Canadian audiences in a few select cities are going to have the privilege of experiencing a rocking version of blues music, as purveyed by one of North America finest guitarist/vocalist/songwriters, Carvin Jones.
The veteran American musician, known for his incendiary playing style and upbeat, energetic live shows, is in the midst of an extensive tour that will see him crisscross North America, including a few shows in the Great White North.
“I guarantee to you, and I say this in every interview and the people in the audiences can attest to it, they will see something that they have never seen in their entire life when they come to a Carvin Jones show,” said the congenial and engaging Jones from his home in Arizona.
“When I leave the cities I play in and the countries I play in people say, ‘yes, Carvin was right. I haven’t seen anything like this.’ I am not saying I am better or worse than anyone else, but folks will never see a show like they are going to see when they see me. I guarantee it.”
After some dates in western Canada including Blues Can in Calgary June 8 and 9, as well as at Buds on Broadway in Saskatoon June 11 and 12, wrapping up with a multi-night stint in Edmonton at Blues on Whyte from June 13 to 17, Jones jets across the continent for a performance at the Adelaide Hall in Toronto on June 19, followed by a date at Club Soda in Montreal on June 21.
“My first shows in Canada were last year and I was pleasantly surprised. Because many people here in America think that Canada is like this far away country. But I remember it was only a two-and-a-half-hour flight from my home in Phoenix to Calgary. I was happy to discover this new market and I am really looking forward to playing in Toronto and Montreal for the first time,” said Jones.
“We play all over the world. We have played in about 37 countries over the last three years and we go everywhere. So, to find a big massive beautiful country like Canada only a couple of hours away, with such great blues music fans was surprising, but wonderful. But we play everywhere, man: Germany, Spain, France, Argentina and Brazil. It’s great because obviously they may not understand the lyrics, but they are really moving to the groove of the blues and the rock and roll and that’s what I love. Music speaks in all languages.”
Over his career, he has been primarily known as a live performer, playing in the aforementioned countries, as well as throughout the United States. He even toured in Iraq and Kuwait playing for American troops. On the festival and concert circuit Jones has opened for the likes of B.B. King, Santana, Jeff Beck, The Animals, Jimmy Vaughan, Double Trouble, and REO Speedwagon. He was also hired as a sideman to play alongside the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Joe Cocker.
Jones has written, recorded and released three albums. What You Need was issued in 1999, followed by The Carvinator in 2008 and Victory Is Mine in 2014. In January of 2001, he was listed as one of the top 50 blues guitarists of all time by Guitarist Magazine and has a solid endorsement deal with Fender for both guitars and amps.
Touring professionally for decades, Jones has had his own share of sideman. Currently operating as a tight, powerful trio, he said he is exceedingly happy with the two other members of the band: drummer Levi Velasquez and Italian bassist Mario Ciancarella.
“Levi is a top-notch drummer worldwide and Mario is a great bass player. He is from Rome, Italy and we get to play all over the world, including his country, and it’s beautiful. About two years ago we played a show there and he was the bass player in the opening band. And I remember thinking, ‘man, this guy is fantastic and he’s only 25, and he is so talented.’ I was looking around at different bass players at the time and I had to check to see if this guy was willing to do some big touring. A year later I contacted him, and he said ‘absolutely, you tell me where to go and I am there.’ He has been with me for about a year and it’s been fantastic,” Jones said, adding that he wants his band to be collegial and collaborative, which means attitude and personality are as important – if not more so – that musicianship and talent.
“To me it’s more important than the music. Learning the music will come with practice. If you cannot get along with the guy, and the guy can be the best player in the world, he could be better than Geddy Lee on the bass, but if you can’t get along with the guy, it’s totally useless. So, I always try to pick people who obviously have to play well, but I need to be able to know that I can get along with this guy, that I can laugh and talk to the guy on and off the stage. You are sometimes with these guys 18 or 19 hours a day, so you have to be able to get long.”
And if you’re wondering, the reference to legendary Canadian rocker Geddy Lee of Rush was not a flippant gesture to pander to a Canadian-based music journalist, it comes from genuine admiration.
