Photo courtesy of Radio St. Pete
Gulfportians often recognize the City as an art-focused town. The artists and musicians in Gulfport take this spirit wherever they go, including St. Petersburg. Gulfport musicians Mike Jones and his wife Pat host The Cover Hour on Radio St. Pete.
The Cover Hour
Jones’ vision for the show is to be different from standard radio shows that play original music. His goal is to spotlight local artists, playing covers of well known songs.
“We play what we call ‘Americana’ music. That includes American popular music from old time 19th century and early 20th century songs, to roots rock, ’60s singer-songwriter songs, folk, and country,” said Jones.
Their show airs Thursdays at 4 p.m. Jones and his wife perform as a duo called Creative Differences. Their music finds its way around the area at The Tiki and the North End TapHouse, as well as The Chattaway.
Creative Differences
Most radio shows centered around music either play popular music by the original artist, or original songs by local artists. The Cover Hour sits right in the middle of those.
“There’s so much good music that has been created and it deserves to be kept alive,” said Jones. “It might’ve been written in the 19th century, but it’s still relevant. Artists that are producing a lot of their own music still find other people’s songs to be expressive of their feelings.”
Photo by Creative Differences Americana Music
Jones says his own personal experiences helped inspire him to start this show.
“When we play at places, people tell us our covers evoke memories for them,” said Jones. “People grew up associating music with events in their lives and they get to relive that or re-feel the emotions from those memories.”
Spotlight Your Music
Jones said another goal of theirs is to add music to the Radio St. Pete catalog. They encourage local musicians to go onto radiostpete.com and use the “contact us” tab to send in music.
“The Cover Hour isn’t genre specific. We’ll play folk, country, jazz, blues, rock, and more,” said Jones. “We’re always on the hunt for new musicians. If we know someone is playing in the area, we’ll play their cover and then tell people where they’re playing. It’s about getting exposure for the musicians and using covers to bring people to them. We play songs people recognize, but hopefully people will go to a show and see how these people play.”
Jones and Radio St. Pete ask for submissions to be in mp3 format, and broadcast quality.
“People’s art doesn’t come from nowhere. People cover songs that mean something to them, and their covers show what kind of artist they are,” said Jones.
Read More Arts Coverage in The Gabber Newspaper
Arts All Around!
The Gabber Newspaper covers live theater and art across South Pinellas and, when we find something worth the drive, in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas.
