19-year-old was shy until he turned ‘Misirlou’ into a solo rock show on ‘AGT’ — and blew the judges away
Silas Luke Jones may have seemed shy at first, but once he started playing guitar on ‘America’s Got Talent,’ it was a different ball game. Silas, a 19-year-old from Homer, Alaska, performed an incredible version of ‘Misirlou,' a quick, upbeat song many recognize from the film ‘Pulp Fiction.’ Instead of copying the usual version, Silas gave it his own twist. Silas used a loop pedal to record live sounds on stage and built the entire song piece by piece. The performance had layers and depth, like a full band, yet it was just Silas alone on stage.
All four judges were amazed by what he created with just one guitar. After his performance, Simon Cowell stated, “Actually, the guitar is not an easy instrument to do that with. What you did with that was extraordinary. You have a really real special talent here.” Sofia Vergara added, “You became a rock star in front of our eyes.” Howie Mandel likened him to “an Alaskan techno Jimi Hendrix. Mel B complimented Jones, saying he was “one of a kind.” “If I turned away and I listened to what you were doing, I would’ve thought that there were like five or six people on stage,” said Mel B. “You’re one of a kind. You really are.” Silas is from a ranch in a small town of approximately 5,500 residents. He stated, after his performance, “This is huge. This is so much bigger than anything I do in my hometown,” Jones said backstage at the NBC show. “I love performing, but I also don’t get a lot of opportunities to do it where I live.” He added, “I feel out of place but also at the same time feel like this is where I want to be.” With four big Yeses from the judges and a standing ovation from the audience, Silas showed that talent is everywhere, even in the smallest towns.
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In a candid interview with Alaska News Source, Jones claimed his passion for guitar came about when he was only 10 years old. “It was kind of a choice of, like, what do I want to invest my time in? At the time I was taking karate lessons,” Jones shared. “My parents were like, ‘what about music?’ and kind of brought it up, and they got me a guitar for Christmas.” That present obviously altered everything. Jones revealed he’s now focused on a unique playing style called percussive fingerstyle, an approach where the guitar is struck similarly to an instrument and a drum. “I feel like the style of playing is not super popular, and I love doing it. I want to travel and show people what the guitar can do and what anyone can do when they put their mind to something.”
Although performing on America’s Got Talent was a big moment for him, Silas didn’t tell his parents that he had signed up for the show, but they were there in the audience cheering him on when he performed. His father, Billy, quoting it as a “proud parent moment,” said, “It was exciting to see him stepping out, taking initiative, and stepping up to challenge himself in that way."