“Ah yes baby, Rush. I am a blues guy, but I love Rush. I really hope they don’t retire for good. When I was in high school I played Tom Sawyer all the time on guitar. Alex Lifeson, man, was it. I am a Rush guy tried and true, and you can believe that,” Jones said.
For Jones, blues music as a genre is one that he has always found inspiring, but his own approach to the music, particularly the lyrics is one that is borne out of positivity and a sense of spiritual uplift which infuses his original compositions.
“To me, blues may be different to what it is to somebody else. First of all, I am a happy blues guy because I have been blessed to have tons and tons of success worldwide. So, blues to me is not a sad kind of thing, or a depressing thing. I may have a couple of songs that are a little bit of a downer but to me the blues has always been a positive thing. The normal view that people have of the blues is that it’s a sad thing: my dog died, my woman left me, that kind of thing. That hasn’t happened to me. I have had some trials and tribulations as a kid and stuff like that with family members. I have definitely seen my share of tragedy and heartbreak, absolutely yes, but that’s not what inspires me or my music,” he explained.
“Blues is very easy to play, but hard to feel. And if you listen to the real blues artist you will hear that. If you listen to a guy who is just playing the blues technically correct, but doesn’t have the feel its not going to come out like the real thing. With the real blues man you hear it in every note in their guitar, every note in their singing because it’s coming from a true feeling and not just from something that someone learned from a book. And that’s why I love the blues so much: if you want to really be a top-notch blues artist, there is no way to fake this stuff.
“And that’s why B.B. King is my all-time favourite. He could take four notes and make them sound like 20 with slide, hammer ons, trills – I mean really all kinds of stuff. He could make four notes sound like a complete guitar solo. He is one of three blues guitar players in music history where when they hit just one note, you know it’s them. B.B. King is one, Albert King is one and Albert Collins is the third. Those three guys they can literally hit one note and that’s all it takes. It is really, really incredible.”
B.B. King was Jones’ inspiration growing up in rural Texas and, as he has stated, is still his musical hero to this day. His grandfather apparently played King’s music ceaselessly on his turntable and as a child, Jones soaked it all in, eventually starting to play his own guitar at age seven.
“B.B. King was on the record player every hour of every day, day and night, you couldn’t get away from it, not that I wanted to. I was about seven years old when I first picked up a guitar, so I am now 51 so that means I have been playing guitar for 44 years. And I started with an electric guitar. I didn’t get my first acoustic guitar until I was about 17 or 18 so I had already been playing for about 10 years,” he said, adding that right from the start he used music as a form of personal expression, not satisfied with playing the songs of others.
“I wrote some songs when I was a kid and obviously the weren’t very good, but I just thought it was pretty cool to see if I can write something that would mean something. Of course, when you’re only 13, its pretty difficult to write a blues song. But as I got older, like everybody else, and started to experience life and the trials and tribulations along the way, including relationship break ups, then there started to be something to write about.”
The creative urge seems to strike Jones primarily when he is already on the road as performing in front of audiences seems to energize him. As well, the fact that he does not indulge in the normal rock and roll lifestyle, also helps him retain that artistic edge and energy while on the road.
“Sometimes I will wake up in the middle of the night and I will have this melody in my head, so I’d better get to the guitar and get to my phone and lay it down so that when I wake up the idea will still be there. I have done that numerous times, especially when I am on tour because it’s when I am at my most creative. That sounds strange, but I guess its because I am more involved in the music and the playing when I am on tour,” he explained.
“When I am not on tour, I am really just resting up because we tour so much. But I also have a lot of energy to write on the record because, believe it or not, I am a successful blues guy who has never drank or smoked a day in his life. That’s the truth. I have a lot of extra energy. I go to a gym six days a week. As a matter of fact, I am at the gym right now as I am talking to you. I go to the gym, I eat healthy and I feel great – I feel absolutely phenomenal.”
And that same word – phenomenal – is a fitting description of Jones’ music and live show. For more information, visit https://www.carvinjones.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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