The supremely talented English singer-songwriter Kelvin Jones hit Venue this week, and Brig’s very own Scott Paterson was there to ask him a few questions after his set.
Your song ‘Call You Home’ was released recently, what does that song mean to you personally?
It’s weird, because it used to be like a love song, just another love song about a guy who liked a girl and then because it was a year and half ago I don’t even know that girl anymore. So it’s changed meaning, now it’s this song that I played in pubs two years ago but it’s also a song that I’ve played in front of 2000 people, so yeah, it’s changed meaning for me.
Do you have a favourite song of yours to play live?
Oh yeah yeah yeah. Right now I’m enjoying – the name of my album is ‘Stop the Moment’ – and my favourite song on the album is the song called ‘Stop the Moment’. In playing it, I just get to like be free and let loose and sometimes I even forget that there’s people there, so yeah, it’s a really fun song to play.
What are you listening to right now, anything new that you’ve got on the go?
Yeah, I’ve just – very late to the party – I’ve just discovered Ben Howard, do you listen to any Ben Howard?
I do yeah, he’s really good!
He’s amazing man, and it took me so long to discover him, I mean he’s on his second album now and I just kind of clicked on to it. So, Ben Howard, and Mumford & Sons, their third album, because I never listened to the first two. I really love it, all their fans hate it because it’s electric guitars but I love it. So, Mumford & Sons and Ben Howard, I’m really into right now.
How have you enjoyed the Coffee House Sessions, this being your last day?
We were just saying, like most things, it went by really quickly. The first week was slow as hell, it was like London and going home every night, it was a lot, but this second week has really like rapidly gone by, man. And it’s crazy where we are because I’m like seven hours away, a seven hour drive away from home, but we’ve done it in small bits so it doesn’t seem like you’re that far away, but it’s crazy, man, yeah.
I was really impressed by your guitar playing, when did you start learning, were you a small child?
Cool, thanks man! No (laughs), I wish I was one of those! But I started learning only five years ago. But I just got obsessed with it, and to me, guitar makes more sense than words, which is a ridiculous thing to say but I’m not fantastic at words but I understand what guitar means, so yeah, that’s my thing I guess.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Oh I remember that very well, because it was basically the gig that is the reason why I became a musician. I went to watch my favourite artist, who’s this American dude called John Mayer, and he was playing at O2 Arena on the 20th of October 2013. And I went with a buddy of mine, it was my very first concert, two years ago, and it just blew me away man, it completely blew me away and I remember just leaving going “I wanna do that, I wanna be on that stage”, and pretty much gave up on university short after that.
What are your plans for the rest of this year? I know there’s not long left, but have you got anything planned?
Oh there’s a lot man. It’s crazy, I was just talking to my manager today, I’m not gonna be home for a long time, which is good, which is all I want. So I’m not home until mid-December. Directly after this I’ve got a week of shows, next week I’ve got O2 Academy on Friday in Islington, which is like a really big place, a really cool place. And then straight after that I’ve got a three week tour in Germany, and then after that I come home and I’ve got some more stuff to do, so just staying on the road. It’s good man, I can’t wait.
And finally, where do you see yourself in about five years time?
Five years time…, well I’m 20 now, at 25 I hope they let me make another album, that’ll be really cool! So I guess, hopefully second album, just pretty much doing the same thing, touring and playing. Yeah man, just staying on the road.
