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Richard Thomas Gintowt was born into the world July 18, 1981 at 5:07AM. Two decades later, OK Jones was born. This is the story of everything in between. In Junior High, young Richard, like many of his playfellows, was introduced to rock and roll via the three titans of rock: Green Day, Metallica, and Nirvana. As his tastes matured, Richard found himself increasingly captivated by "indie" rock, which he at first believed to be a shorthand for "Indian" rock, which was strange, because there was really nothing "Indian" about it. Some of Richard's favorite entertainers were Sebadoh, the Poster Children, the Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, and Wilco. As his CD collection grew, so did his passion for performing, and he played drums for a pop trio by the name of Green Thumb. It was sometime in between getting to second base and acquiring facial hair that Richard decided to pick up guitar. Truth be told, he was writing songs even before he could play guitar, so he found it quite helpful. In 1997, Richard released his first full-length album titled "Bathroom Acoustics", inspired by the heavenly sounds of one's own voice reverberating off a toilet seat. Flash forward to 1998. Richard leaves the great state of Illinois for the windswept plains of Kansas. It was in this great state, a state better known for banishing Dorothy to a land of munchkins and flying monkeys than for helping to end slavery, that Richard discovered country and bluegrass. Beating a single snare drum for the Jenkins Family String Band (known today as "Two Dollar Shoe Revival Story"), Richard was introduced to the high lonesome sounds of Bill Monroe, Roscoe Holcomb, Ralph Stanley, and Doc Watson, as well as old-skool blues artists like Mississippi John Hurt and Robert Johnson and country singers like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. Besides the obvious benefit of actually being able to appreciate Bob Dylan, this newfound education began to creep its way into Richard's songwriting. About this time, in a dusty Nebraska antique shop, Richard's girlfriend, whom we shall here refer to as "Orange Blossom Special", was unearthing a document that would forever change the course of Richard's music career. "Enjoy dancing...music by OK" it said, noting that this music could only be found at the "finer ballrooms". In the lower left hand corner, clad in bow-tie, tweed jacket, and wire-rimmed glasses (and smothered in pomeade), beamed the baseball and cornbread smile of one "OK Jones". Judging by the antiquated fashions of our hero and the fine yellow tint of the paperstock, OK hit his prime sometime around 1942. Any information on the whereabouts of OK Jones today should be directed immediately to rgintowt@ku.edu. Assuming the identity of our hero, Richard released his first album as OK Jones in the fall of 2001. "Self-Help Songs" is a bona-fide fifteen step self-help program based upon "tales of life in a college town." In other words, it's a bunch of songs about gettin' yer shit together. The album was recorded over the course of two years in bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and dorm rooms, and features guest appearances from Nate Hofer (Rex Hobart), Jeff Jackson (Holstein), and Andrew Connor (Ghosty). Today, Richard divides his spare time in Lawrence, KS between OK Jones, Ghosty (for whom he plays drums), and hosting the High Lonesome Sound, an old-time radio program on KJHK 90.7 Sundays from 10:00 to Noon. |
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Uncommon Ground Past Show Dates | |
| 2004-01-02 (1645 days) | Richard Gintowt |
| Dana Lawrence | |
| Andrew Morgan | |