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"I have finally begun tracking the next album for real," says singer/songwriter Jon Ji. "The object this time is create a recording that sounds just like it feels and sounds to me while I'm playing it. I have been experimenting with different guitars, mics, cables, and studio voodoo, but I think I've finally found it!"
Ji says he has around 40 originals and several cover tunes planned. "I think I'm going to make a couple of CDs, one of cover songs, and one all originals. I've sold a collectors guitar and bought a beautiful new nylon string which is featured on the new recordings. I also picked up a dream guitar for me, a Gitane Gypsy Jazz Acoustic! Guitar nerd stuff, I know, but it's awesome."
Unfortunately, “I was robbed at the studio, which is closing down in a month anyway,” said Ji on July 14. “Lost three guitars, a computer, a ukulele, an amp, and an effects processor. Hope insurance covers it, but they are just things in the end.”
The multi-instrumentalist says he's always felt like somewhat of an outsider. “The hippies called me a punk, the punkers called me a hippie, the Confederates a rebel…and the girls an angel, the devil, and a tart. I guess they were all right. I went to Dead concerts with a Mohawk and to Black Flag shows wearing tie-dye. For a while I was a hardcore goth skater punk, at least until I got tired of conforming to nonconformity.”
After a classmate gave him a jazz tape, Ji says, “I started taping the jazz shows on the local college station while I was at school and listening to them when I got home. It was like Christmas every day. Seriously. Now, I was really a rebel — a 16-year-old kid listening obsessively to music of the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s.”
Ji describes his own music as “Cowboy bebop and gypsy crawl. It’s a lot like old-time jazz, like the Squirrel Nut Zippers with a little bit of groove music thrown in. Call it alterna-folk bebop-groove sturm und drang. Two of my favorite performers are Billie Holiday and the Violent Femmes — especially their first album. So just smoosh them together with some groove, and that’s what I sound like.”
After undergoing ear surgery in early 2011, Ji returned to the stage for several February dates. His next local show happens on Friday, August 20, at the Old California Coffee Company in San Marcos.
"[Expect] great food, drinks, awesome outdoor firepits," says Ji. "Free music with me and my trio. It's been a great turnout. Very family friendly. Great place, with Rich Wright, RJ Perillo, and Miss Lori."
"I have finally begun tracking the next album for real," says singer/songwriter Jon Ji. "The object this time is create a recording that sounds just like it feels and sounds to me while I'm playing it. I have been experimenting with different guitars, mics, cables, and studio voodoo, but I think I've finally found it!"
Ji says he has around 40 originals and several cover tunes planned. "I think I'm going to make a couple of CDs, one of cover songs, and one all originals. I've sold a collectors guitar and bought a beautiful new nylon string which is featured on the new recordings. I also picked up a dream guitar for me, a Gitane Gypsy Jazz Acoustic! Guitar nerd stuff, I know, but it's awesome."
Unfortunately, “I was robbed at the studio, which is closing down in a month anyway,” said Ji on July 14. “Lost three guitars, a computer, a ukulele, an amp, and an effects processor. Hope insurance covers it, but they are just things in the end.”
The multi-instrumentalist says he's always felt like somewhat of an outsider. “The hippies called me a punk, the punkers called me a hippie, the Confederates a rebel…and the girls an angel, the devil, and a tart. I guess they were all right. I went to Dead concerts with a Mohawk and to Black Flag shows wearing tie-dye. For a while I was a hardcore goth skater punk, at least until I got tired of conforming to nonconformity.”
After a classmate gave him a jazz tape, Ji says, “I started taping the jazz shows on the local college station while I was at school and listening to them when I got home. It was like Christmas every day. Seriously. Now, I was really a rebel — a 16-year-old kid listening obsessively to music of the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s.”
Ji describes his own music as “Cowboy bebop and gypsy crawl. It’s a lot like old-time jazz, like the Squirrel Nut Zippers with a little bit of groove music thrown in. Call it alterna-folk bebop-groove sturm und drang. Two of my favorite performers are Billie Holiday and the Violent Femmes — especially their first album. So just smoosh them together with some groove, and that’s what I sound like.”
After undergoing ear surgery in early 2011, Ji returned to the stage for several February dates. His next local show happens on Friday, August 20, at the Old California Coffee Company in San Marcos.
"[Expect] great food, drinks, awesome outdoor firepits," says Ji. "Free music with me and my trio. It's been a great turnout. Very family friendly. Great place, with Rich Wright, RJ Perillo, and Miss Lori."