The name is simple. Simple things can be complicated. People love and hate at the same time. Happy people can be sad and bitter.

For the whole story, we have to take you back to Florida, where Asghar Husain and Peter Kerekes first met while attending the University of Miami. Despite being born in New York of Indian descent, Asghar was raised a southern boy in the tiny town of Okeechobee, Florida, home of dairies and trailer parks. Peter was born in Eastern Europe and grew up in what might as well have been another planet—Miami Beach. These strange fish in even stranger waters quickly became good friends. They both had formally studied music and guitar, and mutually obsessed over their common passion.

After college, Peter threw everything he owned into a Mazda RX-7 and drove to Los Angeles to find musical salvation. While they both kept playing music, they eventually lost touch with each other. And the story would have ended there.

Years later, Asghar moved to Los Angeles. Wondering what happened to his college buddy, he hunted him down and surprised him at his Studio City pad late one Sunday night. They caught up, the wheels turned, they started writing music together, and Public Jones was born.

They discovered a synergy drawn from their different life experiences. Asghar had played in various pop bands, and had also been on humanitarian missions around the world. Peter had gone to film school, had some stints in alternative bands, and became a freelance producer and composer, with music in commercials, television, and video games. Both had their share of smiles and tragic disappointments which continue to feed their songwriting today.

After releasing a six-song home-grown EP and getting their songs played on radio, in clubs, short films, and talk shows, they were itching to take Public Jones live. Over 200 people showed up to their first show at the Confidential in San Diego. With Asghar on lead vocals, guitar and keys, and Peter on backup vox and guitar, they recruited Toronto and LA-based session and live bass player, George Nakonechny, and drummer Tre Beaudoin from Chicago, to bring their vision to life. Public Jones recently did a packed show at the Viper Room in Hollywood with Roddy Piper joining them on his electric bagpipes, a stint at the California Music Festival July 4 of 2009, and they also recently played in Berlin, Germany, with Tom Marsh from IAMX (61 Seconds Records) on drums.

The music? Indie-electro. 80’s synth rock. Chunky guitar riffs. Groove. Grunge pop. That’s what some people have said.. With influences all over the place, from pop, to funk, hard rock, disco, classical Indian music, jazz, and electronica, there’s no telling what you might hear. Beck. MGMT. Dandy Warhols. Thomas Dolby. Love and Rockets. Jesus and Mary Chain. And the list goes on.

Right now, Public Jones is working on their first full-length CD (planned release in 2010), some TV/film projects, and they’ll be doing live shows in between. Check out the Beat Revolution Remix of Disconnected. Berlin DJ Frankie Flowerz (Om Records) is putting out his remix of an upcoming new tune, Alright. See them at a city near you, and if you dig the music, give them a shout. They love that.

Public Jones is:
Asghar Husain – vocals, guitars, keys
Peter Kerekes – backing vocals, guitars
George Nakonechny – bass
Tre Beaudoin – drums
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