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Fact Sheet
BORN
Stephanie Urbina Jones was born into a bi-cultural home in
San Antonio, Texas where she grew up hearing sounds from both sides
of the border. Her rich tapestry of music combines her life experiences
and the sounds that influenced her soul...from mariachi, to blues,
country, jazz and pop..she has created a style all her own.
RAISED
After a painful divorce, the emotional loss
of her father to Vietnam and her Mexican culture to prejudice,
Stephanie moved to the hill country town of Fredericksburg, TX.
There in the country, with lots of time alone, Stephanie began
escaping into music and writing her own songs to keep herself company.
EDUCATION
Stephanie attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with an
advertising degree. It was there that she realized that she wanted
to use her life to help bring music to the world.
HOW
SHE GOT HERE
After a year stint as the spokesperson
for Oscar Mayer, Jones returned to Austin to work in the industry.
She got a job as a receptionist at a recording studio and as an
agent at a booking agency. The agency booked the renowned " Elephant
Room," so
Jones booked herself and began cutting her teeth singing jazz,
blues and soulful country.
I
t
was at the recording studio where she
met her mentor Cameron Randle, who then managed the Texas Tornados.
They both shared a passion for celebrating their Hispanic heritage
in music and soon Stephanie moved to Nashville to work for his
company, Refugee Management. Within six months of moving, Jones
discovered her gift of writing songs. Soon Jones became a staff
writer for Sony/ATV Tree and had five major label cuts under her
belt.
ARTISTIC
PASSION
It was during her four years at Sony/ATV
Tree that Stephanie began writing her passion for her Latina heritage
in song. The loss of her abuelita (grandmother) created a voracious
appetite within her to reconnect and reclaim her Mexican-American
roots. She studied in Mexico for 3 months, writing and recording
with native musicians and upon returning to the US felt called
to combine her bi-cultural heritage into her own "spanglish" style.
Her talent was soon recognized by the Mexican American Unity Council
in San Antonio who asked her to record and sing her music with
a 13-piece mariachi group in honor of the late Hispanic icon Henry
B. Gonzales and singer Rosita Fernandez. It was this initial performance
that confirmed what her heart had suspected...that she would be
a bridge, a voice that would honor the past and celebrate the vibrant,
passionate influences of the Hispanic culture emerging in the US
and around the world with her Americana pop Latino chic style.
Jones began making trips from Nashville to Texas over the past
three years where she made a name for herself as an artist, visionary
and businesswoman. She recorded and released three albums and had
one number one and four top ten songs on the Texas Music Chart,
was asked to perform at the most prestigious festivals and was
featured in the state's most highly acclaimed magazines and newspapers
within a short 18 months. She created her own company "Texicana
Entertainment" with four distinct divisions, partners and amazing track
record. Currently Jones is writing, recording and assembling a team to take
her and her dreams to a worldwide audience. This sexy, saucy, soulful singer/songwriter
is poised to cross every border, one border at a time.
CAREER/PERFORMANCE
HIGHLIGHTS
• First
independent female to go #1 on the Texas Music Chart ( 5
weeks on a row)
• Latina
Entertainer Award
• Grand
Marshall for the Ford and Texas Ford Christmas River Parade ( broadcast
in over 19 million homes across the country)
• Filmed
and recorded bilingual commercials for Honda (TV and radio)
• Filmed
two music videos/ seen across the country
• Featured
in San Antonio Express News, Houston Chronicle, Austin American
Statesman, Texas Music Magazine, La Prensa ( Spanish language newspaper),
Performing Songwriter Magazine
• Sang
a duet with Texas legend Willie Nelson at his Fourth of July Picnic
( broadcast worldwide on XM Satellite radio
INFLUENCES
Carole
King/ Santana/ Willie Nelson/ Linda Ronstadt/ Lyle Lovett/
Bette Midler/ Oprah Winfrey
WHAT
PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"As an artist that freely
combines the singer/songwriter vibe with the hot blooded traditional
sounds of Mexico, Jones naturally embraces a wider swath of the
Lone star state than her contemporaries."
Performing Songwriter Magazine
Peter Cronin
"Stephanie has what most people would regard as the right tools for her
chosen life's work: an agile songwriter's pen; a smoky supple voice; devastating
good looks; and a refreshing lack of music orthodoxy. But Jones real gifts are
an adamant determination, a healthy skepticism about fast buck payoffs , and
a work ethic that would put John Henry and his hammer to shame.
Austin American Statesman
John T Davis
"Stephanie Urbina Jones has combined her dual heritage into a unique music
genre. Jones possesses an intense pride in being Latina , but the icing on the
cake is Jones' unique and superb voice that is sheer delight on the senses."
La Prensa
San Antonio, TX
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