Hi! My name is James Robinson, also known as siLvErbAcK jOnZ. Though I use siLvErbAcK jOnZ as my artist name, I view the name as a state of mind for something I love. For example, if you love chicken and waffles, as well you should, you have a siLvErbAcK jOnZ for them. It's like a monkey on your back...but not just any monkey, IT'S A BIG ONE!
They Don't Get Me..
I was born and raised in Virginia. Arlington, Va, to be specific. Though I haven't been back there in over 20 years, looking back, it was a fairly conservative thinking state. I never really felt like I fit in.
My dad is Irish and my mother is African American. I was born in 1969. I'm sure at that time, biracial relationships were pretty much frowned upon. I was often the only biracial person in attendance everywhere I went. So I kind of grew up feeling different and a little self conscious. I used to ask my mom as a child, why people stared at me. She would say,"It's because you're so light". Thanks mom! That really helped...
Dear old Dad
My dad was an alcoholic. I say was as I don't know if he's dead or alive. Since he had substance abuse issues, my mom decided not to marry him and he was never in my life. I spoke to my sobing father only one time in my life when I was about 13. Some say,"You can't miss what you never had". In this instance, I feel for me, this is true. I'm not bitter about it, as I never knew him. Thus, I've never felt the "loss".
Chuuch
Growing up, I spent most of my time in a nondenominational church. My aunt Gloria was the pastor. It was a very small congregation, as at that time, women pastors were frowned upon. My mom was the deacon. So I had to spend HUGE amounts of time in church. Up until the time I was about 13, I wasn't allowed to listen to anything but Christian/Gospel music. Though I love old school gospel for it's raw emotion & soul, when I turned 13 and was allowed to listen to secular music, I went HOG WILD! My friends listened to groups like Van Halen and Journey, while the cousins that I was close to, listened to the then budding beats of The Sugar Hill Gang. I took it all in and to this day, there's not much in music that I don't like. Something else I went hog wild on was marijuana...more on that some other time...
My First Guitar
The age of 13 was an important age for me, as you might be able to tell. I began playing guitar. I was heavily influenced by groups like Dokken, Ratt & Van Halen. Pretty much anything hard rock and metal. But the artist that made me want to play was Jimi Hendrix. He just looked SO cool and sounded so completely different than the gospel that I grew up listening to. Besides, all of my stoner friends loved him and I looked up to them. My mom bought be a cheap "strat" style guitar from a record store called Sam Ash that was located in Springfield Mall, in Springfield Va. I LOVED that guitar. I think she bought it for me as I put kite string on my tennis racket in a pathetic attempt to make my own guitar. I guess she felt sorry for me and purchased it with her tax return. We were/are DEFINITELY not part of the 1%, so i'm sure it was a huge sacrifice for her. Love ya mom!!!
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Fast forward about 3-4 years later and I'm still playing guitar. It was then that I discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stevie Ray Vaughans version of Little Wing was the first recording of his that I'd heard. Of course I'd heard Jimi's version, but when I heard Stevie's version, I thought it was an unreleased version that Jimi had recorded. I soon found out that it was SRV and not Jimi. So I got into Stevie Ray heavily. Which is when I "found myself" on the instrument. Since then, I've lost a little passion for all things Blues Rock, but there will always be a VERY special place in my heart for Stevie Ray Vaughan. I cried for hours when he died. Remembering that moment brings a tear to my eye as I write this introduction. I need a moment...
Corruption
At about 16, my cousin Marcus, who'd started playing bass around the same time that I started guitar, and I formed a band with an incredible drummer named Chris Wing. Later we got a singer named Shannon Bollman & named the band Corruption. Even then, I wa a bit anti-authority, before I knew what to call it hence the band name Corruption. But I'll admit to not knowing a lot about politics at that time and it sounded cool as a band name. We played mostly covers at parties and school events.
Wedlocked Up
It was around this time that I met my ex-wife. I wasn't a virgin at the time, but she was the first person that I had an orgasm with. It was life changing as we married just a few years later. We had our son when I was 21. My ex-wife and I always argued, but I was determined to be in my sons life, unlike my dad. However, much like my father, I partied a lot & after 12 years & a possession of a controlled substance charge later, we divorced. Btw, the pos charge caused us to lose our apartment and I had to move in with the in-laws. Her dad was in the reserves & moved quite frequently. The last move was to Killeen Tx. There weren't many jobs there and an altercation between my ex-mother in-law forced me to be homeless. From there, I moved to Austin around 1995 while on probation.
What Now?
I now live in Austin Tx, with my girlfriend of 9 years. My one & only marriage kind of soured me to "putting a ring on it". I've been producing music under the name siLvErbAcK jOnZ! for the last 14 years. I still play guitar everyday & I use Propellerheads Reason DAW for production. I recently started to sell some of my music on POND5, under the name Tracks On Hand (https://www.pond5.com/artist/tracksonhand#1/2064). I mainly produce old school boom bap hip hop & trap. I throw a few rock tracks in as well. I'll be posting videos from my youtube channels (https://www.youtube.com/user/Benill03, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcWqkfnSxibP1sYcx7nJZtg), as well as my music productions posted from soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/silverback-jonz/tracks).
https://soundcloud.com/silverback-jonz/sets/silverback-jonz-boom-bap
I look forward to chatting with the steemit community about music, politics and any other interesting topics that I come across. I'm truly inspired by steemit and I hope that I and my music are well received.
