Georgia country musician finds her groove
by NATHAN LAMB | additional reporting by COURTNEY LAMDIN
mireporter@mac.com
She may be relatively new to the art of songwriting, but Georgia resident Carol Ann Jones is confident of having already found her groove.
Jones penned, performed and published 14 tracks of “upbeat style country” on a debut CD titled "Out of the Blue in January" and has found time between promotional appearances and her day job as a postal clerk to lay down another half-dozen tracks for an as-yet unnamed follow-up.
“It’s going to be more Vermont, real story songs.” Jones said. “The songs that I write are songs about family and friends and life in Vermont, and that’s pretty much all I know.”
It’s an exciting time, and inspiration seems to be coming daily, said Jones, who began writing songs shortly after taking up guitar at the suggestion of her husband in 2006.
While she doesn’t know if this creative roll will last, Jones said she’s making the most of it—and is enjoying the ride.
“It’s a great way to work through the problems in life or the joys, whatever you’re dealing with,” she said. “If you can capture that in a journal, that’s great, and if you can capture it in a rhythmic, sometimes rhyming journal with an appropriate melody, it’s a lot of fun.”
"Out of the Blue" is an independent release by Oakland Station Records, a label Jones created and named after the road that runs by her family farm in Georgia.
She estimated the CD has sold a few hundred copies in the first month after its release in late February, with much of that coming from promotional appearances around the region and exposure on Eagle Country 97.5 FM and the online radio station WKM.org. Jones also got some national airtime when her tune “All About the Wheels” was played during a recent episode of "Car Talk" on National Public Radio. Most recently, Jones played at the Outdoor Summer Concert Series in Fairfax and at open mics in Colchester.
Her music career has been a series of interesting experiences, said Jones, whose resumé includes choir from an early age and singing jazz at local venues. Jones has always been musically inclined, she said and added that the guitar has boosted her creativity in recent years.
“I guess it all comes back to the guitar,” she said. “If you’re upset about something, you’re going to play different chords and rhythms than if you’re happy, and it just kind of comes out. I’ve been lucking out with that.”
Appropriately enough, Jones traced the CD’s genesis back to a guitar lesson—one that was for her son last spring. It turns out that her son’s guitar teacher, Andrea Maquera, has an in-home studio and was interested in hearing Jones’ songs. Soon after, Jones was working with several top musicians from the area.
When it comes to songwriting, Jones’ subject matter is often aubiographical, covering topics from hot cars to wandering eyes — basically anything that sparks her interest.
One example is the CD’s title track, which relates how Jones had a chance meeting with a woman who turned out to be her adopted mother’s biological sister. That meeting, at a Burlington boutique in 2001, introduced Jones to her extended family "out of the blue,” she explained.
Other songs are more spontaneous, like the ditty “Buckle Up,” which Jones said came together while watching a married man flirt with a whole room of women, leading her to conclude his ball and chain could use some “buckling up.”
Looking ahead, Jones said she’d like to continue performing around the region, with the goal of penning songs for acts on mainstream country radio. Her experience has been a dream come true, regardless of where it goes from here, Jones said.
“I realized on the way home from a gig last night that I’d realized my dream,” she said. “I had my own band. I was singing my heart out, and the audience was singing along with me … it was awesome.”
Jones’ next concert is Friday, Dec. 11 at the third annual holiday concert at the Heineberg Senior Center in Burlington. Her music can be sampled at www.myspace.com/carolajones.
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