Michael Jones

Music has always been something very important to me. When I was about 10 I began to think about making it since I liked to hear it. That's when I started learning guitar. The music I make now began as a side project of mine; I wanted to build on my musical skill in addition to my technical skill. The electronic genre was the easiest for me to produce with limited resources, so that is what I started writing.

My music is rarely really "about" anything. Instead, I build on a particular theme. The beginning of my creative process is very unstructured. Whenever some progression or riff catches my ear, I build on it and expand upon whatever feeling that particular first bit contained. As I have gotten more involved in my music writing career, I have noticed that I tend to focus on more of a mellow, calming mood for my music, rather than more up-tempo adrenaline tracks. I think that is due largely to the fact that I myself have calmed down, and thus my music reflects it.

I really admire the work of Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson. Their YouTube channel "The Piano Guys" really stretches what pop music can sound like, and I really like that! They take popular music of our generation and really demonstrate the music within it. Some of the cheesiest songs I've ever heard became some of my favorite music after their covers of them. I'd love to be able to work with those two guys at some point!

My biggest challenge has simply been time. As a full time college student working 30ish hours weekly in retail too, it's pretty tough to find the time to put any meaningful effort into my music. I've been able to overcome it to some extent by forcing myself to schedule time to play just as I would schedule a meeting. Treating it as a necessity rather than a hobby helps me keep it in focus.

The dream scenario is to be able to produce music that people like! And then get paid for it! I know the likelihood of this is quite low, so I keep my sights set on being an artist. I write music like many people paint. I write music that I would want to hear. My main "mission" is to make music that people want to hear. I like to make others happy. That's what music is - it's a transfer of emotion from the writer to the listener. Hopefully I can give some of the passion I have to others with my songs.