Bio - Solid Jones
Jay Kenneth Johnson and Bryan Powers began their collaboration in Springfield, Missouri around 1993 when Jay was selected as singer for a band Bryan was already playing in. The band, who's members along with Powers included Dave Harp and Ben Reisenberg, was called Funkey Shmidt then, but even at ages 14 and 15 they thought it sounded a little silly. The band was renamed Solid Jones when Ben the bass player came to practice one day after having a conversation with his older sister about what the worst jones was. She said a "solid jones" and the name stuck.
Most of Solid Jones' music was funk based with influences from Parlament/Funkadelic to The Red Hot Chili Peppers. On some tunes Bryan would write the music and Jay would fit in the lyrics. On other tunes Jay would go to Bryan with a melody and he would fit in the guitar. In the early days of Solid Jones, Ben Reisenberg was an integral part of the songwriting team as well. Jay and Bryan collaborated on many songs including Success, Trained Specialist, Superbad, Microscopic Funk, King of the World, Deal With It, Simple Event, Pull the Covers and Under the Weather plus numerous others that have never been recorded.
Ben left the band out of High School in '95 and was replaced by George Cadillo on bass until Solid Jones parted in 1997 as the band members went their own separate ways.
Bryan left Springfield in Jan. '98 to go to recording school at the University of Memphis where he graduated with a Music Business Degree. Bryan is credited with playing in many bands including "Shady, Grady and Boy" in Springfield with frontman Jim Deer (www.jimmydeluxe.com) and drummer Dirty Dave. Fausto was his first Memphis band that consisted of his Hi-Tone business partner Dave Green and frontman Terry McClain (www.therealside.com). National Tuesday was the last official Memphis band though he continues to make guest appearances with Red Snapper, members of Speakeasy (www.speakeasy.com) and a number of other bands. Is Dirty Dave a member of Speakeasy or should it read- members of Speakeasy (www.speakeasy.com), Dirty Dave and a number of other bands?
Jay moved to Los Angeles in 1999 to pursue an acting career. After doing guest spots on S CLub 7 and The Young and the Restless, he quickly landed the role of Philip Kiriakis on the NBC soap Days of Our Lives. While Jay became a popular and successful daytime favorite, he never abandoned his passion for his music. Feeling the need for an outlet for his music Jay called Bryan, and in October 2001, the band reunited to record their first CD. They actually re-recorded it in full length. They had a popularly played song (Success) on the St. Louis based radio program, Made by Midwest in 1994 that was recorded by Joel Gradinger (One of the engineers on the new record) as well as Trained Specialist and Superbad.
The album, which completed in February 2002, was recorded at The Demohouse (Bryan and Joel's studio) in Memphis and mixed at Ardent Studio (www.ardentstudios.com). Bryan Powers played both bass and guitar along with background vocals with Jay Kenneth
Johnson on lead vocals and "Dirty" Dave Harp on drums. Other musicians credited on the album are Rick Steff on organ (formerly with Hank Williams, Jr.), Pete Matthews on trumpet and additional background vocals (Evanescence, Echo 7), Kevin Houston on Sax and Dave Green on percussion.
Jay and Bryan have collaborated on some new songs but have not been able to find the time to record. Jay is busy with his acting career in L.A. Bryan owns the Hi-Tone Cafe in Memphis and is currently opening several Lenny's sub shops in Southwest Missouri.