 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
||||||||||||
|
The (Mostly Authorized and Highly Condensed) Some people seem to radiate from within. Their skin glows, their eyes shine, their smile may be seldom seen but always subsuming. Rightly or wrongly, I have come to associate this look with intelligence and optimism. In the case of Stephanie Urbina Jones that association is precisely and profoundly right. I am absolutely knocked out by this young woman's sense of life. Even her songs of sad subjects, death of a friend (Adios Amigo Goodbye My Friend) and a dying grandmother (La Reina de Los Angeles Queen of the Angels), are life affirming. How does a young girl from a broken home grow up to be so positive, able to bring a smile and a happy heart to a man old enough to see the exit signs approaching? Some debts cannot be repaid. When three year-old Stephanie's parents called it quits, she found solace in Carole King's song, You've Got a Friend. She also discovered the power of music to heal the mind and spirit, to create a world in which life is a joyful adventure, friends are forever loyal, and attaining your dreams is a matter of shared pursuit. For imparting this knowledge, I owe King. For learning the lesson and sharing it with me, I owe Stephanie Urbina Jones. Serendipity always seems to have a role in the coming together of talent and exposure to those necessary elements that will eventually light up the world. In this instance, the traumatic experience of nuclear family dissolution that drove her to Carole King and music eventually brought her to reconnect with her Mexican roots. It was during this period, in San Antonio and Fredericksburg, that she learned to love all the styles of music heard in Texas, from country to blues to mariachi to German oompah bands. It was her Mexican-American grandmother (the abuelita in La Reina de Los Angeles), Virginia Urbina Jones, who turned the key and kick-started Stephanie in her present direction. As Virginia lay dying she encouraged Stephanie to pursue her own dream. This sent Stephanie on a journey of discovery delving into the family history and her own desires. She'd paid her dues, garnering a degree in Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin, then working for years in Nashville learning booking, management, publicity, and as a songwriter contracted to Sony/ATV Tree. But she couldn't ignore the feeling that writing the music wasn't enough if she wanted to return the touch Carole King had bestowed on her own life. She would have to sing. Stephanie's music is universal poetry. Listen to I Am Home and try to deny the deep psychological need in all of us for someone to love. Listen to He Reminds Me of Texas and ponder your own loneliness in a strange place, the lifting of your heart at the sight of a familiar face. But for philosophical purity, listen to God Loves It When We Dance. You cannot hear this song without being shaken to your core by the revelation that human happiness is the transcendently successful state of life. Yes, it takes effort, but it's worth it. Stephanie Urbina Jones knows it, lives it, writes about it, and shares it with us. One evening she and a few friends were relaxing at her home, rehearsing some songs. She turned on the recorder. This became her first CD release, Live from the River, a true homemade project she and her husband Jason actually sitting around the kitchen table cutting up old publicity photos and fitting them into the CD covers. An initial pressing of 500 copies did so well that Stephanie and Jason agreed to one of the most momentous decisions I can imagine they mortgaged their home to finance a second CD in 2001. Self-titled Stephanie Urbina Jones, these twelve original songs (including the five mentioned above) honor her Texas roots, with homage paid to her Mexican heritage by the use of a thirteen-piece San Antonio mariachi band for several tracks. Crisscrossing Texas for 6 weeks and fifteen thousand plus miles visiting radio stations, Stephanie pushed her single of God Loves It When We Dance onto the airwaves, and ultimately into the number four spot on the Texas Music Chart. Suddenly finding radio stations wanting to play her stuff, acquiring a band of true believers, and enrolling that all important group - investors became easy. She released her second single from the CD, Shakin' Things Up, which zipped to #1 (and stayed there for five weeks) on the Texas Chart - the first independent female vocalist ever to do so. Then came the request of a fan write some
Christmas music. In less than a week she'd written five new songs. In three weeks
she had mastered and produced The Spirit of Christmas. Three weeks
later she'd sold $10,000 worth. If you doubt that Christmas
music can sell that well to an increasingly cynical public, listen
to One Little Boy. Even an atheist will be touched by it. She will have a live album out soon, with an Augie Meyers duet called Como Se Llama, Mama (What's Your Name). She laughed as she was telling me about it, an experience in itself. It will include some covers (Route 66, Crazy, Walking After Midnight), along with more of her original favorites. And the songs are already written for her next studio album. But she is in no hurry. Planned for release in 2005, she is relaxing with her newborn baby, allowing her subconscious the chance to rest and recuperate. She has always relied on her own judgment and inspiration, being sure of herself being most of the battle. When the pieces are all on the table, we will get her very best. I can hardly wait. With a style born of all possible influences latin, country, blues, jazz, Texan what we are seeing now is the mature sound of a woman who has nurtured the innocent childlike vision of life as it ought to be. Using all she has learned as a singer, songwriter, performer, producer, and entrepreneur, Stephanie has become a carrier of passion and joy. Until now Texas has been the primary beneficiary. Carrying her spirit across one border at a time, the world is next. It will be better for it. From the little girl who wanted to reach our souls, grew the young woman who has changed mine completely. If you can feel the pain of living in your heart, if you can feel the accumulation of dirt and disappointment on your spirit, if you would like to feel happy and carefree for even a few minutes, get this woman's music on your player as soon as possible. Play it twenty times. Once you know the words by heart, I promise the world will change because you will. Bob Gray
|
||||||||||||||
© 2004 Stephanie Urbina
Jones |
