Courtney Jones
Hear it Now
There's nothing like a night of karaoke to humble one's singing abilities, yet, for Courtney Jones, it was the beginning of her career in music.
Jones comes from a music-oriented family in Oregon. Her mother and grandmother are music teachers and she, along with her siblings, participated in their school choirs and bands. However, it was singing karaoke with her father that gave rise to her desire to be a professional vocalist.
While few can say their first gig was performing karaoke covers at a local pizza parlor, she also participated in the time-honored tradition of many teens - the high school musical. Even though Jones' didn't land lead roles, she played extras and later scored two big roles in Brigadoon and as Helen Keller in the Miracle Worker. Though she played a mute, Jones could not be silenced for long.
"I'm not naturally an attention-wanting person," Jones said, adding, "I'm not good at many things, but I feel like I have a good handle on music." By the time she finished three semesters of college, she hatched a new plan - to make music her full-time job. Deciding to leave college was a difficult choice, but Jones decided to pursue music in her own way. With the support of her family and friends, she began working on her first album, Awake & Dreaming.
Courtney Jones thinks of her inspiration for lyrics as bits of "code" she fits together in a few hours, but when she wrote Awake & Dreaming Jones said it came to her in a "magical" way - not in fragments or a single idea, but in full - as she was on a flight. With only her boarding pass to write on, she let the lyrics flow onto the paper and later become her title track.
Jones' independent mind and take on the music scene seems old school in a refreshing way. As a performer, Jones enjoys testing new material live. "Music is meant to be heard and I want it to be, not thrown together and disorganized, but I want people to hear it," she explained. Despite Jones' optimism and determination about her career, she is also realistic. "Music kicks my butt, bit its so rewarding." The balance of this combo could be just the right formula for Jones, here's hoping she'll crack the music industry code.
—Christa Fletcher
Jones comes from a music-oriented family in Oregon. Her mother and grandmother are music teachers and she, along with her siblings, participated in their school choirs and bands. However, it was singing karaoke with her father that gave rise to her desire to be a professional vocalist.
While few can say their first gig was performing karaoke covers at a local pizza parlor, she also participated in the time-honored tradition of many teens - the high school musical. Even though Jones' didn't land lead roles, she played extras and later scored two big roles in Brigadoon and as Helen Keller in the Miracle Worker. Though she played a mute, Jones could not be silenced for long.
"I'm not naturally an attention-wanting person," Jones said, adding, "I'm not good at many things, but I feel like I have a good handle on music." By the time she finished three semesters of college, she hatched a new plan - to make music her full-time job. Deciding to leave college was a difficult choice, but Jones decided to pursue music in her own way. With the support of her family and friends, she began working on her first album, Awake & Dreaming.
Courtney Jones thinks of her inspiration for lyrics as bits of "code" she fits together in a few hours, but when she wrote Awake & Dreaming Jones said it came to her in a "magical" way - not in fragments or a single idea, but in full - as she was on a flight. With only her boarding pass to write on, she let the lyrics flow onto the paper and later become her title track.
Jones' independent mind and take on the music scene seems old school in a refreshing way. As a performer, Jones enjoys testing new material live. "Music is meant to be heard and I want it to be, not thrown together and disorganized, but I want people to hear it," she explained. Despite Jones' optimism and determination about her career, she is also realistic. "Music kicks my butt, bit its so rewarding." The balance of this combo could be just the right formula for Jones, here's hoping she'll crack the music industry code.
—Christa Fletcher
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