About
Royal Jones
"Royal"
Instruments: Vocals, Composition/Songwriting, Arranging, Hand Percussion, back up vocals
details
Reproducing sounds,intensely scrutinizing and eventually developing a unique style, Royal Jones sweet falsetto topping a high baritone boasts a legit range covering four octaves plus. “it is not that easy becoming the next great diva being a white man! I'm the art not the business! Perhaps, that is why it's taken so long to accomplish so little. To record my own poetry and lyrics which I’ve scribbled since childhood, I’ve come full circle! Singing in various choruses, choirs,and glee clubs did not prepare this backwoods NH native for life in the big City.Royal Jones opted out of theatre pursuits and continued his lifelong hobby of setting his poetry to music and singing SOUL! Royal Jones has kicked around NYC since 1979 . Getting got jobs answering switchboards for the likes of Joan Jett and Arthur Ashe. Our future monarch always wanted to announce, “Hey I'm a singer. Listen to me! Paying for lead sheets and photos , he multitasked working for both a major utility and as a coat check at CHASE PARK where he witnessed Cyndi Lauper and Madonna working for nothing. He was no less inspired. Work with Steve Sandberg led to fourteen songs on a “basement CD”. Two of these collaborations were included in this new set of original songs from the 2004 CD “YOU BROKE THE CIRCLE” on MBIBE MUSIC both of which are given the special touch by CODEE. RUFFLE IN A BAG OF PLAIN, the project with Steve Sandberg, was based on his childhood in a New Hampshire town where the biggest attraction was the chip factory. An introduction to Richard Morris led to work with producer CODEE known for his work with Mary J. Blige(JAMAICA BOYS' Marcus Miller &,Lenny White, Michael Jackson, Nancy Wilson,N'dea Davenport, Cathy Dennis, P Diddy... and the list goes on. This new collaborator more suited Jones soulful nature. CODEE and I really connected. Those sessions went on wonderfully and got us into some trouble as well. ‘REALITY (play loud)’ brought the police and everyone else in. We rocked the neighborhood with that one. I was glad for any time Codee had. I sang my ass off as usual in the studio and I guess it paid off. ” " I ponder where did the years go? I moved to NYC in search of a music career. A bad case of stage jitters kept me from performing live. An appearance at OUTMUSIC at the Gay and Lesbian Center in NYC helped to curb those emotions slightly. There, I received much needed support and comparisons to a ‘disco’ Neil Young and an ‘Amish’ Sylvester! Friend Humor was back. Confidence was restored. I had something to build on! Back to the drawing board and new collaborations with ‘CODEE’. All that I've kept bottled inside has poured forth onto my new CD ‘YOU BROKE THE CIRCLE’. Thoughts that some say should have been saved for the therapist’s visit are spilled out onto the tracks of this the newest CD .I'm grateful for anything and everything. Just to still be here after kissing so many goodbye. So very many. So much has happened. The EP MAKE THINGS NICE featured four tracks that were recorded a block from the World Trade Center. So weird how I used to go through those buildings every day. Some of the lyrics are reflective of the devastation felt by that event. All shit was happening and I was sitting on a bar stool at a counter drinking coffee! What was going on so close to me? I hadn’t a clue. Old school, a throwback, you name it, I’ve been called it! You just can’t categorize me. My eclectic set! When I get the funk out, watch out! And then I’ll do a honey-sweet ballad like “Epiphany”. What style can you truly lock me into? Hmnn? Word of mouth and people coming out to my shows that’s how I’ll survive.” “An independently distributed CD is finally completed,So many delays and distractions ,stolen demos and incredible losses have made whatever is to follow that much more bittersweet. The rent being due has delayed Royal Jones’ debut CD for too, too long! I can’t wait another Millennium!”
Current Projects
