“MY WORK IS MY PLAY”.... Jon Jeffers
A Lifelong Musician Looks Back
As you can see from this photograph taken of me Christmas day 1958 at age 7 that I took to the guitar very early. This was my first guitar given to me to stop me bugging my brother Jim to play his guitar all the time. This explains why I appear comfortable playing an F chord (known to be a difficult chord for beginners).
My big lucky break was being born to musical parents. My Dad, Robert “Jack” Jeffers, played piano and loved to sing “On the Sunny Side of the Street”. My Mother, Laura Turner Jeffers, was a talented vocalist and pianist and could write beautiful, spontaneous melodies and lyrics. She was truly “gifted” and she could knock out a clever jingle in 15 minutes. I never heard of anyone ever beating her at Scrabble.
It’s a Generational Thing
Before the birth of surf music I remember hearing a lot of big band Jazz, usually backing up the great female vocalists of the time. Ella, Sarah, Billy and of course, Barbra. I think this is how I got my sense of harmony and arrangement. I guess it was just “built in” to me from the start.
By the time I was in 5th grade I had a band of my own playing original “surf” compositions. I played to full auditoriums during parent / teacher conferences at my school. I often joke that this was the peak of my career (and it’s all been down hill since)!
Music is a Path and My Path is Music
Having gone through the 60’s with a guitar in my hands I feel I experienced a cultural revolution “first hand”. By the time I graduated from Laguna Beach High School in 1970, I had transitioned through many bands and many musical styles. It was good fortune that I would be a guitar player during the peak of guitar-based music popularity. It was the guitar that reigned king of the 20th Century Pop Era, and all my heroes were guitar players. By then I knew that I would study music in college.
Pass Vietnam, Go to College
Pursuing an AA degree in music at Cabrillo Junior College in Aptos (Santa Cruz, California) put me back in touch with Big Band Jazz. I owe a lot to my instructor there, Mr. Cruz because he taught me that inspiration was motivation. Also I received training and discipline and I became familiar with rudimentary laws of music theory & harmony. I may have avoided boot camp but I found out that full time study was challenging, too. The education I received still serves me today as I continue to learn new music and expand my repertoire.
Flash Back, the 70’s
Maybe the best part of going to college at Cabrillo JC was my proximity to the Bay Area. I was lucky to be near San Francisco when it was in it’s hey day and it was all about the music. I finished school in 2 years and hit the road playing up and down the state in various bands including the infamous “Jersey Slim & the Night Owls”. Anyone out there remember us at “Fuzz’s Place” in Mammoth, California? After one rowdy summer, the sheriffs gave us three days to get out of town! We had to high tail it.
I returned to Laguna Beach in 1975 and worked at the local guitar shop “Bo Jangles”. Somehow I’d become a retail store manager. These were exciting times in the industry as new innovations were being developed in electronic music technology. Synthesizers became the rage and a new era in music came out of these discoveries.
I was getting the latest information and news from dealer reps and going to National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) conferences. This is how I got my first introduction into electronic music applications. Little did I know that my whole musical future would involve the burgeoning field now known as MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). Please read, “What is MIDI ?”
Flash Forward, the 80’s
The 80’s were a strange if not dark time in our musical history. Disco and Dallas were in vogue and I had just about forgotten the guitar altogether.
After the birth of my son, Marlon Jeffers on July 22, 1981 my focus switched to family (Marlon who is now 25, just completed his studies and has his AA in Music from Santa Barbara City College and plays guitar, too!)
I had changed paths and taken an odd journey into the world of business, having been involved in a start-up company based in Beverly Hills. After seven years and a failed public offering (the market crashed the day we went “public”), my health and family were in bad shape.
I learned a lot of valuable lessons then, and the one I’m most grateful for brought me back to the guitar. The funny thing I found out is that most people I met in the business world told me they wished that they had the ability to play a musical instrument! And when it would come out that I played the guitar, I heard it said over and over again “ I wish I could do that”!
Rocky Mountain High, the 90’s
By the 90’s I was divorced and starting over and it was with the gracious help of my dear friends Duke & Elizabeth Boyd (Thank You guys!) who let me stay in their guest cottage and make use of the Duke’s studio he used for designing his clothing line, “Lighting Bolt”. That was in Woody Creek, just outside Aspen, Colorado.
Now I could focus on music again and there could be no better place for that than Aspen. What was supposed to be a year’s retreat in the mountains turned into a ten-year sojourn. I had the pleasure and thrill of performing at a variety of venues and private parties with a talented and gifted singer, Lauri Cross, my girlfriend at the time. Our duo, “Crossover” played at the Hotel Jerome, the Ritz Carlton, and numerous classy restaurants and various social functions and fundraisers. I have to admit it was fun to play for the “Rich & Famous” in homes and mansions bigger than real life. Aspen was the place for glam & glitz and now I wish I could remember half of what happened during those years!
Here and Now
Moving back to Santa Barbara at the turn of the Century has been a wonderful homecoming for me. I feel blessed to be here again. Musically speaking, I have been able to continue to grow here. For the first time, I’m playing solo and enjoying it very much.
I had the good fortune of meeting the kind & talented Leslie Lembo, vocalist extraordinaire and Santa Barbara’s favorite female performer. It was she who encouraged me to pursue a solo career continuing to use MIDI for my back-up tracks. Leslie further supported my efforts by booking me into the five star Bacara Resort for various corporate events. This was the shot in the arm I needed. Visit Leslie at www.leslielembo.com
My steady clients include Fresco’s at the Beach & Rideau Vineyard. This provides me the base support I need to live and thrive here as an artist and musician. Additionally my schedule is peppered with a variety of venues including birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and the occasional fundraiser. Once a year I migrate to Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico where I play for the renowned Don Pedro’s and the many celebratory events that take place there. Muchas gracias mis amigos!
Please give me a call to discuss your special event.
Sincerely yours,
Jon Jeffers