THE JOY of playing the guitar for Carlton's Liam Jones started the same way as it has for thousands of people around the globe – throwing down a few power chords and rocking out to a Deep Purple classic.
Jones recalls realising his love for music after picking up a guitar in a music class in grade four or five.
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"I talked my mum into getting me my very first guitar, so we went down to Cash Converters and got an electric guitar," Jones said.
"One of my mates had already been learning for maybe a few months, so he came over and taught me Smoke on the Water with the distortion turned right up.
"I thought I was going to be a bit of a gun."
As the years went on, Jones got better and joined a band in high school.
"None of us were really that good but yeah it was heaps of fun," Jones said.
"Our name was Blak Out – B.L.A.K. without the c; we thought we were pretty cool."
The love for music has never waned, with Jones regularly posting videos of him playing guitar, piano or bass on his Instagram profile.
The Darkness, Coldplay and even the Mission Impossible theme song have been getting a run while Jones has had some additional time on his hands.
"I like the feeling of learning and the sense of achievement," Jones said.
The latest lesson has been adding additional sounds to his jam sessions with his newly acquired loop pedal.
"I can loop in drumbeats, bass lines, piano so it's like I'm playing in a little band," Jones said.
"To get something that sounds really nice on that is like a little project and something to work at which is something I really enjoy."
Jones has had plenty of time to work on his craft with the COVID-19 stoppage, but the change in lifestyle has made him miss his teammates an awful lot.
"I spend almost every day of my life with these guys and for that to be taken away for the last couple of months, it's been really weird," Jones said.
The competitive drive of football is also something Jones cannot wait to find again when the matches resume.
"Just being able to play the game I love every week again, it's going to be great running out there with the boys and getting some wins, I'm really looking forward to that."
