Former Lipscomb Student Jones honed his sarcastic folk-rock tunes and motor-mouthed singing style playing for tips outside a Houston coffeehouse; he was also a member of The Spectacles, who gigged at Lucy's Record Shop in its waning years, before releasing a live solo LP three years ago.  His largely acoustic new CD, The Southpaw Jones Starter Kit, has a busker's ragged spirit and an upstart wit that at best evokes Todd Snider or Loudon Wainwright III. His vocals can lapse into odd quirks and affectations, and some of his tunes are so clotted with words he can hardly breath. But when the hero of "White Boy Blues" postpones his class revolt because "Seinfeld's on and I'm eating a Cinnabon," you'll likely laugh out loud.

Jim Ridley
The Nashville Scene
December 9, 1999