Thomas Jones
Born and raised of working class parents in the Jersey City/Union City, New Jersey area across from Manhattan. I went to parochial schools and my twin loves were baseball and music. After a year of varsity baseball I decided being the front man for a rock band was more fun than playing first base. After high school I volunteered for the draft, went into the US army, and in May 1968 I shipped over to the Republic of Viet Nam. There I joined Charlie company, first of the twelfth, of the First Air Calvary division. I spent a year as a machine gunner in combat operations. I returned home and moved to the Jersey Shore in 1969. For the next four years I mixed college studies with attempts to sign a major contract as a song writer. Two contemporaries of mine at that time and place were Bruce Springsteen and Todd Rungren. At age 25, tired of dead end day jobs, endless rejection, and poverty I put down my guitar and picked up my college studies. At age 30 I started writing music again with a very talented composer, Charlie Clarke. We started to find our rhythm as a writing team. Less than a year later Charlie had a stroke and I put music on hold for almost 20 years. I continued my college studies and over the next 15 years earned 3 undergraduate degrees, a masters degree and the doctor of philosophy degree. In adulthood I once again had twin dreams: song writing and teaching. My college studies positioned me to begin a career in college teaching. Since 1986 I have been a small business management instructor at Clackamas Community College, Oregon. I have received 2 national teaching and curriculum development awards and have been honored to work with more than 2,000 students. In 1999, on my 50th birthday as I reflected on my life, I realized that passion for song writing still burned within me. Too, in 1999 a meeting with a street person in Atlantic City, New Jersey inspired me to write my most important song, “Leave On The Light”. The song illuminates the continuing destructive effects of war on the combatants.
During the eight years since I began writing again I have written with 3 other composing partners, with little success or enjoyment. Thus I have expanded my song writing to include both lyrics and music composition. My current catalog is comprised of about 25 songs and my most current compositions are “Can You Believe” and “Stay (Make A Memory)” both songs celebrating the possibilities of love, written for my companion, Linda. These are new themes for me.
An exciting future project is to create my own publishing/recording company, CHAMACOSA SOUNDS, with my daughter, Mackenzie, and my son, Connor, both aspiring musicians/songwriters. We plan to launch the label by the end of 2007. Our initial thoughts are to be a Pacific Northwest regional label presented through the web.