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Friday, November 27, 2009 7:13 PM

30 is getting Jonezed

I feel no different than I did at 11:59 last night.

With that said, the stigma of 30 is really weighing on my mind. One could toss around adjectives for days about what 30 means to a man, but until you're there you really don't get it.

Teen years are confusing. You spend most of them trying to figure shit out while your hormones go out of whack and you do incredibly stupid things for the sake of "boys will be boys." Lets call it like it is. Boys will be dumbasses to impress people and/or piss people off. Because its usually a double edge sword. In impressing that lovely lady in chem lab, you'll spill something noxious on your friend's jeans... or in impressing your friends with your rebel spirit, you'll piss your parents off by lighting up a cigarette on the front porch.

And then the 20's settle in... or rather, the 22s settle in. Because in the male psyche 21 is still a teen year... its the culmination of that urge to buy your own beer that you've had since you were 14.

So 22 sinks in. College graduation (give or take a year). Career. Your own pad (before the economy went shitwire). And in turining 22 or so you realize that you spent the past 10 or 11 years being a doofus/douche/yutz/idiot or other word that describes most of us as teens. And you try your hardest to prove that you're not that guy anymore. You're looking to impress a new crop of people, while secretly pissing yourself off because you think you're being fake and turning your back on yourself and your friends... and it lasts the next 7 years. Like breaking a mirror...

Then, the unthinkable happens... you turn 30.

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Monday, June 01, 2009 3:04 PM

on a positive note
Current mood:

thankful

Been a long few days. Health stuff and whatnot. No need to dwell on what's happened, only need to look at now and the future.

Life is too short to spend it harping on what's wrong. Enjoy what you have and keep working towards what you want without dwelling on what you've lost.

Also, each of us needs to accept responsibility for ourselves and our actions. From children all the way up to world leaders and global corporations... We need to own our actions and accept the returns on those actions, even if its not what we wanted.

The golden rule goes a long way too... If you take it seriously. Before you act, think about your action. If someone did that to you or your mom how would you feel. If the answer is "bad" then don't do it to someone else.

More to come

Feel the lovin!

-EQ

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Sunday, May 03, 2009 6:24 PM

streaming consciousness

I have no outline in my mind of what's coming out. Just time to kill: to stand still and stagnate over lattes, rainy days and words that cognate between the english I know and the italian soccer TV. And inbetween the roasting beens and swaying tree leaves I ponder upon the fact that I'm all suit and tie in a tie-dyed paradise of caffeine and exotic pets.

My needs are met, because time is flying despite every effort to make it freeze so I can deal with what's happening.

I need some space to breathe. Between trees, weed, disease and allergies I wheeze and try to keep my head held up

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009 12:49 PM

Dealing with change... or How Chris Cornell altered my life.

Change comes at when you least expect it, and when you're usually not ready for it. And in listening to my own albums I find that I tend to skip the "rock" songs and tune my ears towards the more alternative and weird tracks.

I've been afraid to let go of rock. But clearly I'm not as enthralled with it as I used to be. So I smile and nod and ponder how to solve my problem.

Then I heard a song called "Scream"

I tuned in to the radio and didn't know who the artist was. It had that "produced by Timbaland" sound. It was edgy, but poppy, with a real urban / trip-hop vibe. I liked it.

When the song ended and the DJ announced "and that was the new one by Chris Cornell" I had my epiphany.

First, there was finally a recognizeable artist doing stuff that sounded like my b-side tracks, and secondly it was a man who helped define the genre I was trying to break away from.

So there you have it. Not that I needed validation to do what I'm doing, but I needed someone with a big name to open the door for the rest of us. And I fully realize that I am still not guaranteed to make it, but at least I know that people are willing to listen

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009 12:29 PM

Thoughts on the new album.

These songs are my albatrosses. Many of them have been burdening me for years and I'm glad to see them reaching the light of day. While "Left Behind" was a stream of consciousness go with the flow audio-biography, "ElectroQueries" is a more refined and well thought out collection of music. I began writing the first round of these songs in 2000. Music, no words. I Let it fester. Came back in 2004 and wrote a little more. Joined and quit 4 bands in between, and spent the last year writing the remainder of the tracks. I'm beyond proud of this work. I feel that the collection captures my essence and style like nothing I've done before. Give it a listen.

