April 21st, come on down and listen to Bluzillion and Tony Blew play some great blues. Don't forget about the upcoming shows we have the first being in Ft. Madison 2:30pm at Vinnie's Longbranch in support of the RiverFes...

When I was a young lad, I was totally interested in music, as I grew older I remember there was an album by Aldo Nova called "Fantasy" and I remember Aldo Nova on some late night news clip or magazine interview talking about how he played all of the instruments on this album.  It fascinated me that he could record everything himself.   I was unaware that it was even possible.  Fast forward a few years later, I receive a Guitar Player or similar magazine with a Flexible Record in it and it contained a song called, "Blue Powder" by Steve Vai, and it blew my mind as I read the interview on how he built his first studio.  Steve Vai was always able to share knowledge in a way that allowed even the teenager mind to understand that its possible to record music themselves. Before I get too far off track.  What do you need to do to start your own production?  Well you have to have access to recording equipment (a laptop and a microphone and mixer/interfa...

COPPERTOP STUDIO HUT JOURNAL ENTRY 04-04-2018 CLIENT:  John-Paul Jones Group TIME: 6:30PM to 8:10PM MUSICIANS:    Guitar/Vocals  Jp Jones   Drums - Steven Jones Bass - Sally Ward The John-Paul Jones Group was in the studio today recording an old Sonny Boy Williamson classic tune.  We will keep the actual song under wraps. The band recorded with a minimal setup. The goal is to mimic a direct to recording disc recording.  Sonny Boy Williamson had a unique style of singing.  Jp worked hard at melding his style with this style of blues. But one of the biggest changes, was Jp traded (for this session) his Ibanez Universe 7 String for an Ibanez 6 String Tallman Guitar. Who knew the 7-String Heavy Bluesman could have a softer side. Jp stated, " I was trying to put a LIMITATION" on myself. First couple takes I played finger style, but the band couldn't bite into it.  So he switched to a dunlop pick.  This bro...

I am a child of 60's meaning I was born in the 60's.  I feel like I was born during the time of music prolifercation.  When I was young Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits turned on our record player for hours on end. As I grew older I became influenced by the great guitarists who came on the scene 1965-1969.  Of those great guitarist Rory Gallagher was one who just blew my mind. So when I decided to record an EP I decided it would affectionately and simply be called. John-Paul Jones Group EP Volume No.2 A Tribute To Rory Gallagher I picked three Rory Gallagher songs to record on this album.  I picked three songs that mean something to me. Cradle Rock Laundromat Shadow Play I recorded Cradle Rock because of the power in the riff and the vocal.  And in my interpretation the lyrics are about others accepting you for who you are and letting you be who you are.  I recorded Laundromat because when I was young I spent a lot of time in laundromats.  I was ...

THIS WEEKS TIP DEALS WITH COVER TUNES The John-Paul Jones Group is about to release a series of tribute EP's  over 2018.   May 1st is our first release will be of songs by an inspirational artist, yet to be revealed.   However one of the most important thing that all artists should learn is that paying for the use of songs is important.    This is an easy process and is done through the HARRY FOX AGENCY.   You see all of you who play in cover bands, feel like they are "entitled" to use the songs in your music career.  And although no one is chasing you down at your gig at the Crusty's Crab Shack...  if you record those songs, for any purpose,   you might want to check into LICENSING those songs.  Which then allows you to utilize the songs for commercial purposes. Here at the John-Paul Jones Group, we have a publishing company, a record label, a recording studio, and of course the live band entities.  ...

THE JOHN-PAUL JONES GROUP EP IS MIXED! I spent the better part of 7pm to 2am mixing this upcoming EP then of course I had to burn to a CD drive for a 1/2 hour to listen to the tracks. I cant tell you the songs yet.  Its a surprise.  But I have to thank Sally Henry, Don Brown and my manager Heather for their grear support.  I can wait to hear it after its mastered.   I will have a sampler CD at the Southeast Iowa Blues Society Member Appreciation that I am giving away, in exchange for joining our mailing list. Or you can get this CD on our website. Its been a long road to get to this point.  But I believe this EP will be ready on schedule by May 1st 2018. Thanks to all our fans on and offline for your support.

TIP OF THE WEEK: For those of you who are out there mixing your own records.  I have found a great tutorial written by a guy named.  Björgvin Benediktsson   He wrote a tutorial called the Ultimate Mix Translate Cheet Sheet, and the Ultimate EQ Cheat Sheet. Needless to say, its helping with the mixing of the next John-Paul Jones Group EP.  Also I want to recommend a product for helping you mix.  Even if you have a perfect set of Studio Monitors.  You need to be able to LISTEN to your mix on different systems.  Here are some things I have in my studio to make a matrix of different speakers in the recording studio. Main Studio Monitors Behringer Truth B2030A These speakers are my main active monitoring speakers they are connected directly to my Behringer  X32 CORE Mixer/Interface. Now everything sounds GREAT through these flat response perfectly placed monitors.  But what we found is we are not always translating our mix ...

We are pleased to announce that we are releasing our first EP of 2018 on May 1st.  The EP is a tribute to great Irish Blues Rocker Rory Gallagher.  Rory was and is a big influence on Jp Jones and also has a lot to do with the John-Paul Jones Group's dedication to preserving the blues-rock heritage. "I remember the first time I heard Rory play,  the song was Messing with the Kid from some televised TV special rerun on public television.  His playing style was just amazing.   I already knew the song, but to hear Rory play it with such raw power, was amazing, I couldn't get enough" - Jp Jones.    Having followed Rory's Career until he died in 1995 Jp also is a big fan of collecting anything Rory has on video.   Especially the documentary Ghost Blues. "With this EP, I wanted to record my version of Rory's songs, this EP is by no means a way for me to try and copy note for note what Rory created.  Because that's im...

Today was a great day mixing songs for the upcoming EP.    stay tuned for the TIP OF THE WEEK on Monday.  Where Jp explains his control room speaker system and how you can get this done on a budget.    Taking a break from mixing.

Hello ALL This will be my new blog to share information I learn, keep you informed about the band and also get feedback from anyone. Have you got a venue suggestion let us know? Have you got a song request? Let us Know Want to know how a band member gets a certain sound? ask us. Want a picture or how to get merchandise?  ask us. Stay tuned and sign the guest book and we will add you to the blog. Thanks for all your Support John-Paul "Jp" Jones