90.1 WRPN-FM the edge

Creating and performing music for over a decade, North Carolina - based singer songwriter guitarist Jason LeVasseur has been continually engaging listeners nationwide. Jason's style fuses together numerous influences creating a 'charismatic propulsive acoustic pop' sound which is apparent on his CDs; Watching the Girls Go By and the live release, The Opening Guy. The Columbia Free Times was specifically taken by "great songwriting and energy uncommon in acoustic-based music".

Throughout 2005 Jason is touring nationally in support of his new album, Driver Is The DJ. It is a collection of 12 original songs, carried by Jason's gritty, soulful voice and backed by none other than his trusty acoustic guitar and an array of stellar North Carolina musicians. The new album will be Jason's second studio release, a powerful follow-up to “Watching The Girls Go By”.

A girl walks into a bar to see an act called ‘The Erotic Adventures of the Static Chicken.' Though she's disappointed that the band is neither erotic nor covered in feathers, by the end of the night she's onstage belting out a drunken rendition of “Stormy Monday” and local bands are asking her to sit in with them. Three years later, she's living in Chicago with two albums, four Summerfest appearances, a national tour and radio play on hundreds of stations across the country to her credit.

That's pretty much how it happened, give or take all the years of childhood piano and voice lessons. After five years in Los Angeles earning a college degree and singing at Disneyland, I returned to the Midwest completely by accident and managed to land in the career I wanted all along. These days I'm still performing in bars, but I've also played live on TV news shows, college and commercial radio stations, headlined the Chick Singer Night Anniversary Show at Tangier in LA, and performed at venues and festivals all over the country.

With the help of family and friends, I do the majority of my own booking and all of my own promotion, and now, three years after my adventures with the erotic chicken, 2007 is proving to be a break-out year. My first live concert videos on YouTube jumped into the rankings immediately with over 30,000 views in just a few weeks, and just as I was leaving Milwaukee for the lush musical scene of Chicago, I was nominated for Best Acoustic Act by the Wisconsin Area Music Industry awards. This summer I enjoyed my first headlining spot at Milwaukee's Summerfest, and this fall I plan to release a live CD of all-new music right before I hit the road for a college tour across the northern plains.

First things first, Jon wins the "chill dude we'd most like to party with" award hands down. He showed us a truly awesome time at his concert in Green Bay with Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich. He's one of the godfathers of the MuzikMafia, which is an amazing collection of musicians who jam together like there's no tomorrow. The real highlight of the night was his after-party show at the Oneida Casino. It went until 2 AM, but it was one of the most energetic shows you could ever imagine. His music is a sort of funky, soulful blues rock, pretty much the stuff we Ripon kids live on. There's just too much to say about this show to keep it concise, so keep watching for a special section dedicated to this guy. We're going to be posting , our photos from both shows, info about the MuzikMafia, and tons more. In the meantime, click the grainy photo above to visit his website or go to the College Days site to read all about Jon and the show. And, as always, keep listening to 90.1 FM for a taste of his music.

This killer band played for us at the beginning of the school year and was kind enough to give us some CDs for the station. They're a sort of acoustic hip-hop soul group, really unlike anything we've ever heard before. They had two guys on guitar and one beat-boxing vocalist. If you missed this show, you oughta be sorely disappointed because it'll probably be awhile before you get another chance to see someone playing a guitar with pencils. They're even cool enough to have been featured on "Sugar (Gimme Some)" from the latest Trick Daddy Album. Listen for their music on your favorite station and mine, 90.1 WRPN.