This Wednesday
Jon Lawton's Orphans Big Band
with
Aki Kumar - harmonica
Kid Andersen - keyboards
Scott Griffin - drums
Nico Hernandez - guitar
Mike Rinta - trombone
Doug Rowan - Saxophone
Mike Phillips - bass
Jon Lawton was born in 1954, has been playing guitar since 8th grade. That means he has been playing for 43 years as of today (2013). Starting out on acoustic guitar in the '70's meant folkie things like CSNY, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, etc... he has a VERY inspirational cousin who got him into the stones shows of '69, '72, and '75 in LA and the Grateful Dead shows with the wall of sound. Jon began to chase the blues shuffle and really has never stopped. Jon is now an accomplished songwriter and guitarist. He can fingerpick some old-time blues, frail a little banjo, slide some Dobro and lead a blues band like few others.
In the late '50s and early '60s, orange county ca. WAS covered with oranges, avocados, lemons and dirt. It was here he grew up. Jon started playing classical piano when he was 8 years old. The rigid classical music and mandatory practice and recitals were torture, but the technique and dynamics would serve him well in the future. In 1973, Jon went off to live in Omaha, ne... he finished college in 1978 and then began his shuffle-quest. His first band in Omaha was risky shift and in todays parlance, it went viral. It became one of the most popular bands of its time in that town. of course, we ALL know what that meant, but it was still a great gig and Jon learned about sound, band leading, songwriting, travel, guitars, amps and everything else not shown on the menu of being a musician. In 1987, after several busy bands in Omaha, Jon moved to Santa Barbara, Ca. to follow a woman, and to be closer to home. Well, the woman didn't work out, BUT he was immediately introduced to a band called the Pontiax. They hired him virtually on the spot. With that band, Jon proceeded to really take off. Much more travel, recording (a still talked about and recently re-released album - 100 miles to go), and playing with west coast luminaries such as William Clarke, Kim Wilson, James Harman, Red Holloway and many more. After European tours and many gigs, Jon and the Pontiax parted ways. Jon started little jonny and the giants then. That was 1991. Since that time Jon has gone on to record and independently release 5 CDs. he has played with all kinds of people (Kim Wilson, John Hammond, Fenton Robinson, Magic Slim, Anson Funderburgh, to name a few). He had some crazy dream that he opened for Bob Dylan, and it turned out not to be a dream.
Only $10 cover
Jammers $5