TDU rocked out Wednesday night
Posted on November 19, 2007
Justin Jones revisited his roots Wednesday night at TDU. Born in Harrisonburg, the former JMU student was sure to be a crowd pleaser with his band, The Driving Rain. He returns to his hometown to perform each year.
“His music represents the Valley well, definitely bringing people back to their roots,” sophomore Rebecca Flynn said.
The sound of the band reflects Jones’ deep appreciation for blues, country and bluegrass. Elements of rock were also thrown into the mix with Andrew Nelson and Tim Lyons on electric bass, with drums and percussion played by Adam Dawson. Pulling it all together were the strong vibrations sounding from the trombone played by Tracy Epperson.
Opening the show with “Hope,” a song off his last album, Love Versus Heroin, Jones brought his audience into the middle of his life’s story. With lyrics such as “You gotta earn with all you make, you gotta give for all you take, you gotta start to know the truth,” those listening knew they are about to hear something genuine and real.
Jones, who writes all of his own songs, finds inspiration in hope after the loss of his father. The power of his songs comes from the realistic stories they tell.
“This album is much more dynamic; the other albums had much more sad songs,” Jones said.
His motivation for recording this album was “finding Jesus,” he said. Though added, ”We are not a religious band.”
Justin revealed a secret though about the band’s album title. The head-turning name actually came from the Bible when David spoke in Psalm 69 and said “Those who sit at the gate mock me…and I am the song of the drunkards.”
“It means he was the object of ridicule,” drummer Dawson said.
The entire performance was enjoyable, a refreshing experience of a whole range of human emotion. His friends and family knew every song by heart. His grandmother even shouted out a request for the song “Footprints in the Snow” as singing its lyrics, “Babe don’t cry ‘cause these hard times will pass you by, you don’t have to wonder why just smile.”
“He is such a great performer and his music is true and pure,” Flynn said. “It’s great to see a band like this around JMU, and it shows how loyal he is to us because he keeps coming back.”
The Driving Rain will perform Dec. 7 at The Little Grill.
“It’s expected to be a pretty big night,” Justin said. “Not to mention it was my favorite place to eat when I was a student.”
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