STONE RAIDERS

Jean-Paul Bourelly / Darryl Jones / Will Calhoun

It was 2011 when bassist Darryl Jones and guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly met between the jumbled blaring sounds of heavy metal power chords and what seemed like an orchestra of a thousand beatboxes.

The Rolling Stones were on a break and two old friends were under the same roof of the Anaheim convention center during the Namm show on two very different missions. Jean-Paul was taking a break from playing at the Warwick booth and Darryl was meeting various instrument manufacturers. But the moment after all the ceremonial hellos of two home boyz were completed, JP was like: "Hey man, its time to do something, right?".

That's where the idea of Stone Raiders was born. They knew that they would come together at some point.

"Since those jams in the garages and basements of Chicago where we formed our early musical perceptions, Darryl and I had intersected on a Pee Wee Ellis album, Blues Mission and several gigs in NYC. I was working on my first few solo CDs after stints with Elvin Jones/McCoy Tyner and various member of the AACM back then. Darryl was gaining a strong reputation for his unshakable groove as he lent his sound to the likes of Sting and Miles".

"Will Calhoun has always been a close musical partner of mine with his interrogations into Black Atlantic beat zone and, because of his ever readiness to partake in far-flung musical enterprises of a hazardous nature, he was a perfect fit".

"We took the band on the road in Europe. During the 2011 tour, we established most of the ten pieces that would become the debut album: Stone Raiders, Truth to Power".

(JPB)

In 2020 Stone Raiders are back together, on a quest for new discoveries and fresh musical realms.