Jay Sones, 28, sits across the small table at Fenian's talking on his cell phone (the kind you can send pictures through) with his baby sister, Meg. He tells her that I'm interviewing him and responds when she asks why, "I guess people just can't get enough of me," and gives his characteristic chuckle. He's wearing a three-quarter sleeved gray-and-scarlet baseball shirt with jeans. Dark spiky hair covers his head and frames his greco-roman facial features.
A native Jacksonian who has lived in more cities than I've visited, Jay is a constant joy to be around. "I'm a fairly open book," he says. I submit that his book is cloaked in a thick sarcastic veneer. He's not easy to nail down on issues or philosophies, wanting to keep his options open, I guess. I asked him if there was something very few people knew about him, since I've known him for about eight years. He says, "I enjoy teasing animals," again with the chuckle. "No, I really think I'm pretty open," he says.
His mother, Donna Sones, is an original Sweet Potato Queen. Jay can't remember life before the Queens. From his mother's friendships with these women, he's found himself a character in books and a soon-to-be-released sitcom on WB. "I can't say it's anything other than fun without getting in trouble," he says, making his blue/gray eyes shine. Although he has a degree in mechanical sculpture and video art from Reed College in Portland, Ore., Jay makes his living as a freelance Web designer. His thesis adviser offered him a grant after graduation to build the college's Web page (something he had never done before), and he's never looked back.
Jay's childhood dream was to be a photographer for National Geographic, and he still enjoys shooting pictures, mostly social now. He designed the SPQ Web site and answers thousands of e-mails a year because of it. A huge fan of music—he once drove to North Carolina for a bluegrass festival—he loves "to bang around on my guitar although it's unfortunate anyone has to hear it." He says he's been playing for 15 years, but it sounds more like three.
As co-host of the weekly trivia hoo-haa held at Hal & Mal's called Pub Quiz, Jay's excited about its upcoming birthday. July 15 will be the anniversary of the local cult favorite that started in co-host Shannon Thornton's hometown, Memphis, at a bar called Kudzu's. Jay promises a big pot and much fun, even for the losers, he adds.
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