Hi, I'm Jumpin Jon. My given name is Jonathan Adam Neher. Jumpin Jon is my stage name. It was given to me by fellow "Roadside Attraction" band members in Santa Cruz, CA circa 1975 because of my habit of jumping between instruments (pedal-steel guitar, various saxophones, or 6-string guitar) in the middle of tunes.
From 1974-1983 I was a full-time musician playing country, blues, rock, and jazz in local Santa Cruz and San Francisco Bay Area bands and with nationally-known artists such as Elvin Bishop and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. I got sick of living on the road in motels and not really having a home and quit Elvin's band right before a tour of eastern steel towns in the dead of winter.
In 1984, I started working at an Apple-oriented computer publication called "A+ Magazine." This led to a technical writing job at HP where I learned Unix system administration and got into software engineering. I moved to Sun Microsystems as a software engineer in 1986 and finally saved enough money to drop out of full-time computer work and moved to an A-frame on 11 beautiful acres in Fall Creek (east of Eugene, OR) in early 1991.
I currently work (part-time, by choice) at the University of Oregon Computing Center as a Unix systems programmer. I also play with various local bands as a sideman and, whenever possible, work with my main band, The JiveMasters. We are currently finishing up a CD at my recording studio, Fall Creek Recording, located (strangely enough) in Fall Creek, OR.
In addition to music, I love skiing, dancing, windsurfing,landsailing, giant croquet, hiking, cats, camping, reading, metaphysics/spiritual pursuits, working in my vineyard, building stuff, my friends, and trying to love and live well while exploring the great mysteries.
If you'd like to know more about me, The JiveMasters, or Fall Creek Recording,
Let Me Know What You Have To Say!
(c) 1995 Jonathan Neher