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“If the reputation of the British singer-songwriter has been rendered bland by the likes of James Blunt, at least Scotland's Jono brings some of the street cred of a soul-soaked busker to his craft. His self-funded debut solo album begins on a positive note, with Stuck In The City's acoustic guitar providing a pavement platform for his songwriting skills, before the fuller funkier band sound of Silver Nails harks back to the British blues- Jono has also been compared to John Mayer, Jack Johnson and Newton Faulkner, but the eclectic influences which helped shape his style include The Police, Bob Marley, Guns n Roses, Smashing Pumpkins, Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx. |
Caledonian singer/songwriter Jono started recording songs aged 13 on a 4-track cassette recorder. Fast forward to his 20’s, Jono walked away from the family business and put everything he owned on the line to produce his debut solo album. The gamble seems to have paid off. Following the release of his first single “Silver Nails”, Jono was voted artist of the week on XFM’s Music:Response show, featured in the Scottish Sun, and gave his first interview on national radio. Rounded yet rugged, refined yet raw, Jono launched his album “Sentimental Anarchist” in June 2008to critical and popular acclaim. Built around his infectious voice, the talented multi-instrumentalist wrote, recorded and produced every song in his Glasgow flat. Jim Gellatly made “Sentimental Anarchist” album, and “Stuck in the City” (a cheery jaunt that skips and jumps with summertime pop)single of the week on his show. The guerrilla-approach video for “Stuck in the City” was one of the most watched UK music videos on YouTube. With a full band for the album launch, Jono packed out the 450 capacity Classic Grand, then embarked on a UK acoustic tour in his estate (come bed) with regional BBC stations getting behind him. Features in local and national press also included The Daily Record, The Evening Times, The Metro, and radio stations such as Q Radio (Russell Kane), BBC6 Music (Tom Robinson), BBC Radio Scotland (Jim Gellatly), BBC Radio Wales (Alan Thompson), Myspace Radio (Alex Zane), XFM (Martin Bate)... Just as he aimed to capitalise on that positive momentum, Jono came to within inches of death, suffering a violent skiing accident at the beginning of 2009, which smashed his shoulder so badly that it was doubtful whether he would ever play guitar again; a serious setback that he has happily overcome. |
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