Jordi Jones’ two main passions in life are written all over her face. Literally.
A metal bar threads through her right eyebrow - face piercings are a longstanding emblem for metal heads and punkers the world-round.
On the same side of her neck is a tattoo. Its black-green outline is simple and clear. It’s a paw print.
Jones’ passions for music and animals have forged their way into her career. Strike that - they are her career.
Along with husband Jeremy, Jones owns and runs Triple J’s Music Cafe. She is also the President of the Yukon Humane Society.
Twice a year, her passion and career merge in harmony: Moonstroke and Sunstroke.
Moonstroke, the winter version of the largely local music festival, is this weekend.
It is a fund raiser for the humane society.
This is the fourth year Jones has staged the festival, but it is the first year it will run two nights - Friday and Saturday.
“Last year, we turned approximately 300 people away,” said Jones, while perched on a stool at Triple J’s. “I see dollars walking out of the shelter when that happens.”
Between showing pictures of her two cats and two dogs, she helps customers at her store.
The transition is seamless; one moment guiding a young metal head through his music purchases, the next explaining how it’s lucky her one husky mutt Tofino is so cute because, “he’s all kinds of crazy.”
Jones was a DJ for 15 years and started event planning and promoting in her early 20s when she became heavily involved in an underground movement of all-ages shows.
“I couldn’t play an instrument so I decided to promote them instead,” she said.
As she’s gotten older she has moved beyond the all-ages scene that mixes punk rock music with skateboarding culture.
But she hasn’t let go completely.
The first night of this year’s Moonstroke will be all-ages. But there will be beer gardens both nights.
And the food will be free, she adds.
“You really get the bang for your buck,” she said, noting that 100 per cent of ticket sales go to the animals. The cost of the festival is covered by the sponsors.
“Not only are you helping animals in need, you’re rocking out to amazing musicians - some of the best Whitehorse has to offer - you get your tummies filled as well as the opportunity to get some excellent items through the silent auction.”
Moonstroke isn’t Whitehorse’s only winter music festival.
“I know Frostbite has 30 years of awesomeness,” Jones said. And her original goal was to put a festival on her birthday - solstice. But it was too hard to compete with The Longest Night.
Over the years, Jones has finally found the right place in the winter schedule and she provides a different variety of music as well.
Friday will feature more hard-rock/metal music while Saturday will have a more roots/rock/reggae feel.
Even if you are not a fan of metal or punk, there is one reason to show up on Friday night: to witness history.
Rare anywhere outside the depths of German metal-mind, Tobias Sammet, an elusive metal-opera will be performed for the first time - in its full, 40-minute, four act glory - by Moonstroke mainstay Drifting.
The original piece, entitled Magma Lord, is considered a concept album, said lead singer Jeremy Jones.
The story took the band about eight months to create and it follows an outcast on his journey into a magical world, he said.
“I don’t want to give away the ending,” said Jones. “It’s just that there’s no happy ending.”
Whitehorse has a burgeoning metal scene.
When the core members of Drifting came together about six years ago, they were joined by one, lone colleague.
Now, the number of metal bands in Whitehorse has at least doubled.
“There’s definitely a growing scene, a metal scene as well as punk,” said Jones.
Undoubtedly, Moonstroke and Sunstroke have encouraged this.
“They’re huge for us,” he said. “It’s awesome. It gets us out there and gets the word out for our music.”
It also gets the word out for the animals, stresses Jones, back at Triple J’s.
“As president of the humane society Yukon, one of my chief goals is keeping the doors open,” she said. “(The festival) provides a perfect platform to do that because people feel that they’re not just donating $20 for their ticket, they feel like they’re getting this amazing experience out of it.”
After a government grant - which needs to be applied for each year - the humane society still needs to make up $320,500 to cover the annual operating costs, which include vet services, employee wages, building maintenance and food, she said.
On top of that, there are a few rescued animals that need even more help, said Jones.
Dexter, a three-year-old blue heeler cross, needs hip surgery, which will cost around $5,000.
Journey, a four-year-old husky cross was left tied to the shelter one morning, suffering from a skin condition where mites were eating her face, said Jones.
And Trudy, a grey, long-haired cat was just diagnosed with diabetes. She needs regular insulin injections, which are not cheap, she said.
It’s not hard to tug at the heartstrings, but people in Whitehorse are pretty awesome, she said.
“As much as it’s the music and the animals, it’s the people,” Jones said. “Year after year we’re just blown away by this amazing, positive energy that comes from the people.”
Moonstroke is this Friday and Saturday up at Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. both nights.
Tickets are $20/night or $35/weekend.
Information and artist listings are available at the Triple J’s website, under “News.”
Contact Roxanne Stasyszyn at
roxannes@yukon-news.com