By the time he reached 55, Stone Jack Jones had spent a lifetime as a carnie, ballet dancer, lute player and hundreds of other things, trying his luck from Buffalo Creek to Charleston to Boston to New York to Fort Worth to Atlanta to Nashville. Mostly, he made music—even if it was just playing on the street or at a nearly empty open mic. Then in 2003, he met Roger Moutenot, who’d engineered albums for They Might Be Giants and Yo La Tengo. And all of a sudden, something happened. Jones’ third album, Ancestor, is out now via Western Vinyl. He will also be guest editing all week. Read our new feature on him.
Jones: my father gave me a smith & wesson 38 caliber trooper with one bullet. his father gave it to him. it has never been fired. i don’t think my father ever bought a gun. i know i haven’t. this one is passed down. the story that goes with it is: live your life so that you never have to use it, but if you do have to use it, here it is. these are strange things that get passed down. i have thought of buying more bullets and shooting it and see how it works, but i don’t. i simply keep it in a safe place with the bullet in the chamber and hopefully always stay in a peaceful place. live my life so i don’t have to use it. it does give me a choice.
