MrJordanMrTonks, February 24, 2024| 3 Railroad Street

MrJordanMrTonks
Tommy Jordan and William Tonks
6 pm Saturday, February 24, 2024

Wow!
MrJordanMrTonks practically opened No. 3 Railroad Street - And they are back!

MrJordanMrTonks combine their love of stringed instruments and harmony singing to create a unique blend. Drawing on influences such as traditional bluegrass, folk rock and Americana, (think an acoustic Byrds with slide guitar) their performances allow each musician the opportunity to have plenty of input, with a mix of cover songs and originals. Expect guitars, dobro, banjo and lots of harmony singing. They try to keep the bad jokes to a minimum. Tommy Jordan was an original member of Men in Trees, and also plays in the band String Theory. William Tonks has performed with Athens bands ranging from Redneck Greece Delux to Bloodkin. These days they also play together in the Supernova Rainbow Band, the WildJordan TonkCats and Squalls-22, just to keep things interesting. Flagpole Magazine called them "Two of Athens favorite pickers." - From a recent bio

But we can fill that out a bit here. The two played together here in March 18, 2016 as our second concert, after Tommy Talton who opened a month earlier. More of their opener below.

Willian Tonks has been here two more times in essentially solo roles, the first in "Mojo" Mark Wilmot's Sunday Songwriters Revival series in August 19, 2018 and in Fester Hagoods's Mojo Confessional Songwriters Showcase series September 10, 2023.

After moving to Athens, Tonks became involved in the band Gravity Creeps, recording an album with John Keane. He began to write more music and was introduced to the dobro, which he taught himself to play. Over the years, he also has been a member of bands such as Redneck Greece Deluxe, Workhorses of the Entertainment and Recreational Industry, The Hot Burritos, Barbara Cue and Bloodkin, all local bands around the Athens music scene. More recently he has played in groups such as Romper Stompers, with Todd Nance of Widespread Panic and MrJordanMrTonks, an Americana style music group. He has also performed on albums by Jack Logan, another Athens musician.

In 2007 Tonks released his debut solo album, Catch, with Ghostmeat Records. It features Athens musicians such as John Neff of Drive-By Truckers. The album has several original songs as well as covers. Tonks has also had a project, a "Concerto for Rock Band with Strings," with noted R.E.M. bass player Mike Mills featuring violinist Robert McDuffie. They have performed in venues all around the world such as Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto and one in Rome, and recently traveled in a tour of the states.

Tonks, McDuffie, and Mills have also worked together on "A Night of Georgia Music," performing a set of songs by Georgia artists or relating to Georgia. The show was augmented by Chuck Leavell of the Allman Brothers Band, Sea Level, and The Rolling Stones on piano. A performance of the show filmed at The Grand Opera House in Macon, Georgia, aired on Georgia Public Television in July 2022. - Mostly from Wikipedia

William Tonks on the web: facebook.com/william.tonks.18 and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tonks.

Tommy Jordan does guitar, banjo, mandolin and vocals. He is well-known in the Athens/Atlanta acoustic music circles and has been performing in Athens and the surrounding area consistently since arriving in Athens in late 1976. He currently plays with the acoustic-electric duo, MrJordanMrTonks, along with William Tonks, and the well-established traditional acoustic band, String Theory. He was an integral part of the early-1980s heyday of the Athens music scene with his roles in Turtle Bay Band and Men in Trees and also as a solo artist. With Turtle Bay, he played at the famous church steeple party where REM made their debut. While working at the El Dorado Cafe in the Morton Theater in Athens, he got to witness firsthand the B-52s learning to play their instruments and developing their unique sound. Tommy's collaboration with William Tonks (MrJordanMrTonks) represents a move away from traditional roots music to high intensity guitar playing and tight harmony vocals.

? He is the only musician to have performed at every one of the Athens Human Rights Festivals, as well as playing at AthFest, North Georgia Folk Festival, the Melting Point/Foundry, the Georgia Theatre, Eddie's Attic, Red Clay Theater, the 40 Watt Club and, in Nashville, the Bluebird Cafe [we could add No. 3 Railroad Street in Arnoldsville as well]. Tommy is the president of the Athens Folk Music and Dance Society (AFMDS) and has been the director of the North Georgia Folk Festival since 2008. He speaks fluent acoustic and electric guitars, old time/clawhammer banjo and mandolin. Current bands include MrJordanMrTonks, String Theory, Minglewood (Grateful Dead cover band with his son, Ben Jordan), WildJordan TonksCats (9-piece rock band), and various other ad-hoc and semi-permanent ensembles. He taught a clawhammer banjo for a number of years at Steve Kaufman's Acoustic Kamp. He currently teaches guitar and music lessons privately and at the Good Dirt Clay Studio as part of the "Old Time String Band" class where he has given dozens of folks their musical starts in both classroom and individual settings.

? Before retiring from the University of Georgia in 2016, Tommy conducted research and taught photogrammetry and remote sensing for 35 years at the Department of Geography where he was the Associate Director of the Center for Geospatial Research. He is a nationally certified Photogrammetrist and served as president of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) in 2019-2020. He continues to maintain his Part 107 Drone Pilots License. - From tombobd41.wixsite.com/tommyjordan

Tommy Jordan on the web: tombobd41.wixsite.com/tommyjordan and facebook.com/tombob.d41/

MrJordanMrTonks, 6 pm, Saturday February 24, 2024.

Suggested Donation of $15. Mary could use something as well!

The following images are from MrJordanMrTonk's first visit in 2016.

Modified 20 February 2024 by Glenn Galau | Web Design by Glenn Galau