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Thursday, February 19, 2009 8:24 PM

time with granny

There's not a lot I can say. We baked. That's the glue right there. Her hands are a little weak, and her arms got tired... So I mixed. Kneaded and acted as the brawn in the kitchen. And happily, 5 years after the last round of her signature cookies, the bakery is open again. Times like these are what matter.

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Thursday, February 05, 2009 2:48 AM

clarification... just because people have asked

E.Q. Jonez as a recording artist has existed in some shape or form since 1998. The albums are as follows:

ReBirth
Pictures of Home
Keeping Up
Every Question
Left Behind (14 track Cafe Press release)
Left Behind

The first 3 exist only in my hard drives and a few random hands from college. Every Question is being made available (finally) through iTunes/CDBaby, and a few of the leftover tracks from the CafePress release of Left Behind are being re-tooled for the new album and a few mixtape projects.

Also add to this 2 Eric Neuman Albums (EatYour Words & Second Coming) as well as the Zak Ericson Albums (Ghost Stories, Crazy Isn't Broken, Standing In The Aftermath) and its been a fruitful career.

As time works in my favor again and studio gear becomes available I may consider re-visiting my former selves and releasing my whole catalog.

Things to ponder.

It'd be funny to hear the Eric Neuman, Zak Ericson and E.Q. Jonez versions of Walk Away.

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Friday, January 23, 2009 1:46 PM

Like a good neighbor my ass...

Their slogan might make them sound like reliable BFF type neighbors, but the truth is (in my situation) that state farm sucks. No ifs ands or buts about it. We had water damage from an apartment above us on monday the 19th. We called State Farm Insurance to file a claim and get our carpets/couches replaced and get paint work done. They got all uppity about the building not sending a mitigation (drying) crew immediately. Tuesday & Wednesday the building's adjusters and mitigation crew came in. State Farm still has yet to send anyone to see the damage. Our carpet (which state farm needs to see) has already been removed because it was saturated. Our furniture is now soaked, dried, and smelly, and by time state farm gets to us we'll either be dying from odor and toxic fumes or have bought new furniture on our own. Either way, they suck for not helping us like they said they would

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Tuesday, January 06, 2009 12:00 AM

on being metal

I despise labels. I do all I can to avoid them. I know the world disagrees with me, but I myself don't like putting things into small tiny categories.

So, I turn my attention to the community that is closest to me. The metal community.

For years I listened to metal exclusively, played in metal bands, dated metal chicks, and then I realized that the music didn't reflect me anymore and I broadened my horizons.

Nowadays, as an outsider I see how ridiculous the "scene" is. The thrash kids, the hardcore kids, the stoner kids, the grindcore kids, the shoegaze kids... Wtf??? How many sub-genres do we need? Isn't it enough to just be different by listening to metal... why stratify it? It's really just splitting hairs at this point.

And people walk hard on genre lines! What happened to listening to every album and liking what you like? People try so hard to be "metal" that they'll endure music they don't really enjoy so that other "metal heads" won't make fun of them. In my world that equals elective surgery. You don't need to do it.

And believe me people, I'm not saying other genres and subcultures aren't as narrow as metal... They all seem about equal, I just write what I know.

I guess the turning point for me was seeing some dude that had to be my age at the mall. He was wearing a classic Iron Maiden shirt, black leather jacket and a spiked collar necklace thingy... All of which is fine in my book, but the long hair with bald spot and hanging with metal kids and being gross made me wonder about his life... What job could he hold down? Why at 30ish would you wanna hang with people half your age? Can teen angst still appeal to you as an adult? And when I say kids... like not young enough to be his own, or old enough to be siblings, it was that weird age where they could possibly be relatives, but still... creepy.

I just don't get it. I hit a certain point where I wanted to start a family, and own my own place, and have a real job... I guess metal is like the never never land where people hide to no deal with reality.

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Wednesday, December 17, 2008 12:59 PM

listening deeply

I spent my rainy commute listening to the latest Atmosphere CD. For those who don't know, check my top 4. I hesitate to call it rap, because even though he does rap the lyrics, he's got a different vibe going on. The lyrics lead the listener through biographical and autobiographical highs and lows. Each song just fleshes out pieces of life that most of us have battled with. I find it refreshing to hear lyrics that are personal. He's clearly not aiming for a hit or a corporate sponsorship, and that underground attitude keeps the music interesting.

