More Amazing Sounds From a Small Missouri Town

Clockwise from left: Smiling kid, smiling Jon Sheffield, pink dinosaur

Jon Sheffield is to Columbia as Ralph White (see interview) is to Austin. Gems. Every time I hear Jon's music I'm reminded of a performance he gave in Columbia that sounded nothing like the recordings--or anything I'd ever heard, for that matter--but somehow still sounded exactly like Jon Sheffield and only Jon Sheffield. We talked about that show, boredom, and Jon's upcoming plans.

Listen to JS on our compilation.

W & A: The night we played with you in Columbia was a pretty amazing experience for me because of the supportive crowd, the show that you put on, and the banjo/accordion set by the Company Men. I really love it there and feel like the music scene is strangely out of place in such a small, Midwestern town. How do you get along with Columbia, Missouri?

J.S: Yes. I think that was a great night. I get along with Columbia. It's home. There's usually always something brewing under the surface..

That night at Ragtag, you performed with a guitarist you'd met earlier that day or the day before, if I'm not mistaken. What do you think he was thinking as he played along with your songs and Nathan made all those crazy noises?

Oh I met him that night about five minutes before the show and he wanted to play guitar and I told him he should play one... My memories of what anything sounded like are really vague because I was into this piece of drain pipe i found in the alley and trying to play that and play songs on my laptop and sing at the same time because I didn't know i was playing until right before we played... Someone told me he looked like he was really into it - Making kind of jammy guitar lines and sounds and serious facial expressions...His thoughts could have been direct - maybe complimenting and adding something or it could have been simply trying to keep time with everything else... I guess I have no idea what he was thinking

Do you have any interest in touring or are you a stay-put kinda guy?

I'm pretty stay-put but I've gone on small tours in the past and had great times...Like a lot of things - an idea of something can sometimes be better than the real thing... But i'm definitely into travelling and touring every now and again...

What's some music you've been listening to or influenced by recently?

Recently I've been listening to this box of tapes i recorded off this sort of punk rock radio show i did a long time ago... also all these early 90's electronic records...These were coming out during a time where everything was supposedly "new" and the american press were in a mind-set of "the next big thing" and people thought the world was ending in 2000..Music has calmed down a little right now and it's just music.. and somehow, these electronic songs don't sound dated..maybe even fresh... I think Anne Laplantine is the greatest musician of all time... There's so much coming out right now so I usually just listen to folk music cds that people have now and SMOG albums that my friend Ben gives me...Antony and the Johnsons...

Do you have any recordings in the works?

I have a lot of recordings I've made over the years and I'm now starting to weed through, build and focus on the new album with a label in Germany... I'm also in a band now...

What do you do when you're bored?

I go to work sometimes...I watch a lot of television... Sometimes I read books but I'm waiting until I'm old to get serious about that... I look at the same things on the internet over and over... Go to movies...Be responsible...Make food and drink things...Wash dishes while my son dries them...

Favorite filmmaker(s)?

Since there is a question mark I don't really have a favorite... Whoever made "Midnight Cowboy" or maybe John Waters or David Wilson's later work... I think the guys from that NPR radio show "car talk" should make a movie...

That would be rad. Where can curious-types like me find your earlier releases, "Calves Valves" and "Shore Horses?"

You can go to either sparkling beatnik or subversal (dot com)... Or you can email me at jon@jonsheffield.com

Any upcoming shows or projects you feel like mentioning, yours or others?

I'm playing at http://www.apoprecords.com in Columbia, Missouri with my friends from Chicago called The Home Recording Project next month...We're putting out a split record sometime... I'm recording Rachel Profiling's first album that will come out on her 'Girl You Trippin' label... Deep Water Man will come together after I finish my new album... I'd like to get rid of almost everything I own..I was also really inspired by a friend who was going to raise money and run a marathon for a good cause... So I'd like to start running or something...

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