Celebrity Interviews

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In the Key(s) of Jones
An interview with Howard Jones
by Craig Marquardo

Howard Jones is annoyingly engrossing. Well, at least his music is. I have been singing 'No One Is To Blame' in my head for about nine days straight now. This isn't a new affliction, used to happen all the time in the 80's, and to lessening degrees over the years. But every time I hear the song it's stuck.

It's hits like this, along with 'Things Can Only Get Better' and 'Everlasting Love' that made Howard a star. But it is his keyboard that made him - him.

Jones started taking piano lessons at the age of seven, and quickly became a classical prodigy. With the vast musical offerings available to him, his tastes started leaning towards the times and he joined his first band when he was fifteen.

During all this he was also giving piano lessons. In particular was a student by the name of Jan Smith, whom he later married. She was in a fairly bad auto accident which left her with a sizeable settlement. With it, she bought Howard a Moog Prodigy keyboard, and history was made. Rolling Stone would later name him keyboard player of the year.

He started experimenting with the basic sounds of the keyboard and tried to create a sound, both in tones and style, that hadn't been heard before. This unique sound made him a darling of the pop scene in the 80's, earning him an invite to perform at the coveted Live Aid, where he performed on a piano which belonged to famed Queen lead singer, Freddy Mercury.

Since most of the bass lines were written by Howard on the keyboard, his brother, who played bass, had to add another string to the bass guitar since Howard's bass lines were slightly out of the bass's range.

Now he is touring the country with just his guitarist Robin Boult and he himself on piano. This acoustic tour has been so well received around the world that audience and critic reviews have been pouring in with raves for the duo.

MS: I just found out that 'No One Is To Blame' featured Phil Collins on drums.

Howard: Yes, Phil and I played the Prince's Trust concerts together. I think that was his opportunity to rate me, to a degree. We did the recording in two weekends between weekend Genesis recording sessions. He not only played drums on the song, but produced it song as well. He didn't do the original, but the one that was played on the radio mostly. We wound up running in some of the same circles musically, because I got invited to do a lot of things with guys like Eric Clapton, Phil Collins...you know, that whole Surrey set of musicians. But they knew I could play, and wasn't just fooling around.

MS: When you started out, there weren't many influences to pick up in the pop or rock and roll scene.

Howard: That's true. When I was about nine or ten, I started to play blues piano, and have no idea where that influence came from, since I was living in Wales. Then I discovered a band called The Knife, which was Keith Emerson's first group of any success. That was the first time a piano or keyboard was prominently featured in a rock band. Then I saw Emerson, Lake & Palmer live, and that was it. I mean, he was the Jimi Hendrix of keyboards. Then I listened to Billy Payne and Little Feat, and obviously Stevie Wonder.

MS: How was 'breaking America' different than making it in your home country?

Howard: I always had this big connection with North America because I lived in Canada for three years as a youth. What was on the radio was very similar to what was going on in the United States. This made it a big ambition of mine to do well in the US, and play Madison Square Garden. When the British bands would be talked about as making it in the US, it was because they were playing a show at Madison Square Garden. I worked very hard with the promotion and radio stations, and then finally got to play there in the late 80's. It was a dream for me. And I did 'No One Is To Blame' by myself at Giants Stadium once, and the entire crowd was singing it back to me. It was...it was just pie in the sky for me.

MS: We all got to see Live Aid onstage, what was happening backstage with all those stars?

Howard: My experience was that everyone was very excited about playing. And imagine, at Live Aid the audience was so massive that all of these big names were very nervous. It was a make or break gig. You had the huge crowd, and then the whole world watching you at the same time. It was scary. So now, no matter who you were, we were all on the same level, very much an even playing field. I got to meet a ton of people, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Pete Townsend...I was so glad I was there.

MS: What made you join the all star band that Ringo Starr put together years ago?

