Photo by Eva Greene Wilson
A Forever Jones Holiday on Bounce TV, introduced us to the Jones family. Now, their new reality series will give viewers a look into the daily lives and challenges of the Shreveport, Louisiana based family and gospel group. The series, set in the family’s hometown of Shreveport, LA, consists of 6 original episodes that air on Wednesday nights at 9:00 p.m.
(Read part one of the interview here)
Our business is all about family. My husband and I run an IT firm together, I blog about family – with my family, my husband helps me with my books, my son has a blog of his own, my oldest is the photographer/videographer for some stories on my blog and on his brother’s, and my baby girl provides so much content and artwork for the blog, that she makes herself part of the action too.
Forever Jones is all about family too. I was excited to get to sit down and chat with them about their family and their new reality show on Bounce TV. (Read part one of the interview here)
“Are you ready?” one of Kim Jones’ kids asked.
“Just let me send this tweet,” she replied, head down looking at my business card.
I was eager to find out how they really work together. We can only get to see a fraction of the work that goes into working with family on their new show, so I asked Kim Jones, what advice she had to give families who are thinking of working together in music.
“Take classes to understand the business side of music,” was her first piece of advice. She went on to share how different the music business was from any other industry, how much it has changed over the years, and how understanding what is going on is key. As for the kids, she says, “equip your children to hold some responsibility.” Kim went on to say that whatever business you decide to go into with your kids, you should, “have people around you who are skilled.”
“You have to remember,” Kim explained, “This was ministry for us. Our desire was [just] to serve the Lord. Making the transition [was] tough,, but if you know where you are going, you can plan for it.”
I wonder if they knew that the Grammy’s was where they were going.
Dewitt says the Grammy nomination was a big shock. “Being nominated with the artists that you look up too… they’ve been there so many times, but for us it was huge, so we dressed to the nines.”
Doe went on to share how the family put so much effort into hair, makeup, and outfits, that it was obvious that it was their first time there – but they were determined to enjoy every second of it. “It was surreal,” she said.
Kim said she remembered watching Grammy commercials before, but it was never like this. “I kept watching the Grammy commercials with Mya, and telling her, ‘Baby, that’s where we’re going! That’s where we’re gonna be!”
I wanted to know if they felt any pressure to represent the African American family, since they are an intact family unit sharing their story on television. I reminded them, that there hasn’t been a family like this on TV since the Cosby Show.
“Oh, I LOVE the Cosby Show!” came gushing out of Doe, met with chatter of similar sentiment and nods of agreement Dewitt IV and D’Jeniele’. “People ask me all the time if we all have the same dad, which is strange, but I understand that it isn’t something that a lot of people see.”
“I want people to understand that being married for 35 years took work,” explained Kim. You have to learn what is a deal breaker, and what is not. Don’t quit. [You think] ‘yeah that was bad, a bump, but not a mountain. This can work.”
Doe said,”I’m thankful for the weight on our shoulders, it’s not just a weight, but an opportunity, so that we can encourage other people.”
When asked if the show would still be entertaining with the clean cut image of the family gospel group, Kim said, “I don’t want to change who I am to entertain. Certain situations are scripted, but we have said, ‘[no] we won’t say that.’
In any group, especially ones with this much talent, there comes a day where solo projects and opportunities come up for individual members. When asked about how she feels about the possibility of having her kids go out on their own to pursue other things, she told me, “I wasn’t even supposed to have kids. If my kids are wanting to go away, I get the feeling of… I wasn’t even supposed to have them. I cried every single day for a solid week when Judah went away [10 hours]. I knew where my babies were all the time.”
Kim Jones knows that now that she has them, it is her responsibility, and eventually part of her joy, to let them go. “[When we are] preparing them for life, it’s ‘this is what WE do, now what do YOU want to do?’ I want my kids to do what makes them breathe.”
For more on the beginnings of Forever Jones, working with parents, and more from my chat with Forever Jones, check out part one of the interview.
You can catch Forever Jones on Wednesday nights at 9:00 pm on BounceTV.
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