Hang Jones
Here’s something different. Maybe not completely different, as Monty Python’s guys said, but Hang Jones (it’s singer/songwriter Stephen Grillos) is an effort to make the western ballad popular without reaching out to the glitter crowd of Nashville and L.A.
Fiddle, guitar and simple rhythm, along with titles such as “Caroline,” “Comin’ Round” and “Arm Yourselves” help him a lot. Harmony on “Caroline” is nice. These are all on The Ballad of Carlsbad County.
Same nice harmony on “Comin’ Round.” Now “Comin’ Round” is a happy kind of song, country and foot-stompin’ in all it’s glory. Grillos says about the “concept” album. He liked a couple of the songs best when he first wrote a few for this collection, then “got excited” about making other songs fit into a concept. I guess it works. It will probably take the new listener a few times around to get the whole story pieced together.
You can find out this guy and his San Francisco shows on www.myspaced.com/hangjones or on www.hangjones.com.
Grillos does the vocals, guitar and mandolin, while Matt Cunitz is responsible for the CD’s upright bass, pump organ and some vocals. Also making a major contribution is Mayumi Urgino – fiddle, vocals.
Grillos lists among his influences Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Tom Waits, The Stones, John Hurt, Bruce Springsteen, Tim Easton, Rev. Gary Davis, John Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Blind Blake, Charley Patton and John Lee Hooker. I do like that list!
Listeners can download free MP3s from the website.
Tags: independent music, indie, music, indie music, hang jones