Howard: When Ringo asks you to do something like that, there was no way I was going to say no. I always thought he was the best drummer in the world, and still do. After hearing the Beatles all my life, to be able to play with one was an opportunity I wasn't going to pass up. I got to play with a Beatle!

MS: Is it hard to introduce new material to an audience when your older stuff is so well known?

Howard: I'm still absolutely and passionately writing new material, and am about ready to record the new stuff. It's very exciting. I get to introduce the new songs to people, explain where the lyrics came from, it's nice. Otherwise, if you only go out and play the hits, you are more of a nostalgia act. I don't play ten in a row, because that's not fair to the people who like my older work too. But I at least try to add in a handful of new ones every show.

MS: You are completely independent of a record company. What does that mean to you?

Howard: I'm in control of what I do. I have no trouble with self-motivation. I don't need the record company calling me to hurry up and finish the record. I control my own destiny. I fully recognize that I am in a different position than I was in 1985. But I still have a fan base who wants to see and hear me, so you really develop and cultivate your relationship with them. The internet is a great tool for that sort of thing. And I realized a long time ago that the best artists are not always found on the TV and radio. You have to search them out.

MS: After being a pioneer of the electronic age of music, are you a huge computer nerd now?

Howard: Well, (laughs) I do keep up. I have a modern computer and have all the latest things. But I work with some younger people that help me with a lot of stuff. The others who are more adept and doing this every day, I leave that to them. That allows me to concentrate on the writing and arranging, the things that really bring me joy. Back in the day I did everything myself. It's good to have at least one other person to bounce things off of. At the start, it's a solitary process. But once it's on the page, you really need other people around to bring it to life properly.

MS: Having access to all of the incredible technologically superior keyboards out there now, do you ever wish you had one of those when you started?

Howard: Well, the limitations of the early keyboards made it relatively uncomplicated. My sequencer only had eight notes, which restricted me to write songs with eight notes in it. Rolling Stone once said I didn't need to show up to a show, just send my gear. I was so annoyed because I was playing every note, and it was just so far out of anyone's understanding about what I was trying to do. Then of course, they named me keyboard player of the year, so...

MS: So tell me about your ongoing love affair with your favorite early keyboard, the Jupiter 8.

Howard: Actually, I am looking at it right now. (laughs) It's a beautiful instrument, makes quite a lovely sound. I could play everything on piano, but I was trying to do something different, that no one else was doing. You have to be a little different to break out. But still at the base of it was songwriting.

MS: You have talked some about your negative experiences with press in the past.

Howard: Yes, the UK has always written pretty negative things about me over the years. You always get hammered here, which toughens you up, which makes you able to go off elsewhere a bit stronger. But the rest of the world has been very kind and complimentary. It's a rotten place to be a musician in that way. They just hammer you. But now I am not really in that type of spotlight anymore, which makes it so much easier for me to do what I do.

MS: Now the show you are doing here in Portland is a little different than what people would expect.

Howard: Yes, Robin Boult is playing guitar with me on piano, and that's it. He really is a fantastic player, and a great guy to have on the road, which is important when you are touring. I did something similar in 2006 with Carol Steele, where it was just piano and percussion. Everyone thought I was mad when I suggested it, but I saw Elton John and Ray Cooper in Russia and had a dream to do that myself one day. It was great, it did work, and this one is equally fantastic.

MS: With this type of show, and playing piano, I would assume you have much more freedom.

Howard: No, you're right. That's what I love most about it. It gives me the most freedom. With a band you have to stick to the notes on the page. With me and Robin, I can just go off and play any direction I want to. I am sure you as a jazz singer have experienced this, knowing you can make choices in the middle of the song. It's nice.

MS: So you're here and then Seattle?

Howard: Oh man, (laughs) the last time I played Seattle I almost got electrocuted. Somehow, there was this blue spark between me and the microphone. I don't know how that happened, It was frightening. How was that even possible? I don't know how they wired it. My head got thrown back from the microphone. Crossing my fingers this time.