With his own emotions driving his artistic talents, Brad Jones shows the world how he feels one note at a time.
Jones started playing guitar when he was 17. “I remember playing guitar for my family and friends when I was younger,” Jones said. “It always made me feel really proud and I discovered that I enjoyed being in front of an audience while I played.”
Since then, Jones has honed his skills, practicing at least two hours a day. “It is easy to practice that much then you love what you are doing,” he said.
Throughout Jones’s musical venture, he has acquired five different guitars, all with their unique story.
“I still have my first guitar that my dad gave me when I was 17,” Jones said. “It is a very basic acoustic guitar, probably worth about $50. I used to love that guitar though and played it every day.”
Now Jones owns guitars that are worth up to $2,500. “I don’t mind spending that kind of money on them since it is something that I am so passionate about,” he said.
Even though Jones’s guitars are worth a lot in monetary value, his most valuable possession is his lyric book. “I wouldn’t trade my lyric book for anything,” he said. “Every lyric in that thing is something that I have observed or felt over the years. It is very precious to me.”
When Jones is not playing music, he spends a lot of his time sleeping in his dimly lit room. “Sleeping is my pastime other than playing guitar,” he said with a smile on his face. “Either that or playing PS2. I spend a lot of time doing that as well.”
Overall, Jones tries to be an easygoing guy, but a few things do bother him. “This is going to sound lame but some of my biggest pet peeves are intolerance, ignorance and stereotypical prejudice,” Jones said.
“Things like that really bother me a lot so I try to be open to any and everything.”
Jones also hates cheap toilet paper. “The thing that I hate most is when I run across cheap toilet paper,” Jones said. “That just infuriates me to no end.”
Jones is currently between careers, just living off the money he makes playing gigs around the Tri-Cities area.
He has a bachelor of arts in psychology and philosophy and is currently enrolled at ETSU as a full time student in the masters’ of business administration program.
“It is hard to play in a band and go to school at the same time,” Jones said. “That is why I am currently going solo.”
Since he started playing almost five years ago, Jones has been in many different bands, all of which were different styles of music.
The most recent band he played in, Breaking Stacy, went on tour throughout Tennessee as well as Georgia and North Carolina.
Jones also spends time playing his guitar in a praise and worship band in Morristown. “I love being able to use my talents that I have been blessed with for a good cause,” he said. “I love the fact that I can do something that I love and also and also be making a statement that touches people’s lives.”
Jones has been sharing his talent and stating his faith every Wednesday night for the past two years. He says he’s found a way to release his true feelings and relieve stress through playing music.
Not only are his faith and his songs near and dear to his heart but his songs also connect with his audience as they can relate to his words. “My songs have become a way for me to share my feelings and get a lot of things off of my chest,” he said.
Jones plays his acoustic solo sets, as well as a few accompanied sets, at The Acoustic Coffee-house, located at 415 W. Walnut St. in Johnson City.
He also has a few songs on MP3.com, which are available by searching for “Breaking Stacy.

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