User:Tmls/Timeless Thoughts

Robert Ray Jones II (born August 24, 1972) is an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of the progressive rock band Timeless Thoughts. He has produced all Timeless Thoughts albums since their 1996 release. The Beginning.

Biography
Jones first played guitar at the age of fourteen when he visited a friends house and began playing an old acoustic guitar. It was 1986 and the 80's metal scene was blooming. However, Jones knew nothing of this, for he was raised on 70's fusion and early rock. However his new interest in guitar let him into Metal and Progressive Rock. He soon formed his first band "Roadkill". At this time he began learning the Bass Guitar, in a few years time the band dissolved, but Jones continued to prefect his guitar and bass skills. Visitors to his makeshift studio would usually get to hear Jones jamming to Iron Maiden on Bass. It was not unusual to witness him playing through the entire album with his bass. At the time he was playing a black '72 jazz bass through a Mesa Boggie Stack. Durring these summer jam sessions of 1991 Jones was not playing with any other musicians. Later Jones began to practice in earnest. He was a largely self-taught guitarist who developed his skills through attempts to match the skill of his idols, who included Steve Harris, Vinnie Moore, Kirk Hammett], [[Tony MacAlpine, Al Di Meola, and Ozzy Osbourne.

In 1996 his first son was born, durring this time Jones compiled all his work to date and later released his debeut album "The Begining". This would begin a 5 year period where Jones pretty much stopped playing guitar altogether. After a divorce in 2001 he decided to start over with his music and try to develop a new genere where mood music and progressive elements would fuse to make the new Timeless Thoughts.

In 2005 Jones started attending Berklee College of Music in Boston this was a big step for someone with no formal music education.

While Timeless Thoughts is what Jones is most commonly associated with, he is also a part of the project band Seven Shades of Blue and has appeared as a guest on several other records.

Musical style
Jones is respected for his variety of guitar styles and exotic tunings. One of the most notable of these is his once secret Eb Bb Eb F# Bb F, as he himself claims, This tuning requires some imagination, but is very rewarding. He like to tell stories and create journyes with his music. Throwing traditional song forms out the window, Jones tipically uses progressions that morph into each other but rarely repeat.

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