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Gary Edward Jones: half-Maltese, half-Scouse, vegan cabinet maker and singer-songwriter from Liverpool, with a passion for wood carving, a love of guitars and a curiosity about the universe who lovingly crafts heart-achingly beautiful songs inspired by early Motown, The Blues and folk: A man who Amy Wadge, Ed Sheeran’s co-writer, has called an ‘undiscovered gem’ and whose work has been cited as being ‘Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in a 2015 style,’ by singer-songwriter Tom Baxter.
On Thursday April 28, Gary launches the video from his debut single, Bang Bang Bang taken from his album, The Cabinet Maker, at Constellations in The Baltic Quarter. “I was brought up on music, but on the sound of Motown in particular, along with Simon & Garfunkel, Louis Armstrong and The Eagles,” Gary says. “It was a really eclectic mix and, to some, a bit bizarre in some ways, but hopefully that mixture of inspirations is something that’s come across on the album. I’m not trying to mimic anybody it’s just that the music you listen to has to influence your own style greatly.”
From the age of 11, Gary began writing songs imitating those of his idols, Lennon & McCartney, Tim and Neil Finn and the legends that are Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. “My elder brother was having these guitar lessons and he was just an amazing player: one of those who no matter how hard you try to be better than, you never will be because they’re the ones with the natural talent. Anyway, he turned 13 and just couldn’t be bothered with it anymore.
“Me, on the other hand, had been so spellbound by what he’d been doing that I asked our Mum if I could have his guitar and learned how to play it. Writing stuff came naturally, really, but I found learning to play very difficult. What I could pick up on from the guys we were listening to regularly though was a melody or a hook, which has been instilled in what I am trying to do today because these are the things that keep us interested as listeners a lot of the time.”
Each of the 9 songs on The Cabinet Maker come across as beautifully crafted, uncomplicated songs that are filled to the brim with individual meaning. Of course, like a heft of raw wood that finally becomes a Chippendale table, it takes months of refinement to make it the finished product and that means overcoming more than a few obstacles. “These songs are all quite personal to me and I didn’t really want people taking over inasmuch as trying to interpret what I was trying to say.
“I want the listener to get what I’m saying straight away. I also wanted the melodies to come across really strongly and even at the right frequencies and right intensity, meant that everything had to change on a technical basis, while keeping the integrity of the song itself at the right level. Initially we recorded some of the first takes in my back room with a cellist and a guitar player and thought it was amazing.
“That kind of spurred me on because sometimes in a studio environment, you can never be happy with the final mix, not with everybody saying what might work and what might not. With The Cabinet Maker, I wanted something that retained something of a dirtier, unclean sound. With this in mind we recorded much of the album in The Bat Cave Studios in Bootle, which is the polar opposite of any posh recording studio but that nevertheless delivers an unmistakeable atmosphere to everything you could possibly wish to produce. I didn’t want anything that was too clean, too polished, and ended up in the James Taylor kind of sphere, which comes across brilliantly on the track Vampires.”
The feedback, plaudits and acclaim that The Cabinet Maker has received since its release in 2014 has been exceptional across the musical spectrum, far and wide. “It’s been incredible but, I have to say that, since the age of 11 years old, I have had this unwavering belief that my music would be successful, well received and enjoyed.
“That’s not me being a big head, it is just an inner belief that I’ve always held. If it had taken me until the age of 60 or 70, then I was determined to keep hold of the musical values that I hold dear. I have always had faith in the fact that it can’t be just me that holds those same values. Fortunately, I’ve not had to wait that long, but I’m not daft enough to think that this as the end. It’s just the beginning. ”
On Thursday 28th April, Bang Bang Bang is released. “I can’t wait to get this out there. The short reason why I’ve chosen this one as the single is because I think its theme is very current and we, as a race, refuse to bloody well learn from the massive mistakes we make every single day. The message within the song – with its environmental, historical and political significance – is something that I felt needed to be said, but with the hope that even if only a few listen to it then things can and will change for the better.”
GARY EDWARD JONES – ‘Bang Bang Bang’ Single Launch: Constellations & The Observatory, Liverpool, April 28th, 8pm: For Tickets: www.seetickets.com