Music
Hi! I’m Jon.
I started playing in bands as a teenager, touring and hearing my own songs on the radio before I finished high school. Luthiery brought me to San Francisco in 2012, and I started gigging here almost immediately. I studied jazz and upright bass at UC Berkeley under Myra Melford, Glenn Richman, Ben Goldberg, and Scott Amendola, and went on to earn an MA and PhD in music.
I play electric and upright bass, guitar, keys, and sing. Bass is the focus. I bring an upright, a 1967 Hofner violin bass, and a 1976 sunburst P-bass strung with flatwounds, which covers most of what a song needs and sounds good doing it.
What I actually offer: I'm good in a band. I listen, I lock in, I know how to build a part that serves the song instead of competing with it, and I love to the sing harmony that sits just right. I show up on time, I learn the material, and I'm a good hang during a long load-out.
Selected Collaborators
Silver Swoon · Affectionately · Aleta Simone · Good Friends · Roxy Rawson and the Rounded Sound · Heart of the Whale · Blaine Billingsley · Charlie Bishop · Brian Bond · Pulitzer · PJ Bond · Bolero! · Gregorio Perez Figueroa · Zachary Blizzard · Jimmy Duvet and the Comforters · Adam Bahrami · Anna Vis · Joseph Cañas · Caleb Pepp and the Steppers · Summer Champ · and as a solo artist and bandleader.
Available for: sessions, sideman work, local and touring gigs, and backing vocals.
To date, I have released two EPs as a solo artist, “I’m a Vine” (2022) and “Congratulations” (2024). Both were produced by Brian Bond and are available on all streaming platforms.
We’re currently working on a new release called “New Ancient Country.”