Guitar whiz JW Jones is excited to tour with his new blues and soul trio the HOROJO Trio, which stops by Sisters on Sunday, Oct. 16 in support of their debut CD “Set The Record.”
Jones, drummer Jamie Holmes, singer/keyboardist Jeff Rogers make up the HOROJO trio.
“Today is a driving day today, then we start the tour at the Zubar,” said Jones, driving through Nebraska en route to the first date of a five week tour.
“So far so good. The driving has been easy It’s a beautiful Fall day,” he said.
“This is a five week tour . We start in Nebraska with a couple of dates then Minnesota and then we head over to Lethbridge for our first Canadian date. We play some dates in Alberta dates including Festival place in Sherwood Park outside of Edmonton on Monday and we’re selling tickets for that. So you can those online for that as well. Then we continue west to B.C and do a bunch of B.C Dates. Then we go down through California, Vega , Texas and then ending in Memphis, Tennessee, then the final show is closer to home in upstate New York. We’re covering a lot of ground in five weeks,” Jones said, driving across Nebraska for to kick off the tour.
The HOROJO Trio formed about a year an a half before winning the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2020.
“We only formed about a year and a half before that and went down to Memphis to compete in the International Blues Challenge. There were about 200 bands. And somehow we came out on top and won the whole thing. And the world shut down about a month later, so it was a bit of a strange time to win such a prestigious event,” he said.
They are excited about the new album, which they wrote over the pandemic.
“During the pandemic we started working on writing songs. We were doing everything over Zoom, and wrote the music, wrote the tunes and started to work on demos and planned to just go ahead and release it on our own. But right before we were starting on a distribution deal in the U.S., we sent it over to Stony Plain and they said ‘wow, we want this. So they jumped on board. So our first record was released April 1 through Stony Plain Records and it’s been going great so far,” he said.
Forming the HOROJO trio allowed him to reconned with his old drummer on a new project.
“ I’ve known the drummer Jamie Holmes for quite some time. He used to tour with me and my band many years ago and we’ve been very, very close friends and he started working with an incredible singer/ keyboard player named Jeff Rogers in Ottawa. They had a band together called Beats N Keys. So we actually ended up meeting after a corporate event where we were both performing and decided we’d get together and jam a little bit. So we did that. And that’s when the sparks started flying and we thought this is so cool we’ve got to make a band out of this,” he enthused.
JW Jones already had a successful solo career, but wanted to branch out a little bit.
“They’re both different styles of music and I still have my solo career. We all have multiple irons in the fire, I guess you could say. But when we get together it‘s a special sound. We don’t have a bass player. Jeff plays left hand bass. And the original material and the energy we have as a unit is what really makes it special. So that’s what keeps us driven and going out on the road and playing these shows,” he said.
Jones noted none of the band members have ever been to Lethbridge, so they are looking forward to the experience.
“I have not played Lethbridge. i don’t think any of us have. So we’re really looking forward to it,” he said, promising an eclectic set of soul, blues, obscurities and classics as well as solo materian.
“We try to have a mixture of all our original material but then also some B sides in terms of blues covers and things like that. And we throw in some curve balls. Some covers by Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Wonder. and things like that. So we really try to keep it fresh and different every night,” he said.
“ Jeff plays some of his original material that he has released previously with HOROJO and I do the same,” he said.
Jones also has a new solo CD coming out which he recored with Big Sugar’s Gordie Johnson and Austin guitar legend Jimmy Vaughan, though he hasn’t chosen a title yet for it.
“ I just recorded a record that will be out next year at some point with production by Gordie Johnson and we’ve got Jimmy Vaughan as a guest on one tune.
“We’re all just keeping the ball moving in multiple different ways and doing what we can to survive a post or current pandemic world,” he chuckled.
He enjoyed working with Gordie Johnson.
“ Ah man, Gordie‘s incredible. I had connected with him last Fall because we started chatting on instagram just sending guitar videos back and forth. Then I went to visit him last Fall and saw he had a studio in his home and he said ‘Hey man, if you ever want to record something.’ So we started working on some tunes together. and I was there in August and did those songs there and a few more at home. And that’s what’s going to comprise the new record,” he said.
“We just want everyone to find us online horojotrio.com, and on the socials @HOROJOtrio. See what we’re doing and listen to the tunes and help spread the word about what we‘re up to. And hopefully get everyone out to the show,” he said.
The HOROJO trio play Sisters Pub, Sunday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
