BLOOMFIELD, PEI, Canada – Already a talented musician with links to Nashville, Sandra Jones juggles a fistful of other roles too. She’s an entrepreneur, yoga teacher, karate black-belt and family woman.

“Who knows where music will take me?” Sandra muses. “I do it because I love it, and it is fun. If I stressed too much about what the outcome would be, I probably wouldn’t enjoy it nearly as much. So I don’t think I’ll ever be disappointed, no matter what happens.

“But a lot of things are open for me. I’m at a stage in my life where nothing’s really holding me back. I’d like to go with the flow, and whatever happens in music, happens.”

A huge treat awaits anyone encountering Sandra with a guitar nearby. This ear-pleasing singer, songwriter and guitarist often fronts Seldom Seen, a country band.

The pleasure’s mutual. A look of pure joy fills Sandra’s face as she performs to a hometown crowd in a packed community hall. Many listeners wear similar expressions.

We’ll walk up to the bar
And play some guitar.
We’re all gonna scream and shout.
Just pour me a cold one.
Have ourselves a good time.
And everybody’s getting out.
It’s time to get together.
Never mind the weather.
We’re just gonna let it out.
And that’s what I’m talking about.
Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.
From “That’s What I’m Talking About”, Sandra Jones, Taking Chances, 2007

A resident of Bloomfield, Sandra comes from a musical family. For miles, nearly everyone knows her and appreciates her music, which reflects influences like Martina McBride, Sheryl Crow, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.

When possible, Sandra travels to Nashville to perform and record. She has released three CDs: Dare to Dream (2004), Christmas Time’s A’Coming (2005) and Taking Chances (2007).

Sandra first reached Nashville in 2001. “People there talk to me a lot,” she said. “They help me to meet other people who can help a little too…. Recently, I got hired to sing in three different places there.

“You’d never think the people big in country music down there really are. I met a drummer, Eddie Bayers, who has played with Donna Summer. Now he works with Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks and George Jones. Sometimes they won’t play unless Eddie’s on drums. But to sit and talk to him, you’d never know.”

Four songs written by Sandra highlight Taking Chances. She recorded the 10-track album in Nashville and plans to issue another soon.

I’ve got this feeling
I’m gonna love you.
Yes, I’m gonna love you
Until my dying day.
I’ve had this feeling.
The moment that I met you
I just had to have you.
You’re everything I want in a man.
I want to tell you what you do to me.
My heart is like a butterfly,
And when you kiss me,
And say that you miss me,
You’re the man I was dreaming of.
Yes, you’re the man I was born to love.
From “Born To Love”, Sandra Jones, Taking Chances, 2007

“In Nashville last June, I did some co-writing with Jerry Strickland from Louisiana. He’s had great hits in the past,” Sandra said. “We wrote four songs.”

Is songwriting difficult? “I wish I had more time for writing,” Sandra said. “Sometimes the time and a little inspiration are all it takes. Most of the first song I ever wrote took 15 minutes, but I needed a year to finish the last two lines. That’s how it goes.

“But to hear the songs I’ve written with music by professional musicians so inspires me. It feels like, ‘Wow, did I do that?’

“A lot of inspiration comes from my family,” she said. “I had a cousin Roger who passed away at age 27. An athlete, not a musician, he always told me to live life to the fullest and take chances. That inspired my song, ‘Taking Chances’.”

You’ve come this far.
Now you know who you are,
So what are you waiting for?
There’s so much life to live,
Is what you’re telling me.
Take a chance and learn to dance.
It’s how it’s got to be.
It’s nigh time you want to make it right.
So now, do what you gotta do.
Taking chances is what it’s all about.
From “Taking Chances”, Sandra Jones, 2007

Part of a big family from a small community, Sandra has three sisters and two brothers. “Mostly, it’s the girls who sing and play,” she said. “But one brother plays guitar too.” A sister, Crystal Sweeney, lives in Nova Scotia and plays in a band named Shaydid.

“We grew up on country music,” Sandra said. “Mom and Dad sing and play guitar too. Dad used to invite people to our house. Then he’d get us out of bed to sing.

“Some of our relatives lived in Ontario, but came home in the summers and asked us to sing. As little children, we might sing a song and then want to play outside. They’d put money in the hole of the guitar to keep us singing.”

Sandra lives with her husband Ricky, a lobster fisherman, and an adult son, Andy, plus a horse (Opie) and a cat (Tiger). “For a while I’d stopped singing in public because Andy was in the hospital a lot,” Sandra said. “That took much of my time so the music stayed on hold. But Andy’s done great so I figured maybe it’s time for my chance and started to perform again.”

For as long as Sandra remembers, her family has performed at benefit concerts. “Music always formed a big part of our lives,” she said. “At Christmas, we enjoy singing at the old-folks homes. To me, that’s as important as making a CD.”

With relatives, including Ricky, mother Mary Clements and sister Lora Lee, Sandra gives a yearly concert in a community hall near home. “I first sang onstage in that hall at age seven, having just learned to play guitar,” she said. “Coming back, I get a little nervous all over again. But that’s where I started, and I’ve been going ever since.”

Off-stage, Sandra operates a hairstyling business, teaches guitar lessons and yoga classes, and even practises karate, in which she holds a black belt. “When my son wanted to take karate, I saw it as a great chance for me too,” she said. “He stopped after a few years, but I kept going.”

The presence of a black-belt singer must give Sandra’s fellow musicians a great sense of security. But “honestly, I’ve never considered using karate onstage,” she said.

For more information: www.sandraejones.com

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