Right about that same time was when he discovered the show Hee Haw. "I was glued to the t.v. watching Roy Clark, Jerry Reed, and Ricky Skaggs throwing down some blistering licks" says Jason as he reflects on that extremely influential time in his life. "My dad gave me 2 eight tracks, a George Jones and a Willie & Waylon that I wore out from playing so much." While other kids were listening to pop radio, Jason was honky tonkin' it up. "I've stayed true to my country roots even though I do enjoy vastly different genres of music." "I listened to Merle Haggard, Willie & Waylon, Johnny cash, Charlie Daniels, Kenny Rogers, George Jones, Keith Whitley, and so many others that I still love to this day."
On his 9th birthday Jason was given the one gift that changed his life forever. His mom bought him an acoustic guitar from Sears and Roebuck and it was to be the start of a beautiful lifelong passion that has never stopped to this day. "It was either going to be a guitar or a magic set." "I'm so glad it wasn't the magic set!" "My parents were divorced, we moved to Detroit, MI when I was five and we didn't have any money to spare." "Times were extremely hard for us and my mother went to great lengths to get me that guitar." "I owe her a lot for that." That guitar would essentially be the springboard that got Jason started on his musical journey.
As the years passed when Jason was a young teen, he sang and played guitar in church on Drummond Island, MI after his mom decided to relocate there when Jason was in elementary school. He also learned to play the drums and bass guitar while in junior high. He wasn't old enough to get into the local bars where the music scene was happening so he would stand outside the door and watch and listen to the bands through the big window where the bands played. After getting to know the band members and them seeing how dedicated he was, they finally got him in by allowing him to roadie for them and run their homemade dimmer switch light board. "I was about 14 then and after the bar closed, I would go home and get my electric guitar out and start playing licks that I memorized from watching the guitar player in the band." "That was about 3 a.m. when that occurred and my mom would get out of bed and ask what the heck I was doing." "I was playing the licks that I stored in my head over and over again, just so that I could learn the songs."
After doing that on weekends for quite sometime, the local band finally allowed him to play and sing a song every now and then. Then after he honed his skills, he was then asked to play an entire set. Not long after that transition, Jason was then asked to be an actual member of the band. "That was a crucial turning point for me and that's when I knew I would never look back from that point forward." "I sang, played guitar, bass, and drums in that band and I loved every minute of it!" "Those guys helped make it possible for me to be where I am today."
Jason has done exactly just that. After serving in the U.S. Army, his music career to date has taken him to the big stage to be the opening act at several shows for major country music recording artists such as: Gary Allan, Diamond Rio, Andy Griggs, and Rick Trevino. He continues to progress forward and will release his debut self-titled recording project later this year. "It's a conglomeration of songs I've written recently and over the years." "I'm proud of these songs as I've always written about matters of the heart that I've personally dealt with first hand." Some of my songs also have a good time, honky tonkin' feel to them that people can relate to as well." One thing is for certain, wherever Jason plays his music, a good time is going to be had by all!