Description

 









When Michael Jackson's Thriller album was released, Rashad "Xarxay" Jones was still a rug rat dancing in diapers, Xarxay (Sar-zay) Jones was born with "rhythm flowing in his vein, little did he know that this would always be his cure for pain"





Born in Nashville TN, Jones was exposed to music culture all around him.  Yet different genre's brought him a diverse style for taste. No matter what flavor it may be; House, Hip Hop, Metal, Blues, R&B, Disco, Rock, Pop, Country, Punk, Reggaeton, Latin, Reggae, or even Classical. It all has a groove on its own. "Every genre has a rhythm & groove, you just have to feel it" explains Jones.  Jones DJ'ed his first gig in a 2 car garage when he was 16, using only a Fisher dual tape deck player and a Sony diskman. "I was asked to DJ a sweet 16 birthday party…only because I had a massive collection of tapes", says Jones.  Jones knew that this was an epiphany of what may yet to become, but was still unclear about the immense feeling of what was being done.  Jones started his collection of music in 1984 with music dating back to the late 1960's, some of which were gifts from his father. "Most parents bought their son a football, a video game or a Tonka truck…I'd rather have tapes".





Short after high school, Jones caught an interest in building race engines for imports.  This led him to acquire skills in electrical diagnostics.  Jones spent hours remapping electronic control modules   and installing forced induction systems on imports for street racing.  After a long day in the shop, Jones would then entertain members of his car club with rave and electronic music.  "Being  in the import racing scene has had a huge influence on my music style"   explains Jones.  This later led him to attend UTI Technical Institute in Chicago and onto becoming a Lexus diagnostic technician.  Still Jones had an uncertain consciousness about his chosen profession.  But due to  the fall of the economy, he was later laid off from Lexus but continuously worked as a part-time deejay by night.  It was this unfortunate "bad break" that led him to the sudden realization  of his  path.  "Everything happens for a reason!"





Although Jones wasn't involved in music production till after attending UTI Technical Institute in the Fall of 2006.  He began studying sound design and sculpting.  As this interested him as well  by giving him new concepts for his DJ performances.  Shortly after getting laid off, he later attended SAE Nashville where he could combine his passion with others while attaining an  education in audio engineering.  At SAE, he gained skills in audio recording and also recorded his first unreleased house mix titled "head of household".  Jones also did several other recordings with local upcoming Nashville gospel & hip hop artists, and was involved in collaborations with local pop artists as well.  Instructed by the legendary Babe Ruth band member, Alan Shacklock.  Jones explains that Shacklock's wisdom and experience has given him more confidence than he could ever imagine. Six months after graduating from SAE, Jones built his own recording home studio and record label, "Vivace Lounge".





Jones has relocated back to Chicago to pursue his vigor for house music.  Jones has performed at parties in different locations in the southeast including Nashville, UT Knoxville, Jacksonville, and also in different retailers such as BeBe Nashville.  Jones also has done various house, hip hop, and dance remixes that can be downloaded as a podcast as well.