“Excuse Me is the culmination of a lifetime dedicated to music,” Jones shares, adding, “Everything I’ve learned, every stage I’ve stood on, every success and disappointment has shaped the artist I’ve become. Growing up in Seattle, I was surrounded by a musical legacy that taught me to embrace every influence, from grunge and blues to soul and hip-hop, and make it my own through rock and roll. This record carries the maturity of those experiences and a lifetime spent developing my craft. There’s something special about having a record like Excuse Me to share with the world. It’s a reflection of everything I’ve lived and the things I’ve come to understand along the way. At its heart, it’s about the human experience—life, death, love, loss, and finding peace in the acceptance of our own mortality. We’re living through uncertain times, but humanity’s been here before. This is just our turn. There’s comfort in knowing we’re not alone in what we’re going through, and beauty in recognizing how much we share. I wanted to make a record that speaks to that connection, that reminds us even in our darkest moments, hope is never truly lost.” “I’m a guitarist, but I’m also a singer, songwriter and composer,” Jones continues. “This is the record where every part of my artistry comes together. The songwriting, the singing, the guitar playing, all of it. The album is a sign of the times and a proclamation simultaneously,” Jones affirms. “We have a lot of escape music right now. It’s happy and distracting music, but the price of eggs and gas are skyrocketing and people are feeling pretty dismal. This record is a reflection of that.” Born and raised in Seattle, Jones grew up amid extraordinary instability. “My dad was a pimp and a gangster,” he says. “My mom was a gangster. I was a ward of the state. I’ve had to learn a lot of life lessons on my own and through trial and error. I’m a deeply contemplative person, and I’ve always been in tune with working class people in the streets. I want to be able to represent the voices of the people that don’t really have a voice.” Music first offered an escape, then became an obsession. After several years playing violin, he picked up the guitar at 13 and largely taught himself to play. He began as a blues purist, playing alongside older blues musicians, before recognizing that the rock and grunge sounds of his hometown were just as fundamental to his musical identity. Sir Mix-a-Lot helped launch his independent career, while an early experience playing guitar for Deep Cotton within Janelle Monáe’s Wondaland collective expanded his understanding of what an artist could be. He connected with Screaming Trees’ Barrett Martin, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, and Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, and what followed was a career as expansive as the music itself. Amid that rapid ascent, Jones increasingly felt he was playing the character of “rock star,” and he spent the years that followed questioning how much of that identity was actually his. As a husband and father, he examined relationships, personal accountability, past mistakes, and the process of figuring out who he is when the expectations surrounding him fall away. “I was becoming a character, but that character wasn’t truly based on me,” he continues. “It was something the industry put together to help sell records. This is me.” Excuse Me is a bold statement from an artist making an album in which he fully recognizes himself, bringing together the many sides of an artist who has spent his career refusing to fit comfortably into a single musical world, while affirming his place as one of rock music’s brightest and most singular stars. “There are people who want to scream right now,” Jones says. “People are frustrated. People are scared. People are trying to hold onto hope and optimism. I wanted to speak to them.” | 
