ZONA JONES is no stranger to the dimly lit honkytonks and bright neon lights of countryrnmusic. Zona has shared the stage with many country stars of yesterday and todayrnincluding Johnny Paycheck, Mark Chesnutt, Neal McCoy, T. Graham Brown, StevernWariner, Gary Allan, Mark Wills, Asleep At The Wheel, Patty Loveless, Tracy Byrd, DarylernSingletary, Lonestar, Wade Hayes, Clay Walker, Mel Tillis, Johnny Bush, Rick Trevino,rnRestless Heart, Willie Nelson, and Trace Adkins. Zona was raised on a West Texas ranch,rnwhere he grew up working cattle, building fence and anything needed to keep the ranchrnrunning. He spent most of his days horseback. At night, he listened to music. “We didn’trnhave TV on the ranch so we listened to the radio and our parent’s albums (instead ofrndoing our homework).” Zona liked everything from rock to blues but his true love wasrncountry. He listened to the pure traditional sounds of George Jones, Johnny Bush,rnCharlie Pride, Merle Haggard, Ray Price and Johnny Rodriguez. Like most kids growingrnup in the 70s, Zona strayed from his country roots to the more popular rock/pop music ofrnthe day, but not for long. He was drawn back to his early influences with the resurgencernof traditional country music in the early 80s. “I’ll never forget the first time I heardrnGeorge Strait. It was unbelievable, my friends and I finally just wore out our copy of StraitrnCountry. That rekindled the childhood flame of wanting to be a country singer. I knewrnthen, that this is what I wanted to do.” After graduating from Baylor University and St.rnMary’s University - School of Law, Zona set aside his dreams of becoming a countryrnsinger and took a job with a prominent law firm in Beaumont, Texas. Oddly enough (andrncompletely unknown to Zona), Beaumont was experiencing a country music revival of itsrnown. Southeast Texas had long been known as the home of the “Possum” George Jones rnand many other great talents, but it was about to get a country music makeover in the form rnof Mark Chesnutt, Tracy Byrd and Clay Walker. Living in Beaumont and watching his new rnfriends succeed in the industry inspired Zona to make music a priority in his life. “I started rngoing out to the clubs where Mark and Tracy were playing. We became friendsrnand I watched them go from local country singers to big country music stars. Watchingrnthem make the transition gave me some small hope that I might be able to make it too.”rnOn July 30, 1993, Zona and his band, Swing West, played their first show together at the rnNeon Armadillo in Beaumont. Zona has never looked back. He immediately gained a rnfollowing through his appearances in the local clubs like Cutters, Bourbon Street and Get rnDown Browns. It didn’t take long until he was playing all over Southeast Texas andrnSouthwest Louisiana and opening shows for major label recording artists. With thernrelease of his long-awaited first CD Harleys & Horses, Zona is ready to take the next step in rnthe world of today’s country music…something he’s dreamed about for an awful longrntime!