Stone Jack Jones was raised in a coal miner's company house on the banks of Buffalo Creek, WV. Behind the house rose a canopy of green forest; in the front, a red road and a black creek, winding like a shimmering blacksnake. The woods were the first seduction, and whether by foot or by horse, it was there that he roamed. In this solitude he met the Peacock Man, who would transform his notions of reality, reality at the time being Vietnam raging, no prospects of college, and a draft notice in his pocket. He was rejected from the military because of epilepsy and told to go home. His dad, a fourth generation miner, said, "Don't be the fifth," so the young musician picked up his fiddle and began a life of wandering.
Stone Jack Jones traveled the country playing fiddle and guitar, from the hills of West Virginia to Boston, At
lanta, Fort Worth, Baltimore, and New York City. Traditional Irish, medieval, punk, and country eventually merged into his dark and atmospheric American music.
He ended up in Nashville, TN, and soon met Patty Griffin at the legendary Jack's Guitar Bar, where they spent many a night honing their songs. Stone Jack Jones went on several tours with Patty early in her career, forming what has proved to be an enduring musical relationship. A chance friendship with producer Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Lou Reed, Sleater-Kinney) began a collaboration that shaped all these different influences and experiences into a distinctive and evocative style. Narcotic Lollipop, Stone Jack Jones' first release, laid the groundwork for his highly praised song style. His second record, bluefolk, is the middle act in a sequence of three planned releases. bluefolk integrates the wide range of his inspirations and features four songs with Patty Griffin, performing with an unusual twist on her vocal approach. It's moody, complex and mesmerizing, from the MLK tribute "Freedom Reigns," to the subtly veiled antiwar "Bread." Balancing uplifting celebratory dirges and exultant dark songs, Stone Jack Jones unweaves his America.
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