History

A long history in the music underground.

Jon Wesley Ewell is a dj/music lover/artist/writer and promoter who has been involved with dj culture since the age of 13.

Like many others, hip-hop was an early influence and the catalyst that began Jon’s lifestyle where art, life and music became one. As a youngster he was drawn heavily to the hard-rock sounds of influential bands such as Queen, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, whose music was full of dramatic mystery and powerful messaging. Later he was exposed to funk, soul and Latin music through a culturally diverse group of friends and the music that was part of their daily lives. Skateboarding and BMX were always a big part of his youth and the music that went hand-in-hand with those activities shaped much of his preference.

In early 1992 after living in South America for a couple of years ( not running from the law, FYI – ed.) Jon returned to dj culture. It had changed quite a bit in just a couple of years. The underground warehouse scene was haunting the night and techno and dj culture had invaded the clubs on the West Coast. Jon was exposed even more to house music and its devious relatives acid and techno. He began to get involved anyway he could and, after a few stints assisting with smaller clubs and parties, he began to throw his own with various partners. Jon always tried to do something different, he didn’t care about massive events and paid most attention to diversity in the crowd and amazing music and dj talent.

Around 1995 after many years as a mobile dj, a promoter–and most importantly as a dancer/clubgoer–he decided to start buying records and eventually, after many hours of practice, decided to play them at parties as a dj. Even though he knew a lot of people, he still had to come up like everyone else. He played house parties as much as possible and eventually–thanks to early San Diego promoters such as Franchesca (of House of Souls) and Jonathan Williams (owner of the famed SD acid jazz spot The Green Circle Bar)– he started to play in clubs and underground parties.

Still looking for more and always attempting to stand out by doing different stuff, Jon met up with a San Fransisco transplant named Jonathan Gage. JW was doing a Friday night funk jam djing with live musicians and invited Gage to come down and play. Naturally he showed up with a box of amazing records and some fellow musicians who dropped serious talent on that stage, so he wanted to work with him immediately. They formed a production company called Merge: lifeandmusic and started an event called Terranova at local Spanish restaurant Olé Madrid. The event played host to world sounds, Latin music, drum ‘n’ bass, house and various other styles. They went on to co-promote various events until Jon decided to pursue other interests. Gage forged ahead providing SD with amazing talent under the name Merge Events. They continued to work together (as they still do today) both with the goal of doing different things and pushing the music further.

Jon has been a member of Terence Toy’s House Vibes since its beginning, putting out mixtapes and playing events along with fellow djs Victor Simonelli, Doc Martin, Terence Toy, Julius Papp, Jojo Flores, Tony Largo, and many others. He was also fortunate enough to have played the legendary Does Your Mama Know afterhours numerous times before it ended its 12-year-run a few years ago. He has had mixtapes and CDs available in numerous stores thanks to his House Vibes affiliation; stores such as Beat Non Stop, Street Sounds, Amoeba Los Angeles, Elevator, Groove Music, Ameba on Haight San Francisco and Pure Acid mixtapes (along with its many appearances at California underground events over the years) have all carried mixes of his.

Jon currently lives and plays regular gigs in San Diego, CA. He’s involved in promoting a monthly party called Three Tha Hard Way and is ready to start releasing original music that he’s been working on for the last 3 years.

If you would like to work with Jon please use the contact form on the front page of this website.