Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Whitlock.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I came to Knoxville in 1991 after finishing Three years of traveling and competing in the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps as a snare drummer.
Married and ready to work on a percussion degree at UTK, I began playing around Knoxville in Latin Bands and instrumental groups as a percussionist. Three years later I got divorced, dropped out of school, and traveled with a rock fusion band called “Kings of the Killerfish”. I was playing congas and other percussion. I had grown up moving every 2 to 3 years to some pretty culturally diverse places such as Macon GA, Riyadh Saudi Arabia, and Thousand Oaks CA.
After graduating high school and three years of traveling with the Drum Corps, it was clear to me that music and traveling were what most suited me. In 2005 I met Christa Deccico and we started a Southern Swing Band called “Christabel and the Jons” that by 2006 was touring the southeast. Locally I began playing with Phil Pollard’s “Band of Humans” and Ian Thomas. These bands were my first real introduction to Drums sets as well as my introduction to more folk and country styles.
If you’d asked me 10 years before what I thought of Roots styles such as folk and country, I would give a snobbish dismissive answer about the music that now has become the center of my musical universe. Christabel ended in 2012 and around the same time the Band of Humans ended with the passing of Phil Pollard. I am forever thankful for those experiences.
Christabel and the Jons was a very busy touring band throughout those years. Spending hours every day in a box with wheels will challenge your ability to stay entertained. After reading every book I could think of and listening to every album I could get my hands on, I began passing the hours by teaching myself how to play guitar as we traveled across the country. I really just wanted to be able to write my own songs and at that point the only melodic instrument I played was Marimba… Hard to fit in a Van.
After Christabel and the Jons, I began touring with JP Harris and the Tough Choices. Everywhere we went so did my little parlor guitar. In 2014 I finally worked up the nerve to step out from behind the drums and stand in the front and sing my songs. It was terrifying and exhilarating. I was my own worst critic.
My songs are extremely personal not to mention the fact that I had played with so many incredible players and songwriters. With the support of Meade Armstrong (fiddle, vocals) and Jessica Watson (Banjo, vocals) I was able to begin getting over my fear and began performing as the Jon Whitlock Trio. My first solo album came out in 2019.
Since 1991, I have left Knoxville three times following musical projects and/or Love (of course) but when those adventures came to an end it was an easy decision to come back to Knoxville. The Knoxville music and art scene have been my greatest teacher and 30 years after realizing that music and travel suited me, I feel even stronger that this is true. Whether it’s a Music and Rodeo festival in France, A dive bar in Texas, or a campfire in the Smokies with friends, I feel truly blessed to be a part of something that has the ability to relate to and positively affect so many people around the world.
It shows people from all different sides and opinions in life that no matter what we can all still connect and come closer together. Someone, I don’t know who, once said that the purpose of life is creating stories. I love that idea and traveling as a musician has definitely been my muse for much of my life. What I write I guess could be considered a type of Folk/singer-songwriter music. All of it is influenced by my exposure to other cultures, my rudimental drum and classical music studies, Frat house rock bands, Theater shows, folk music, and country music but most of all the observation of life and the story that it tells.
Currently, I play drums and Tour with Matt Woods and the Natural Disasters, Little Animal, Ashton Browne, Second Rodeo, and my own group featuring Seth Hopper (fiddle), Vince Ilagan (Bass), and Cecilia Wright (Cello) called Whitlock.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Is it really that smooth for anyone? Ha… maybe. I have definitely had plenty of struggles. At the moment those struggles seem impossible to navigate. but I’ve found in hindsight that each of those struggles has led to new strength, understanding, and opportunity. I used to say, if it wasn’t for my screw-ups, I would be a musician today. my divorce at 24 was devastating to me at the time. It led me to join a rock band. When that band ended, I felt like I’d had my one shot to do music for a living and in the course, I discovered the beauty in a style of music I once turned my nose up at.
Being on the road so much, I’ve broken down more times than I can count and have come to realize that people are far more willing to help than you might think. A Solid case of ADHD has definitely handed me my share of struggles in navigating a world that often doesn’t seem to have been built with me in mind. so much frustration and misunderstanding growing up. but now, as I am much older and more experienced, I have come to appreciate the ways in which it makes me different and the lessons I still continue to learn from overcoming some of the setbacks created by my silly brain.
The biggest struggles seem to always come with the uncertainty of direction after the end of a relationship or musical chapter. Always with the question “well, is this the moment I go out and get a straight Job?”
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Well. I am a drummer/musician and singer-songwriter In the drum Corp days, I was awarded best performer in the Spirit of Atlanta and placed 7th out of 80 in solo competition. I am a contributing writer to the Rudimental Cookbook published by Row-Loff productions.
My specialty these days is Drum set and percussion. What I’m known for… most people I have traveled with within the last 20 years say that I’m an easy person to tour with. Ha. but I’m known in the Marching Band World for the compositions in the book, the Local music scene as the drummer and singer-songwriter. I am most proud of the book. It was the first time anyone had made a collection of what is known as “hybrid Rudiments” and that list of rudiments is still referenced today.
As well. the multitude of records I played on From Christabel, Matt Woods, and notable singer-songwriter Mac Gayden (composer of “everlasting Love” )
What was you like growing up?
ADHD!!!! I was not a troublemaker but seemingly always in trouble. I excelled in things I was interested in and underachieved in those things I was not interested in. Hence dropping out of college after taking only music courses for 4 years.
I was exposed to so much diversity as a kid and it gave me an appreciation for the differences in people and cultures. I have always been very inspired to get to know people but because we moved so much and of course ADHD, I moved on very quickly to whatever and whoever the next place provided.
What I mean is I’m not and never have been good at keeping in touch. Drums and Soccer were my favorite things growing up.
Contact Info:
- Website: jonwhitlock.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jonwhitlockmusic
- Facebook: facebook.com/jonwhitlockmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXcBSlAK3agRXiMoNYBSdDQ
Image Credits
Bill Foster
Meade Armstrong
Marc Blues Photography
