Biography

The iron-man of the reggae scene in Cleveland, Ohio is without question, Carlos Jones. Carlos' journey is a history of Cleveland reggae itself. He started out as a sideman (percussion/vocals) with the band, I-Tal in the late 70s. Their contribution to Clevelands musical history can not be overlooked. Even though there were earlier local reggae bands forming out of the Jamaican communities in the city, I-Tal brought reggae to the masses with their unique, rock influenced reggae sound, their shows having an almost "Grateful Dead"- like atmosphere, packing clubs with ecstatic fans hypnotized by the seductive and mystical rhythms and socio-political messages. I-Tal mostly toured the mid-west and east coast, and had one full LP release in 1981 simply titled, I-Tal. Being one of the first American reggae bands in the country, they were the first live reggae experience for thousands of people, playing all the big clubs, colleges, and local festivals in the region. After having been a sideman for about five years, Carlos began to come into his own as a songwriter and onstage presence. In 1984, an offshoot made up of 5 of the original I-Tal members formed, called First Light. Carlos Jones was the principle songwriter and became front man of the group. First Light achieved rock star status in its popularity, with its powerful and eclectic brand of music, which mixed rock, funk, blues and reggae. Performing over a large part of the country, they seemed poised to break into the national spotlight. The band had an unprecedented run all the way up into the late 90s, with several cult-status releases: a 3-song EP on vinyl called "Musical Uprising" in 1985 and two full length CDs: "Meltdown" in 1987, and "Groove Telepathy" in 1994. There were also two cassette-only releases, "Live at the Empire", and "The Official Bootleg" which were both released in 1991. By the mid-90s, feeling the need to return to a rootsier sound than First Light was known for, Carlos formed a stripped-down, mostly acoustic, four-piece combo which he named Strictly Roots, which would later be changed to P.L.U.S. ( the Peace Love Unity Syndicate), now more commonly known as The PLUS Band. After doing both projects for a number of years, Carlos decided to make The PLUS Band his full-time pursuit, and First Light disbanded in May of 1998. He has been on a mission since then to carry the message of peace, love, unity and consciousness to all who will listen. As a first order of business, Carlos released a 14 song solo outing called Peace Love & Unity. It was a lo-fi but well crafted effort recorded on a 4-track deck in his home, and saw moderate local distribution. This served as a re-introduction to his fan base as a solo artist, and would provide material for the band's first full length CD release, Roots With Culture to come in 2004. "Full Circle, A Retrospective" was released in 2000 on Little Fish Records, a fledgling Indie label run by Larry Koval, who signed on as manager for Jones in 1998. This basically is a compendium of tracks pulled from various sessions over the course of Jones' career, including some of his solo work, and with some previously released and un-released First Light tracks as well. On it, you can hear a live version of the anthemic "Where Reggae Comes From," complete with manic crowd chanting, recorded at The Empire Club during the height of the First Light era.
Since then, Carlos, and his Peace, Love, Unity Syndicate (the PLUS Band) have matured as songwriters, musicians and performers, giving energetic and uplifting performances for an ever-expanding following, and have consistently won "Best of Cleveland" in their category in the Scene and Free Times Music Awards every year, culminating in being given permanent "All Star" status in 2007.