Ayron Jones says he wants to be this generation’s ‘guitar guy’: “We don’t have that one guy that everybody can just get behind”

Guitarist Ayron Jones has admitted to wanting to be this generation’s ’guitar guy’, a role he claims hasn’t been filled by anyone as of yet.

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Speaking to Classic Rock in a recent interview, the guitarist talks about his new studio album Chronicles Of The Kid as well as the goals he’s set for himself when it comes to music: “There’s so much more to me,” Jones says. “I want to be our generation’s guy.”

“We don’t have a guitar player; we don’t have that one guy that everybody can just get behind. I want to be that guy,” he adds.

In his discussion about legacy, the 36-year-old also addresses comparisons to the late guitar legend and fellow Seattle native Jimi Hendrix, saying that while he appreciates the nod, it can sometimes feel like a lazy comparison.

“People need something to compare things to,” Jones explains. “But he’s the closest comparison they have to what I’m doing. He also happens to be the greatest guitar player of all time, so I welcome the comparison.”

“But I think there are complexities to my playing that are different from what he did,” he says. “Obviously no one’s going to complain about being compared to Hendrix, but when there’s an element of casual racism… [in a shrill, star-struck voice] ‘Oh yeah! You’re Gary Clark Jr, aren’t you?!’ [laughs].”

Elsewhere in the chat, the musician also touched on his on-stage persona, saying “That’s the person I’ve given to the public more than anything.”

“I’m definitely projecting this ego, this internalised thing that I try to put out whenever I can. I can be cocky and brash and arrogant,” Jone says, noting however that “I try to make sure that guy stays on the stage.”

Listen to the album’s first single, Blood in the Water, below.