March 9th 1975 - Ryan Samuel Jones is born
Brown Hair
Blue Eyes
7 lbs. 3 oz.
October 8th 1978 - Cameron Arthur Jones is born
Brown Hair
Blue Eyes
7 lbs. 2 oz.
It begins...
1975-1984 - Young Ryan shows signs of a strong sense of rhythm, always tapping or hitting something; usually his little brother’s head.
1978-1986 - Little Cameron exhibits a natural talent for melody, often writing songs to entertain himself while at play.
1985 - Ryan takes the first step toward a life of music, and starts clarinet lessons.
1988 - Cameron’s not far behind, for he, at the age of 10, picks up his first musical instrument; the trumpet.
1991 - Hungry for what he calls “adventure and chicks”, Ryan decides that a rock ‘n’ roll instrument such as the drum set better suits his lifestyle.
1992 - Influenced by watching his older brother “jam” with his friends, and by the one and only Les Claypool of Primus, Cameron switches over to the bass guitar.
1993 - Ryan runs into Rafter Roberts, an old school buddy who’s current band is on the outs, at a local show. The two discuss their musical careers and decide to work together. Responding to Rafter’s musings about the need for a bassist, Ryan suggests his younger brother for the position. Rafter hesitantly grants Cameron an audition. Later that week, the three play together and it’s magic. The roster is set, with Rafter on guitar and vocals, Ryan on drums, and Cameron on bass guitar and backup vocals. The new band is christened “Watch Winds Down”.
1993-1994 - Watch Winds Down plays a few shows and records two albums. However, Ryan loses interest in the project and quits the band.
1995 - After a few months recovering from the loss, Rafter and Cameron persevere and start a new project with friend Drea Moore. This time Rafter is behind the drum kit instead of the guitar, and Drea takes over the vocal duties. The resulting sound is softer and more minimal than Watch Winds down. Tumwater is born.
1995-1996 - Tumwater records an album and does a couple west coast tours. While in San Diego, the band forms ties which will last a lifetime with many of the local musicians. The seed is planted. But soon Cameron starts to realize how much he misses the rock format of Watch Winds Down and begins pulling away from Tumwater. Eventually this breaks up the band.
1996 - Another few months off follow the break up of Tumwater. But Rafter and Cameron can’t keep away from their musical lives together for too long, and start playing again. This time Rafter is back on guitar and has recruited Kevin, a talented young drummer whom he met at his jazz improv class, as well as a second guitarist named Andrew. They write a few songs, but the project never quite gets off the ground. Soon, Ryan ends up back in the picture and Watch Winds Down is reunited! The new material reflects the more mature songwriting approach of the band. They record another album, but unfortunately will never perform the new songs live. Rafter decides it’s time to make the move out of his hometown. The destination: San Francisco.
1996-1997 - San Francisco is only about a two hour bus ride from home, so Cameron starts making the commute every weekend to keep his musical ties with Rafter going. This is a tough time for the pair. Rafter feels that Cameron should move to San Francisco as well so they can be more serious about their music. Cameron feels that he is making quite an effort by simply making the journey every weekend, but cannot imagine living in the city. They play music with a few different people but nothing takes off. Their new project, “Plus Minus”, is mainly a recording project between the two, with others contributing here and there. Although they manage to record many many songs, most of their material goes unreleased, with the exception of one record. During this time, Cameron and Rafter both also record solo albums. Cameron’s “Gimmicks” and Rafter’s “Junk” are both self released.
August, 1997 - After close to a year of enduring the stress that the distance between the two puts on their music, Rafter and Cameron make a compromise. Cameron will move, but not to San Francisco. San Diego will be their new home.
1997 - Cameron takes the drum seat in Physics. The band has been around for years and has gone through more drummers than Spinal Tap, but Cameron’s stint will prove to be the most enduring of any of them. Now that Physics has a permanent drummer, they are free to tour; and tour they do. In the two years that Cameron is with the band, they do two west coast tours and one full US tour, which marks Cameron’s first journey to the Eastern United States of America. They also record and release a live EP.
1998 - Cameron picks up the bass duties in Thingy. Balancing two full time bands plus two jobs isn’t easy, but Cameron stays true to his motto, “music before anything”. Thingy makes a few quick trips up to San Francisco, always wishing they could keep going, but always having to return home after a couple shows.
1999 - Physics breaks up due to the many pressures and conflicts that are bound to arise within a 6 person democracy. Sadly, they never are able to record a studio album with this lineup.
August 2000 - Thingy’s touring prayers are finally answered! It seems that their record label, Absolutely Kosher Records, entered them in an internet tour support contest at gigmania.com and they won. The band will get approximately $7,000 to complete a US tour. They do, and it is a success.
July 2000 - Cameron is asked to fill the drum position in Pinback for a six week European tour and a short Western United States tour. He jumps at the opportunity. After a mere month of frantically trying to learn the songs, they leave for Belgium. It is an amazing experience which Cameron will always remember. They then return to the US and, after a week off, head back out on the road for the US tour. Cameron keeps tour diaries of both of the tours. While on the road, Cameron talks with Donny, the band’s keyboardist, about moving into his house after Donny moves to Boston.
November 2000 - Cameron makes plans to move into Donny’s house, including giving his notice at his current residence, then goes up to his parents’ house to work with his father and unwind a bit from all the travelling. The vacation is indeed quite relaxing and Cameron starts looking forward to moving into a new house and getting back on track in San Diego. But wait! There’s one problem. Donny now says that his landlord is planning on raising the rent at least a whole $250 before the next person moves in. This means that Cameron will not be able to move into the house as expected. Immediately Cameron starts to think of alternatives. He has already given his notice at his current house and they’ve found a replacement for him. Cameron and Ryan, who have been playing music a little for the first time in years since Cameron has been up, discuss moving to Portland together. They had briefly talked about it in the past, but didn’t expect to be following through with it so soon. But after some deliberation, they decide to go for it.
February 2001 - The brothers Jones find a place to live in Portland, Oregon. They have already started working on material for their new band, “The Two Guys”. The project is still in the beginning stages but Cameron’s songwriting skills have developed considerably since the days of Watch Winds Down, and after a four year hiadous, Ryan’s intensely detail-oriented and original drumming style sounds better than ever.
Present - The saga continues...
Two Guys
Recorded
Out Now
Animal Trainers
Beach House Hangover
Another Chance to Fuck Up (live)
