Jordan's Story

“I started playing drums with my dad and older brother as far back as I can remember. Music was always around our house, so it just felt natural.

One day, when I was six years old (1987), I walked into my brother's room while he and a friend were jamming to some old Metallica. I remember hearing this incredible high-pitched sound and asking, "What's that?" My brother laughed and said, "Dude...that's lead guitar! That's Kirk Hammett!" From that moment on, I knew I wanted to play guitar.

About four years later, my brother and I called a local Houston radio station late one night while they were taking requests. He held the phone while I played some Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. They couldn't believe someone my age was playing like that, so they invited us to the station to perform live on the air. If I remember correctly, it was Z Rock. That was an unforgettable experience.

When I was around 12 or 13, I entered a Houston-wide guitar competition hosted by The Music Emporium—the music store that absolutely ate my brain! After several rounds and competing against dozens of incredible players, I finished in third place. That gave me a huge boost of confidence, and enough cash to buy a sweet Ibanez RG550.

For the next several years, I played with my brother in our band, Sibling Rivalry. We performed at just about every venue around Houston and even played on the steps of Houston City Hall for an Earth Day Festival, along with the legendary Westheimer Street Festival.

When Sibling Rivalry came to an end around 1995 or 1996, I formed another band with a couple of childhood friends called Just Add Dirt. We recorded and released our own full-length cassette, sold T-shirts at shows, and played Houston's underground nu-metal scene at places like The Abyss and Fitzgerald's. It was an incredible time. Eventually our drummer graduated high school, left for college, and the band naturally came to an end.

From 1999 through 2000, music took a back seat while I simply jammed with friends and enjoyed playing without any real plans.

In January 2001, I joined the U.S. Navy Seabees as a Construction Electrician. I spent the next five years serving my country, including deployments during Operation Iraqi Freedom II and Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. I was honorably discharged in January 2006. As if the tour of duty wasn’t enough, Hurricane Katrina swept through right when my deployment ended - I came back to a home that was leveled to the concrete, my posessions and my beloved Ibanez swept away in the floodwaters.

After returning home, I reunited with my brother in the Texas Hill Country, where we wrote and recorded new material and even filmed a music video for one of our songs, "Complication."

In 2008, I moved back to Houston for personal reasons. Not long afterward, I was introduced to Jamie and SiennaBlu through a mutual friend who happened to be the mother of one of my childhood friends—and the drummer from Just Add Dirt. Talk about coming full circle!

Joining SiennaBlu became one of the most rewarding chapters of my musical life. I spent about five years with the band, playing live shows, helping develop new material, recording demos, and contributing to many of the songs that fans are hearing today. It was a special group of musicians, and I'm proud of everything we created together.

After SiennaBlu, I reunited with my longtime friend Joey Gaskill and joined his band, Recovery Room. We recorded an EP at Rock Army Records in Austin, played a number of local shows, and even had the opportunity to travel to Pennsylvania and New Jersey to open for King's X. Those were experiences I'll never forget.

Today, I'm a Building Electrician at Houston's Toyota Center, where I've worked for several years supporting major concerts and Houston Rockets games. More importantly, I'm a devoted husband and the proud father of two amazing boys.

Looking back now at 45 years old, I'm grateful for every chapter—from playing drums with my dad as a kid, to serving in the Navy, to sharing stages with great friends and creating music that still means something today. Music has given me a lifetime of unforgettable memories, and I'm thankful for every one of them.”

-Jordan Ronsonette