Available Jones at The Cornerstone
by Grant Moser
December 1997
DCMusicwwweb
Upstairs at the Cornerstone Grille in College Park, Available Jones was setting up their instruments and amps. It was a usual Friday night out, the tables full and beers flowing. Behind the band was a large screen TV tuned to a sports channel. Another band was downstairs warming up. Almost canceled because the bar double-booked bands, Available Jones took the offer to play upstairs instead of in the main big room downstairs.
Jon Kaplan (guitar, vocals), Scott Aronson (bass, vocals) and Greg Ivers (drums) are a very unassuming-looking bunch to be in a rock and roll band. Quiet before they begin playing, they go about the business of getting ready with focus and ease. The band has been together over a year and played dozens of gigs around town.
They begin playing without an introduction, launching right into their set. Still a bar band, they intersperse their originals between covers, hoping to draw the crowd in. The covers they play include the Allman Brothers, Santana, Bob Dylan and B.B. King. What I liked was that they didn't just cover a song, they tried to make it their own. For example, in "Blue Sky", they only sang the first refrain and then launched into a good ten minute jam playing around the rhythm, even finding the creativity to fit the melody from "Jessica" in the middle briefly. All their covers reflected their ability to improvise and experiment with the music, as well as showing that Available Jones has some talent.
Their background is obviously in rock and roll's roots, from the great blues artists to the classic 70's bands that brought jam sessions to the mainstream. Their originals reflect this style. "Where the Water Flows" feels like a Matthew Sweet foundation with some funky guitar hooks spicing it up. "I'll Make You Mine" is a solid song too with a good southern rock feel. Jon is responsible for the writing credits and his songs also tend to incorporate some of the modern techniques and styles of Rusted Root and Dave Matthews.
Available Jones played past the bar noise, with pool tables and sports channels and drunk conversations, and at every song had more and more people listening and enjoying. Though the vocals were low for the first few songs, the problem was quickly fixed and enhanced the remaining tunes. With a solid background and musical talent, Available Jones should keep entertaining wherever they play.