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They’ve tried out different names, but over the past 10-or-so years, Keeping Up With the Joneses has been sharing a mantra of respect and compassion through “earth tone music” — where the earth is the rhythm and percussion, and the tone is the funky music and soulful vocals. Lead vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and percussionist Kevin “Kookie” Jones says he’s a bit of a perfectionist at times, but he’s not looking for perfection — he’s looking for magic. And some of the most beautiful things in life might seem like mistakes at first, so you can never count that out. The band’s current lineup includes Mark Nava on synthesizer, Mary Stockton (lead and background vocals), Michael Christmas (tenor, alto and baritone saxophone) and David Sorensen (saxophone and flute). The rhythm section is held down by Charlito on the drums and Nicole Cajori on bass guitar. With all that joyful noise on one stage, feel free to pluck a new leaf from the funk tree. Just better be ready for Keeping Up With the Joneses to poke your subconscious, open your mind and let the love pour out in the form of music.
Will you describe your sound for us?
The essence of what we do is funk. It’s kind of in a pop song structure. But when we play live, we allow a lot of improv, so we kind of stretch songs out and feature different players in the band. You know what I mean? But the essence of what we do is funk. Man, it’s like gumbo. I call it “earth tone music,” and it’s music from the earth. We go forth and we make a joyful noise. That’s basically the mantra of the band: spreading really positive vibes.
We do original music, we do some covers. Some venues want cover bands, and we’re not really a cover band. You know what I’m saying? I’m all about originals and moving forward with the funkativity. I feel like if you give it a chance and you have an open mind, you will enjoy yourself. It’s not always familiar, and I don’t think we need familiar all the time. I think we need things that poke our subconscious and go, “Hey, man, what was that?”
What are your favorite venues to play and why?
I like the Canteen Brewhouse, because we get a variety of people there, and the people dance. I also like playing The Hall, because it’s just a good vibe in there. We also play at the Madrid Mineshaft Tavern, which is fun too. It’s an evening gig, and it’s kind of not a lot of people, but the vibes are so good in that place. We try to play out there at least once a year.
What are your lyrics about?
My lyrics are about my faith and just what I deal with. We all struggle with depression and mostly, man, I’m just just concerned about humanity and how we treat each other, you know? And I feel like music shows the essence of how we should get along. The way rhythm and melody and everything work together, it’s the same mantra for us as people working together. I share my beliefs, but I don’t beat people over the head with them. I just share where I’m coming from, because I think that’s what we’re supposed to do in our existence. I believe we should all respect each other. That’s my mantra. Treat each other with love and compassion, and that’s it, man. Do what you say, your word is your bond. And that’s all I ask.
What bands or genres inspire your music?
The band is inspired by Sly and the Family Stone because they’re a good example of society working together, men and women of different nationalities just coming together for the funk of it.
I grew up wanting to be a guitar player. I grew up loving Sly, and basically in the ‘80s it was a bunch of metal guitar players. If you wouldn’t play like a million miles per hour, you weren’t considered good. But I was always into Funkadelic. Funkadelic is a big influence, but that’s like an extension of Sly as well. I love the Ohio Players, some of the ‘70s funk bands. And I love Santana, he’s a big influence on my guitar playing. Prince, for sure. They’re all just different leaves off the funk tree, basically. If you ever heard P-Funk, you’ll hear the songs, but you also hear some people rocking out over it too. It’s like they don’t just stick to the formula, so to speak. Now, I’ve always done that — the jam factor of music — where you can go into unknown territory.
What is the best show you have ever played and why?
It’s all a blur, kinda. Once it’s over, it’s on to the next one. There was a show that we played at The Hall and we were just all cylinders. It was just a funky night, and it felt so good. Everything felt good, and people were really inspired by the music. When they respond to it, it’s like church. You’re giving something up, and you want the people to give it back to you. That’s what the funk is all about. You’re asking them to sing or clap their hands, and you’re involving the people, because that’s how the funk is. You give to receive. That’s how you get it. And if they don’t respond, I just play my guitar a little bit longer. You’ll get them to respond. Play a little lead, make a few people burst in flames on the front row, then they understand.
You can watch the band opening for The New Respect live at Fusion here.
Check out Keeping Up With The Joneses live at the 2025 Chocolate and Coffee Festival at Expo New Mexico here.
You can visit Kookie’s webpage with links to his projects at kookiejones.com.
For news, upcoming shows and videos of live performances, hit them up on Facebook and Instagram.
Keeping Up With the Joneses will be lighting the stage on fire really soon at Route 66 Summerfest on July 19. They expect to be on just after 6 p.m. so don’t be late!
You can jam and purchase their music on social media and most major streaming platforms including Amazon and Spotify.