Jonas Sees in Color is an American rock band from Greensboro, North Carolina composed of members Ryan Downing, Jonathan Albright, Michael Deming, John Chester, Jonathan David Owens, and Meagan Beth Plummer. The band’s debut, self-titled album, Jonas Sees in Color, was released on September 29, 2009 on Glassnote Records.
The name Jonas Sees In Color is a reference to Lois Lowry’s 1993 Newberry Award winning novel The Giver.
Singer Ryan Downing explains, “Our name is basically a metaphor. In The Giver, the main character (Jonas) lives in a black and white world. When he is chosen to take on the responsibility of the hopes, thoughts, and feelings of his entire village, he finally begins to see in color. One of the most important goals of our music is to create a connection with the listener by accurately connecting the stories and ideas contained in our music in a way that allows the listener to take and interpret the songs as their own.”
Downing, Albright, Deming, and Chester began writing music together in the summer of 2005 and the band’s line-up was solidified in 2007 with the addition of Owens and Plummer.
They cite The Beatles, The Black Crowes, Band of Horses, Kings of Leon, My Morning Jacket and Otis Redding as musical influences, as well as literature such as The Giver, The Catcher in the Rye, and works by Japanese modernist Haruki Murakami. Frontman Ryan Downing also cites Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones as inspiration.
