Jonesez is Mark Stewart, formed in 2009 and is from Melbourne, Victoria.

A note from Mark,

Jonesez isn't really a band, even though it certainly sounds like one. It's best described as a solo project with a little help from some friends...

Rhythm and melody. I've always loved writing pop songs, mostly not very good ones. When I was 10 my dad gave me his Rolling Stones vinyl collection because he'd just upgraded to CDs. Lucky me. Most of what I initially write is pop music, but by the time the songs are recorded there's way too much guitar noise on them, which debunks my genre theory. If my songs were a sandwich, they'd be a cheese and ham sandwich. With a side of salad.

I started playing music as a teenager. I played trumpet in high school but soon realised it wasn't the best idea, and picked up a guitar. I started studying music at a TAFE in Collingwood, but dropped out in third year when it headed down a Jazz tangent and I couldn't quite relate. I wanted to learn about pop music, I had no interest in complex time signatures and reading other peoples sheet music. A little while later I joined a band with some friends called Horsell Common. We wrote a few EPs and albums and had a heap of fun making the music and playing all around the country.

At the moment I stock shelves at a quiet supermarket in Melbourne, mostly in the isle that consists of tea, coffee, biscuits and breakfast cereal. It takes up minimal brain power which leaves me heaps of time to think about songs and music. Honestly, I've written some of my best stuff while restocking Vegemite. Which brings me to my latest project, Jonesez.

Shaun Gionis (drums) and Stacey Gray (bass) were part of the recording process and make it what it is, since they treated it as their own. That's because it is just as much theirs as it is mine. Darren Cordeux produced the record after we'd demoed the songs in his studio for a good 12 months. This was his first attempt at producing an album, just like it was my first at writing one. He is the only person I've worked with who I'd actually call a "producer". Darren has the uncanny ability to locate the shittiest part of a song and remove it. There was no need to replace the part with something new, the song always worked better when we just "trimmed the fat". Which is lucky as I definitely would have recorded these songs exactly as I first wrote them, shit bits and all.

I recorded and mixed the album with Hadyn Buxton (Blueline Medic 42:19). Before recording, we met a few times for beers to discuss the album, and making records in general. He knows how to pull a great sound that won't need to be fixed later. I love the way he gives each instrument plenty of space to do it's thing, no need for clutter. Making this record has easily been my most positive musical experience to date. It's increased my love of recording studios, to the point where I can't wait to get back in there.

*Oh... and if you're wondering. Jonesez should always be pronounced "Joan-says". Sounds best when using your thickest Aussie accent. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.