Local artist Rob Jones performed songs from his latest album, “Gypsy Heart”
By Gabriella Marin
Friday, March 25, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. – At the young age of 24, Rob Jones shows no signs of wanting to do anything else with his life except focus on his music. “I’ve always done music; never done anything else,” said Jones as he set up his musical equipment outside the Dandelion Communitea Café on Friday.
Of all the career options available to Jones, this North Carolina southern boy has chosen music. Jones learned a valuable lesson through his mom. “I grew up watching my mom work a job that she hated,” said Jones. “My mom is a brilliant poet and can draw amazingly, but she had to put that dream on hold to raise her kids.” Jones wants to make sure he is on the career path of happiness and do what he loves now – music.
A self-taught guitar and piano player, Jones first showed an interest for singing. “I sang before I spoke,” he said.
Children’s choirs, church choirs, and music solos at school… Jones has done it all. He tells of the times when he’d beg hotel lounge managers to let him play, and sometimes there wasn’t even an audience to play for. “It was really just me playing for the couches,” said Jones, “but I loved it because it was a chance to play.”
Having seen Jones perform countless times since she was a child, close friend Leah Greenslade has had the privilege to see Jones grow with his music over the years. “He wasn’t always ‘this’ when I met him,” said Greenslade. “There can’t be a way that he won’t get famous.”
Before his performance outside the Dandelion Communitea Café, Jones made it clear that he was going to stay up on stage playing until he was kicked off.
Along with playing songs from his new album, “Gypsy Heart,” Jones also had the audience laughing and cheering as he performed a medley covering songs by Alicia Keys, Tom Petty, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson.
Audience member, Anthony Paez, agrees that Jones is not far from being famous. “I don’t have a doubt that we’ll be hearing him soon on the radio,” said Paez.
Although his music has somewhat of a soulful sound, Jones has struggled to break into the music scene because he has no specific genre. “I let people define me,” said Jones.
Being definable with his music is something that Jones least worries about. “I just write and perform what comes out; how I feel on a particular day or what mood I’m in,” said Jones. He refuses to put barriers to his music and feels that doing so will throw off people who wouldn’t normally listen to his “folky, soul” sound.
“Life is always tough,” said Jones. He simply wants the public to use his music as “escapism” from everyday life without worrying about what “category” of music it is.
Throughout the show, Jones sold and signed copies of his album, “Gypsy Heart.” Jones’s website provides links to his social-networking websites and a brief biography. Visit: RobJonesMusic.com.
