Richard Thomas Gintowt was born into the world July 18, 1981 at 5:07AM.
Two decades later, OK Jones was born. This is the story of everything in
between.
In Junior High, young Richard, like many of his playfellows, was introduced
to rock and roll via the three titans of rock: Green Day, Metallica, and
Nirvana. As his tastes matured, Richard found himself increasingly captivated
by "indie" rock, which he at first believed to be a shorthand for "Indian"
rock, which was strange, because there was really nothing "Indian" about
it. Some of Richard's favorite entertainers were Sebadoh, the Poster Children,
the Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, and Wilco.
As
his CD collection grew, so did his passion for performing, and he played
drums for a pop trio by the name of Green Thumb. It was sometime in between
getting to second base and acquiring facial hair that Richard decided to
pick up guitar. Truth be told, he was writing songs even before he could
play guitar, so he found it quite helpful. In 1997, Richard released his
first full-length album titled "Bathroom Acoustics", inspired by the heavenly
sounds of one's own voice reverberating off a toilet seat.
Flash
forward to 1998. Richard leaves the great state of Illinois for the windswept
plains of Kansas. It was in this great state, a state better known for banishing
Dorothy to a land of munchkins and flying monkeys than for helping to end
slavery, that Richard discovered country and bluegrass. Beating a single
snare drum for the Jenkins Family String Band (known today as "Two Dollar
Shoe Revival Story"), Richard was introduced to the high lonesome sounds
of Bill Monroe, Roscoe Holcomb, Ralph Stanley, and Doc Watson, as well as
old-skool blues artists like Mississippi John Hurt and Robert Johnson and
country singers like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. Besides the obvious
benefit of actually being able to appreciate Bob Dylan, this newfound education
began to creep its way into Richard's songwriting.
About
this time, in a dusty Nebraska antique shop, Richard's girlfriend, whom
we shall here refer to as "Orange Blossom Special", was unearthing a document
that would forever change the course of Richard's music career. "Enjoy dancing...music
by OK" it said, noting that this music could only be found at the "finer
ballrooms". In the lower left hand corner, clad in bow-tie, tweed jacket,
and wire-rimmed glasses (and smothered in pomeade), beamed the baseball
and cornbread smile of one "OK Jones". Judging by the antiquated fashions
of our hero and the fine yellow tint of the paperstock, OK hit his prime
sometime around 1942. Any information on the whereabouts of OK Jones today
should be directed immediately to rgintowt@ku.edu.
Assuming the identity of our hero, Richard released his first album as OK
Jones in the fall of 2001. "Self-Help Songs" is a bona-fide fifteen step
self-help program based upon "tales of life in a college town." In other
words, it's a bunch of songs about gettin' yer shit together. The album
was recorded over the course of two years in bathrooms, bedrooms, living
rooms, and dorm rooms, and features guest appearances from Nate Hofer (Rex
Hobart), Jeff Jackson (Holstein), and Andrew Connor (Ghosty).
Today, Richard divides his spare time in Lawrence, KS between OK Jones,
Ghosty (for whom he plays drums), and hosting the High Lonesome Sound, an
old-time radio program on KJHK 90.7 Sundays from 10:00 to Noon.
Self-Help
Songs, © 2001
No
Mind No Song, © 2000
Bathroom
Acoustics (tape only), © 1999