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She’s ‘Shakin’ Things Up’ in
Texas Earlier this month Stephanie Urbina Jones was dueting on Crazy with Willie Nelson at his all-star Fourth of July Picnic festival in Spicewood. Tonight she’ll be playing to a crowded house at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck. A year ago life for the Tex-Mex singer-songwriter was not nearly so glamorous. Then, a good day was the opportunity to freshen up in a bathroom near the beef-jerky counter or the gasoline pump. “I was traveling from town to town in Texas and changing in gas-station bathrooms,” says Jones, a San Antonio native. “(My husband and I) had put our house in hock. I was starting to ask myself, ‘How are we going to pay this bill? How are we going to get by?” Jones knew it was time to start shaking things up. What she couldn’t have known then was that Shakin’ Things Up from her self-titled album would be the spark. The song gave Jones the biggest hit for a female artist on an independent label I the history of the Texas Music Charts. Recording the rotations of Lone Star artists in dozens of markets throughout the state, the Texas Music Charts positioned Jones at No. 1 for five weeks in May and June. Shakin’ Things Up was competing neck-and-neck with the tall hats of Pat Green, Cory Morrow and Charlie Robison. “Texas and the infrastructure of the Texas music industry make this the most amazing place to develop as an artist,” Jones says. There was some time-consuming work on her part, too. Jones drove to radio stations from El Paso to Houston to introduce her music. She broke out a guitar for program directors and station managers who would let her in the door and played until they believed in her. The long miles paid off. When she released an album built on her Texas and Mexican musical roots last fall, Texas country formats picked up on first single God Loves It When We Dance and made it a minor success. Shakin’ Things Up followed and not only caught the attention of fans and DJS, but also earned Jones and invitation to Nelson’s Fourth of July party. “There I am about to go onstage when I was told I would be singing Crazy with (Nelson). How crazy is that?” Jones asks. “I was nervous, but when I looked into his eyes it became the finest moment of my entire life.” Jones is a 12-year veteran of the music industry, but until recently she was better known as a songwriter than as a singer. Shakin Things Up was originally recorded by country star Lorrie Morgan as the title track to her 1997 album. Texascentric ballad He Reminds Me of Texas was originally recorded by young Dallas talent Jon Randall as She Reminds Me of Texas. Texas may only be able to contain Jones’ success within its borders for a short time longer. In addition to having a showcase at the Country Music Association talent conference FanFair in Nashville earlier this year, she has inked a publishing deal and pitched song ideas to Nelson. She is also developing a line of journals, candles and greeting cards that draw on the rich, romantic images of her lyrics. Nothing, however, can take the place of hearing her own voice being broadcast by the radio stations she traveled so far to visit. “I wouldn’t change a thing about my career. I think having to work so hard helps me to appreciate it,” Jones says. “It’s fun being at Subway, ordering my sandwich and hearing my song as I eat.” Ahhhh, the glamour.
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