JonMenard.com

So about a week and a half ago, I took a shot at the Lizzard Lounge’s Monday Open Mic Night challenge.  It’s a great time, and I’ve gone here a ton and have been able to get to know both the host (Tom Bianchi) as well as the rest of the “regular crew” that tend to show up there (including Brendan Hogan, Dave Coffin, and many many others).  I decided to try something different this time though, and instead of singing, simply sat at the piano and played two of the piano solos I have written.

The room was dead silent, like nothing I’ve experienced before.  So much so, that at the end of one song, people weren’t even sure it was done due to my gradually soft outro.  Was an awesome night, and alot of people seemed to enjoy this “New Age” piano music that not everyone is accustomed to hearing.

I was called back at the end of the night as a finalist, used the piano again but this time through in the song “Jennie Wishes” from my CD.  And Lo and behold, ended up winning the night’s competition. 

Made me realize that no matter how much I enjoy playing the guitar, the piano will always be where my true passion lies, and it shows.  A big thank you to the Lizard Lounge (check the link!) it’s guest judge, Tom Bianchi, and those who were there to support some local music.

I’ll be trying my luck again there on the 21st!  Come check it out!

-Jon

Since its release, I’ve on and off played World of Warcraft for the last 2.5 years.

Over time, I just ended up writing goofy music about the game and the people I played it with, including some parodies of popular songs. 

In fact, “google-ing” my game name gets you pages of hits about my music and such.  One such song was bootlegged to the internet and has since gotten over 150,000 downloads and is a topic of discussion on forums in languages I can’t even read!

Thus, I decided to make a myspace page where I’ll be able to put up those songs for people to listen to and have a laugh.  If you’ve never played the game, then you’ll probably have no clue what the lyrics mean haha.

Anyway, I’ll be doing a full self produced “WoW Song CD” as soon as I can (per request of alot of people).  Until then, check out this link to hear the stuff!

Take care,

Jon

      Well, Thanks to the efforts of Jeff Munro (allowing me to use his gear and his first bringing me to the place) and Alex Weston (the wonderful host), I’ve had the opportunity to do a few features at the Starbucks Coffee House on Bedford Street in Lexington.  I’d stongly suggest any musicians out there looking for a nice little place to play check this out.  They usually only do shows booked for Saturday nights, but the atmosphere here is incredible.  Not to mention the room is ALOT bigger than you would expect, and has an amazing sound to it.  Can’t wait to lug the piano down here one day and give it a shot.

Check it out sometime, heck you might see me there again soon I hope.

Until Then,

Jon

Hey all

I’ve been fooling around lately with the guitar and trying out some different tunings.  I’ve 2 to be very interesting; the DADGAD tuning (where you down tune both E strings and the B) and a similar one EADGAD (where you leave the base E alone).

I’ve used these tunings for the last two songs I’ve written and was glad I explored using them. Overall, you get a very interesting “ring” from the guitar, as the harmonics that overlap from the strings sound amazing.  not to mention any percussive hits on the guitar itself casues that ringing as well.

I was curious if anyone else out there has tried any other tunings that might be uncommon?  Let me know I’d love to give them a shot!

Now if i could only downtune a piano easily…that’d be some interesting stuff.

Hey everyone,

Just making these 2 things known.

I’ve recently been offered to play at a Starbucks in Lexington on a farely regular basis.  I’ll be doing both guitar/piano vocal things, as well as full nights of just piano solos there.  The only dowside is they don’t have their own PA system so I need to invest in one.  If anyone hears about a great deal on PA or has a friend selling/giving one away, be sure to let me know!

Also, wanted to make it known that I’d love to form a band again.  Playing with Edgewood Box a few years ago was an amazing experience and I was spoiled in getting the opportunity to share my music with such a talented group of guys.  I would like to have the chance to do that again.  Ideally, I’d like to get a 4 or 5 piece acoustic rock group together.  The obvious Bass/Drums and my rhythm instrument…but in addition 1 or 2 “lead instruments” such as guitar, sax, etc.  So, if you or anyone you know of would be interested and is in the Boston area, be sure to drop me a line.

Take care,

Jon

Was a great night last night.

Lot of friends, family, and other random people there to show their support.  Was very awesome to play for over and hour and a half and look up to see alot of familiar faces.

The people that opened for me…Chris Lizzi and Rick Macomber, also did a tremendous job.  Big thanks to them.

And of course a big thanks to Jeff and Justin who got there early, helped set up, and allowed me to use all of their stuff for the show, as well as my roomate Greg for helping me lug everything out there and back home.  Incredible people.

All in all, an amazing time. 

Catch ya soon,

Jon

In preparation for the CD release, and the fact that I’ve beaten my Martin DCME to a pulp over the last 3 years…literally — scratches, a patched hole in the back, a rattling truss rod due to the percussion stuff I do on the neck of it haha…I’ve decided to invest in a new baby.  Though my DCME will be my backup and still played for certain songs…this one will be my new toy:

Martin 16-GTE Premium

Amazing guitar.  Great sound, and on top of that, has a condenser microphone located directly behind the strings…that pick up alot of the ambient percussive things I do, as well as just make for an overall amazing sound when played over a PA system.  Can’t wait to put this thing into action.

Update:  Just got it a few days ago.  Everything I hoped for and more.  I spent a good 2 hours at guitar center in nashua testing out its condenser microphone blend feature on all types of PA’s and amps, and it sounded phenominal.  Its also got a bit more of a “full” sound than my other guitar, so it fits well with the things I’ve been writing lately.

  The monumental first news post.

  Hey everybody, and welcome to my site.  A big thanks to Ben Payne for helping me tremendously in getting it off the ground and doing alot of the design work for a “non-html” schlubb like me.  Keep in mind there will be some changes to the site as the first few weeks pass…as far as links, uploading media, maybe some layout things…so bear with us while we work out some of that stuff.

 Anywho, This will be the place where anything related to my music will be based.  Shows, CD’s, brand new material, random lyrical ideas, some of my funny “sitting around with a group of friends making fun of them” songs…you name it!  I intend to do alot of “self recording” using my own equipment and just posting it up here for people to listen to, so they’ll always be a steady influx of new material.

 Speaking of which, my new professionally reorded CD, “Buzz” has just arrived and is set for release!  I’ll be having a release show at the Avenue C in Malden, MA on March 7th at 7:30pm until 10pm, should be a great time.  You can either grab one of the CD’s from me in person ($5) or order them online for a tad more (shipping costs). 

  I’ll be making regular posts in the news sections here about anything from songs I’m working on, show updates, to random seeking of inspiration…so be sure to sign up on the site so you can post some comments and also join the mailing list so you’ll be notified of show dates and new media postings, etc.

 Take it easy everyone, I’ll catch ya around soon.

Jon