This Saturday is a show not to be missed, at the Pickle Barrel Nightclub. One of my favorite bands to see live, Remember Jones, will be making their return at 8 p.m. I’ve seen them twice now and I always want more. Saturday night will feature a 7-piece band for two sets of no
n-stop
entertainment. You can expect to see a high energy, super soulful front man backed by an entertaining funky soul band. They’ll do bombastic original music, mixed in with stylized funk, soul, and rock covers of many favorites to keep you entertained and dancing. Remember Jones is both a band and the lead singer’s stage name. Recently called one of the Most Influential Artists for 2024 on the Jersey Shore (alongside Bruce Springsteen, Kevin Smith, and more), and harking back to the presence of some of music history’s most notable entertainers, Asbury Park native Remember Jones is nationally known for his over-the-top theatrical events and funk rock/soul showmanship, with unique, feel-good live performances.
Remember Jones had a busy year. They toured a bunch this past year. R.J. said, “We don’t take many lulls in our set. We cross genres pretty much all the time. It’s under the umbrella of entertainment and personality which brings a really unique show experience. We’re going to have a party for sure.”
Jones the man, focused his energy this year on producing with recordings for himself and other people plus a lot of stage stuff and theater. He just finished a symphonic run of “Jesus Christ, Superstar”. What impresses me most is his versatility. He has starred as Meatloaf, Freddy Mercury and Amy Winehouse, but in his own way. You can see all those personalities come out on stage. He said, “I love when the rock and theater thing is a hybrid. I feel my band is sort of that too. It’s fun to do it on a big level.” What’s different about these shows are you can’t call it a tribute act, “this is Remember Jones doing Meatloaf, etc.” R.J. said, “I kind of do myself. It’s more of a celebration of the music. It’s really cool. I put it all together. I envision it, I music direct, I star. It’s kind of me behind the scenes, risking it all. For the bands, I pull people from different walks of my life, from different music projects. I try and cast the right people. You need the right Brian May (lead guitar, “Queen”).” The “Queen” show he said is, “a unique interpretation of the music of ‘Queen.’ We have a horn section, strings, a whole choir and we do it at different theater’s here and there.” They have a Maroon 5 show too.
That’s what I mean, there’s so much versatility to Remember Jones, he’s musically unique. R.J. said, “I’ve been very fortunate in this area because when we do a show, it’s special and we pack theaters. We also tour around the country in clubs, different outdoor venues and do my original music but also take pieces from all these shows and pull them together. Some of the covers I do are smaller versions of some of the big, crazier things we do on the East Coast.”
One of my favorite things about a Remember Jones show are the cover songs because they do them in a unique way. Some bands are afraid to do covers. He added, “A lot of people look down on it. I’m the type of artist that falls in the lineage of so many people; Tina, Frank Sinatra. The minute a song was released, they were doing their version of it. I hear something and I like to stylize it, reenvision it and put it in my own way and allow the audience to hear it as if it’s the first time they’re hearing it. I love that audience and band connection.”
His original music was inspired by other music so he’ll weave his originals in throughout a show. R.J. Said, “I have a song ‘Radio said she loved Me’ and I was totally inspired by ‘Cult of Personality’ when I wrote it. Now when we do the song live, we kind of hybrid the two. People go nuts for ‘Cult of Personality’ so it allows them to remember my original song even more. They’re all tools to entertain people. I love putting on a show. It’s all about the show. It’s colorful, it’s loud, it’s funky.” No two shows are the same.
Remember Jones is trying to help other artists with the wisdom and knowledge he has and pass on help through the connections he’s made. Remember Jones loves entertaining people and ended by saying, “I was born to do this. I love the community aspect of this. I love when people get together and enjoy live music. When they put their minds together and create this spiritual thing. It’s really cool. There’s nothing like it, there’s nothing like live entertainment you don’t find anywhere else. You can’t do it without other people so to have a community for me is really it.”
By Curtis Brown
Remember Jones, a 7-piece band, will perform at Pickle Barrel Nightclub on Saturday night, April 15. They’ll showcase original music and cover songs,in a unique live entertainment performance.
