HI, I’M JASON
I’ve been teaching students for the past 20 years. My passion is teaching others to find their musical voice. Whether you are an adult seeking to relieve stress and fulfill a lifelong dream of playing music, or a young student seeking an introduction to the world of music I will tailor lessons to meet you where you are at.
I first starting playing guitar in bands when I was 15. That lead to a career spanning over 30 years as a professional musician, including eighteen years as a member of the group behind 1998’s double-platinum-selling “Zoot Suit Riot.” During that time I performed as a headliner on The U.S., European and Australian legs of the Vans WARPED Tour, as well as a host of notable festival shows like KROQ’s Weenie Roast and Live 105’s BFD (alongside Green Day, Blink-182 and others). I was also honored to appear on multiple Television shows - Letterman, Leno, The View - and even got to meet Dick Clark on the set of his New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. While living in the Bay Area I’ve performed with The Unauthorized Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mask and the Megatones at venues like Yoshi’s, JAM Cellars, Sweetwater, Cornerstrone, and Retro Junkie, to name a few.
Fun Facts
FIRST CONCERT
The first concert I attended was Rush in 1984. Hearing the music from my worn-out vinyl records come to life onstage, performed by the real live humans behind it, made me want to pick up a guitar and start playing.
weird Al loves us
Kurt Cobain said “We knew we’d made it when Weird Al covered one of songs.” Imagine my surprise when Mr. Yankovic himself phoned my band to ask permission for a parody of our “Zoot Suit Riot” called “Grapefruit Diet.” It stands today as possibly the highlight of my musical career.
Music and Writing
As a journalism student in college I’d dreamed of writing for Rolling Stone magazine, but instead I wound up in a band featured in Rolling Stone. I did however end up writing a tour diary that was printed by Spin Magazine.