In 1982, The Joneses were starting to make a name for themselves in the LA music scene. While getting good press from the LA Weekly and LA Times, and playing to big crowds in the club circuit, the leader of the band Jeff Drake found that as The Joneses grew in popularity, so too did his addiction to heroin.

Jeff’s story of his years as a musician, his addiction, and how a bank robbery led to him serving three years in a federal prison is chronicled in his book, GUILTY! My Life in The Joneses, A Heroin Addict, A Bank Robber, and A Federal Inmate, published by HoZac Press. In this interview with Planet LP host Ted Asregadoo, Jeff recounts growing up in Orange County in the LA area, his move to the central valley city of Merced, the various bands he started, his move back to LA, and the rise and fall of The Joneses — a band that Guns N’ Roses, Poison, and others borrowed heavily from.

GUILTY! My Life in The Joneses… is available to buy at HoZac Books, and The Joneses’ entire catalog is available to purchase at their Bandcamp page.