The Joneses

The Joneses

The Joneses are a US punk rock group from Anaheim, California, formed in 1981 by guitarist and singer Jeff Drake. Over time, the line-up changes frequently, and the band includes players such as Nickey “Beat” Alexander, Bill Bateman, Paul Black, Mitch Dean, Jeff Drake, Steve Houston and Steve Olson. The group is associated with punk and punk rock, and the wider tags applied to it include glam punk, sleaze, soul and disco.

Early releases and recordings

The band first issues the single “Criminals in My Car” backed with “Jonestown”. It then appears on the BYO Records compilation Someone Got Their Head Kicked In with “Graveyard Rock” and “Pillbox”. The next recording is the EP Criminals.

Compilation appearances and later release

The Joneses also contribute three tracks to Hell Comes to Your House, Volume 2: “I’m Bad”, “She’s So Filthy” and “Black Cat Bone”. In 1987, Doctor Dream Records releases Keeping Up With the Joneses. A retrospective titled Criminal History appears on Sympathy for the Record Industry in 2000 and gathers 20 tracks from the band’s recorded output.

Recognition and related projects

An incarnation of the band that includes Drake, three former members of The Mau-Mau’s, Scott Franklin of the Cramps, Paul Black of L.A. Guns and Johnnie Sage of Christian Death is voted “Best Live Band” in the 1984 L.A. Weekly Reader’s Poll. Drake later works with his brother Scott “Deluxe” Drake in The Vice Principals. One of the band’s best-known songs, “Pill Box”, is written by Jeff Drake when he is 16.