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The Jonah Stone

What can I tell you about "The Jonah Stone"? Well, before they were the Jonah Stone, they were "Not Goin' to Vegas". Not Goin' to Vegas was one of my favourite bands. The verdict is still out on version 2.0.

The first time I saw NGTV play was at the New Year's Eve party at the Convention Centre in Winnipeg. They were opening up for the Blue Meanies (now the New Meanies) and the Watchmen. When I saw their stage setup, I thought, "What the hell is this?" On stage was a drum set, a percussion set, a guitar, and a bass. "Well this is going to be interesting." When they took to the stage though, they had me on the first beat. The drummer and the bassplayer were rock solid. The singer had an amazing voice that grabbed my attention like a good storyteller. His guitar was simple, yet erie and powerful. But it was the percussionist who really stole the show. I had never experienced such a rhythmic sound before. NGTT totally wrecked the show for me because the Meanies, and not even the Watchmen could compare to them. They had a unique sound that really captivated.

This is why I'm a bit disappointed with the new album. The band has definitely taken a different direction. The percussion player (Rich) mostly plays guitar on the new album. The sound that fueled their previous album is gone. When I tried to describe Not Goin' to Vegas' music to my friends I would say "You know how the Tea Party have that East Indian sound? Like that only Spanish." What would the Tea Party sound like today if they didn't play any exotic Indian instruments. That's whats happened to the band. I used to describe them as a Alternative/Folk Rock Band with latin influence. Now that the percussion is gone, the band sounds empty. Phil's guitar solos still have a bit of spanish in them, but it isn't the same without Rich banging on the bongos.

All in all though, it is still a good album. And there is one song that is total "Not Goin' to Vegas", with percussion and all. If you ever get a chance to go see these guys live, don't miss it. They are incredible.

The Jonah Stone are:

Phil Deschambault - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar
Roland Deschambault - Bass, Backing Vocals
Rich Kellar - Guitar, Percussion, Harmonica
Ron Deschambault - Drums

Favourite Lyric:

From "Baskets Full of Earth" - Not Goin' To Vegas

I send to you baskets full of earth
So your homeland won't be missed
And I send my letters in the dirt
So your hands will be soiled by it
And I walk the many miles from where we met
And our kindred dwellings more than left unsaid
I carry my baskets in arms as I tread
Down to the river until I am dead

Copyright NGTV Music

Letters

From: "Roland Deschambault"
To: cdnmusicguy@hotmail.com
Subject: Deschambault
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 17:35:48 -0800

Hello cdnmusicguy,

Of course I have no idea of your name so I will go with that one. What I will tell you is my name. It's Roland.

This afternoon I was taking somewhat of a trip down memory lane and came across a review you had done of my band's (NGTV and The Jonah Stone). It's was very flattering, thank you very much.

Since you seem so interested I thought I would bring you up to speed on what we have been doing in the last year or so........

Phil is in the process of writing some great songs right now (and yes.... again with more of the latin guitar and percussion influence........ nothing to do with the Ricky Martin thing).

We have been in the studio and have completed about 6 songs in hopes of securing a new distribution deal.

As for myself I've been into filmaking quite a bit. I've just finished my first film and am in the editing phase.

The new group will just be under my brothers name Phil Bockstael and the album will be called The Wakefeild Sessions. Why Bockstael? That's my mothers maiden name and has a better marquee value than Deschambault.

If you are interested, keep in touch and I may send you some of the unfinished new stuff.

Oh and we will be playing some new shows at the Blue Note to try out new material. The line-up in the band a has changed a little also. I'll still be playing bass and guitar and singing, Richard Keller on Drums, guitar and Percussion, and Matt Buda (from a Winnipeg band called Leaderhouse) on guitar and vocals.

Roland Deschambault.

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Date: Sun, 08 Nov 1998 22:27:00 -0600
From: Shawn Bremaud
To: cdnmusicguy@hotmail.com
Subject: the jonah stone

"well, i can definately agree with you that NGTV was a rockin' band, but to say that TJS is LESS good is just INSANE!!! Have you seen their live performance prior to reaching this judgement? I have seen them live only 4 times, but I am completely addicted to their sound...I have both their NGTV release and the new TJS release, and by FAR the better is the TJS CD....but regardless of the sound, TJS is just a great group of guys....have you ever had a conversation with them? I've talked with them on 3 of the 4 occasions where I saw them perform....their music is such to me that it hurts to hear them leave the stage, and leaves me hungering for their next performance (which is only 13 days away at the Wpg Convention Centre).... i'm sorry to hear that they're not what you used to like in them, but all things change....hope you can re-evaluate and appreciate their new sound..."

Shawn Bremaud
TJS Tribute webpage

Email: cdnmusicguy@hotmail.com