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Sunday, December 07, 2008 2:27 AM

album progress

I'm not slacking people, but there is a story behind the delay in my new album.

I used to throw together whatever felt right and release it as an album. I simply let out my raw emotion, mixed, mastered, done.

The past few weeks have brought about a sort of shift in my recording process. I'm working harder than I can ever remember. Everynote, effect, sound clip, etc... its all being put under a microscope.

There is more "urban" than rock in the new tracks. I'm back to jazz bass, minimalist guitars and half spoken lyrics. Its not a far cry from what I've been doing, but without the lingerings of other music in my brain I'm free to do what I wish with my sound sans-distraction.

New songs should hit the page within a week.

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:57 AM

364 Days in review.

I can't call it a year in review as I'm 2 days shy of my birthday... but it is very much a look back at the events between last November 27th and today.

I got engaged.

I walked away from a band, a group of "friends", a few hang outs, a few habits, and my idea that everything I wanted in life was going to look down into a microscope and find me.

I attended a fairly equal amount of weddings and wakes/funerals, and I know I made 2 of the deceased laugh and/or smile shortly before their passing.

I've learned to keep memories of people and that terrible feeling of loss in different places so I can let go of the loss and keep the memories.

I've learned that you need to not only love what you do, but you need to let that love show.
I've also learned that its the music business, not the music friends...

Rules were made by people. People are fallible. Therefore rules are sometimes wrong. But don't go around haphazardly breaking them... only break the ones that you can prove aren't effective anymore.

and be patient.

364 days wiser... still a wise ass...

happy thanksgiving

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Monday, November 24, 2008 8:02 AM

Chinese Democracy

I feel that this album was worth the 17 years that I've been waiting.

Its not Axl & Slash and everyone else in-fighting and creating a GnR album... its a humbled, but still egomaniacal Axl crafting his music without really caring what people expect.

If you're a fan of Appetite or Velvet Revolver, skip this album. These 14 songs remind me of all the more Axl written tracks off Use Your Illusion (Don't Cry, Estranged, November Rain, Yesterdays, My World).

If you're willing to accept that all artists grow and change over time, take a listen. Axl clearly spent time crafting lyrical hooks and music that would convey him... bear in mind he is clinically bi-polar so the album goes on weird trips.

And his mentality probably lends to the delays in release as well. With nobody to tell him it sounds good, he probably beat himself up over every note and phrase. Which in the end means a less angst ridden singer, who's less likely to storm off stage or fire his bandmates.

Each song features a slightly different lineup. Most of the members are the same, and you can tell that Axl assembled great people to pull his ideas from brain to tape.

The vocals are way more midranged, and clean. The agonizing falsetto and outright screaming of Axl past takes a backseat on this album. Its there, in better moderation.

Questions:
Who's in the live band?
Will the next release have more band effort?

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Tuesday, October 21, 2008 12:37 PM

loss of feeling
Current mood:

angry

Anyone who knows me knows how I love to ramble about unsafe drivers and the havoc they cause. I live on a street that connects nowhere to nowhere and often witness drivers shooting down my hill, easily doubling the speed limit. Compund all of this with the fact that there's a middle school at the bottom of my hill and a slew of children residing on the block... And you get my point. Its not needed. In a grimm twist of fate a friend of mine from work lost her mother in law because of a wreckless asshole. On a quiet side street like my own. That leads nowhere to nowhere. Now: a family lost a matriarch. Children lost a mom. Grandchildren lost grandma. And for what!?!?!? Because some bitch in a nice car felt the need to tear down a quiet side street that leads from nowhere to nowhere! Fuckin learn to drive.

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Tuesday, October 14, 2008 11:46 AM

the rabbi speaks

He gave well thoughtout speeches at the holiday services last week. He eluded to the fact that what's on the outside is just a mask and what's inside counts. Equating it to leaves being green with chlorophyll and as the green leaves, their true colors shine. And he encouraged us to show our true colors like the leaves.

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E.Q. Jonez

Last Updated: 12/19/2009

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Status: Single
City: White Plains
State: New York
Country: US
Signup Date: 1/18/2005

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