Mr. Jones
Mr Jones (born April 13, 1971 in Mallersdorf ; real name Jürgen Bichlmeier) is a German singer / songwriter , guitarist and harmonica player .
Life
After three years of classical guitar training at a young age, Mr Jones came into contact with the music of young Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie during his training . In addition to the two named, the Texan singer / songwriter Townes Van Zandt , probably his most important early influence.
The first appearances followed in 1995/96, first solo, then with his friend, the multi-instrumentalist Robert Hasleder as Mr Jones & friend . In autumn 1995 he got to know Townes Van Zandt backstage at the E-Werk in Erlangen . For the release of his debut solo CD Sunrise in 1997 he founded the label dollar bill records and from then on he traveled to the USA every fall for about 4 weeks. There he got to know all of his role models personally, performed as a support act for them or stood on stage with them. Live radio shows in the USA, own appearances in Nashville and Houston as well as at the Kerrville Folk Festival Ballad Tree followed. In the meantime his second CD Back Home Again was released in 1999 , accompanied by Robert Hasleder (guitar, mandolin), Karin Bichlmeier (vocals) and Sepp Zauner (fiddle).
When his friends from the USA toured in Europe, he accompanied them there and it followed in addition to these tours (especially with Eric Taylor) and others. a. the first tour of his own through Scotland, on which he also met Dick Gaughan , probably his most important role model in Celtic music.
While touring with Eric Taylor, the idea for another Mr Jones CD, produced by Taylor, arose, which was then recorded in Houston, TX in July 2002. In addition to Eric Taylor, Mike Sumler, James Gilmer, Elaina Richardson and Susan Lindfors, all stars of the local folk music scene, found themselves in the studio. The opening track of the CD Waitin 'For Me is a version of Townes Van Zandt's Lungs , as well as a lot of original compositions by Mr Jones. Mr. Jones became known to an even larger audience at the Folk Alliance Conference in Nashville, which was followed by radio airplay around the world.
A meeting at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas resulted in an extensive passage from Tom Gruning in his book "Millennium Folk - American Folk Music since the Sixties" about Mr Jones and his music.
After numerous other tours through Great Britain, the Benelux countries, as well as France, Germany and Austria, it was not until 2011 that Mr Jones went to a recording studio again. On "I thought I was already there" he pays homage to his songwriting heroes with his own cover versions, a project that Robert Hasleder and he have planned for years and never been able to implement. Karin Bichlmeier delivers the harmony vocals again and Hasleder plays everything that has strings, so that a great album was created in a relaxed atmosphere. Stefan Woldach praises in Acoustic Guitar 3/2012: "His singing is southern- colored , his playing - supplemented by mandolin and accordion - on various Martin, Collings and Gibson guitars is performed in the American style and always convinces with beautiful, warm Klangbild - a well-rounded production that shows that you can capture a convincing recording with a small budget; if the performance is right like here, that's really good. "
In his book I am the new Hilmar and sadder than Townes , Martin Wimmer often addresses Mr Jones and his achievements in building bridges between Bavaria and Texas, among others. a. with the words: “And above all Mr Jones from Pfarrkirchen (I call him Jownes), who was completely unobserved by the German public in 1999 and 2002 with 'Back Home Again' and 'Waitin' For Me 'as well as the latecomer' I thought I was already there '(2011) a few years later produced three CDs with the very best Texas Music ever. "
Due to work-related time offs, there was then an approx. 5-year performance break, but this ended in 2017 and Mr Jones showed in numerous shows recorded for television and brought them live again on stage. In the spring of 2019, in the old bond with Robert Hasleder and Karin Bichlmeier, a CD was created which, in addition to again deliberately selected cover versions, also contains the first song written by Mr Jones in a long time with the title No More Saturdays . The album the basement files is the fifth Mr Jones album.
Since the release of the new album, Mr Jones has been touring again. a. there were also joint gigs with Markus Rill . From fall 2019 on, Mr Jones was the leader of Mr Jones & Heavy Load Band, a band that put a little more emphasis on country music . Since the summer of 2020, after the breakup of the Heavy Load Band, the project Mr Jones & Band has been at the start, with the main musical focus on songs by Mr Jones, Bob Dylan and Creedence Clearwater Revival , as well as other classics from the folk-rock environment.
Discography
- Sunrise (1997, dollar bill records)
- Back Home Again (1999, dollar bill records)
- Waitin 'For Me (2002, dollar bill records)
- I thought I was already there (2011, dollar bill records)
- the basement files (2019, dollar bill records)
more publishments
- Autumn Tour (1997, small edition, out of print)
- old songs and a couple of drinks (rare recordings 1995-2004, small edition, out of print)
Individual evidence
- ↑ prmeier: neumarktonline.de - Internet newspaper for Neumarkt. Retrieved January 23, 2020 .
- ^ Passauer Neue Presse: Mr Jones returns to the stage. Retrieved January 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Tom Gruning: Millennium Folk: American Folk Music Since the Sixties . University of Georgia Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-8203-2830-0 ( google.de [accessed January 8, 2020]).
- ↑ Weissbooks GmbH: I am the new Hilmar and sadder than Townes A cultural history of German-Texan relations, a political autobiography, the poetry lecture by a passionate language player, adventurous review trips to songs, films and books, and above all a plea for ... 1 2nd edition, new edition. Frankfurt 2016, ISBN 978-3-86337-108-1 .
- ↑ 28 Years Backstage 2019. Accessed January 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Report in the mobile portal on pnp.de. Retrieved January 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Herwig Slezak: Mississippi flair in the Rottauen: Mr Jones & Band. Retrieved August 13, 2020 .
Web links
- Works by Mr Jones in the catalog of the German National Library
- Mr Jones interview at NiederbayernTV
- Website of Mr Jones
- Website of "Mr Jones & Heavy Load Band"
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jones, Mr. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bichlmeier, Jürgen (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German singer / songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 13, 1971 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mallersdorf |