Richie who?!?

Richie Jones, born 1963, is a musician located in Hamburg, Germany. He sings and plays guitar in several bands and runs a small recording studio. His main projects are JONESGANG, a rock and oldie cover band from Hamburg/Lüneburg, DER UDONAUT UND DIE PANIKER and YONKS (aka JOHNNY B. BAD), a hard and heavy rock project from his hometown. Furthermore, he is sideman and/or sub for numerous party- and coverbands of the area, such as Sammy's Saloon, The Koasters, Sam Sära and Mona & Die falschen 50er.

Being Richie Jones...

"In my childhood days I got caught by the music of the early 60's my parents used to play on a tape machine. I airy remember placing my toys (basically cowboys, indians and astronauts) around it and even including this tape machine into my gaming, and the spinning reels would become a caroussel or a UFO comand centre, where the good pawns would fight against the bad ones, or the earthlings against the marsians (which turned out to be my favorite scenery). These combats were regularly interrupted by either my parents, bothering me with earthly business (e.g. dinner, bedtime, then later homework, and the such...), or exactly 3 songs on that tape my parents got. When these 3 songs were blaring on the tape machine, I'd pause my playing for listening, switch over to dancing (and an early form of playing air guitar), and there'd be peace on (toy)earth, and in (toy)space generally. There likely would have been other great songs (my mom was, and still is, a fan of Elvis), but I would always go for these 3 beat classics when I was 3 or 4 years old:

• The Beatles - Rock and Roll Music
• The Rainbows - My Baby Baby Balla Balla
• The Beatles - I Wanna Hold Your Hand

So, when I was growing up, there was always music around, and since my parents figured out it would be a good thing for little Richie to play an instrument, I soon got lessons on a melodica, and, at the age of 7, on accordeon (I still got that one in the attic). But wait... anybody heard any other instrument playing on my Top 3 but guitars and drums?!? NO!!! Why ffs am I wasting my time with black and white keys, then?!?

To cut a long story short: I got my first guitar at the age of 10, and I never ever left this place anymore. Beyond that, it accelerated dramatically with the first electric guitar I got when I was 16, and after thousands of hours being spent with exercises, rehearsals and gigs, I still discover me pausing my business for a moment to listen to a Beatles tune or a great guitar solo. And still, being involved in the making of music, to me it is a deed of passion and peace. On earth, and in space generally... :-)"

Call it a mission.

Ridge

Hamburg, 2013