Drums
Rick began playing drums in high school. Mostly playing country music with his dad Fred Jones and some rock music with several other local bands.
In 1985 Fred Jones opened up the Conroe Opry in Conroe Tx. This is where Rick got exposed to a variety of music from Western Swing to Rockabilly. He played there until it closed Dec of 1986. In 1988 Rick got a call from Gary Kebodeaux, wanting to start a band with some of the musicians that played at the Conroe Opry. The first job was at the Montgomery Country fairgrounds near Conroe, Tx. This was where the Heart of Texas Band was founded with the following members : Pee Wee Whitewing on Steel, Gary Kebodeaux on Bass, and Larry Roberds on Vocals, Rhythm Guitar and Fiddle. The job went well. This encouraged Pee Wee to book the band at the April Sound’s Country Club on Lake Conroe where he then lived. This turned out to be a good job with guest musicians setting in with us from time to time. Some of those were Bob White (Fiddle) Rufus Thibodeaux, (Fiddle) and Kevin Carter (Fiddle).
Since then Rick has played many of the Opry’s around southeast Texas with the Heart of Texas and other bands and these usually included Larry Roberds and Gary Kebodeaux. Here are a few: Conroe Opry 1985 – 1986 (Conroe,Tx), Texas Opry 1993 – 1994 (Magnolia, Tx), East Texas Jamboree 1992 (Livingston, Tx), Kirbyville Country Music Show 1993 – present (Kirbyville, Tx), The Rice Theater Music Show 1998 – present (Crowley, La).
Rick played with the Heart of Texas at the 1995 Swing Festival in Texarkana , 1996 Western Swing Festival in Snyder Texas and in 1998 at Ronnie’s Steel Guitar Show in Hot Springs Arkansas. It was at this Steel Guitar Show that he play with Steel Guitar players Hal Rugg, Herby Wallace, Stu Basore, Buck Grantham, Tom Brumley, Junior Knight and of course Pee Wee Whitewing.