Jon Horton

  Before I even picked up an instrument, I dreamed of performing. I have these vivid memories of dancing my fingers along the bricks of my living room fireplace like it was a piano... imagining I was somehow good at it. Or I'd ball my hand into a fist, imagining a microphone in my grasp, and singing my favorite DC Talk songs... imagining I was them. I think I wanted to be Toby Mac. Maybe Michael W. Smith.  Maybe Michael Jackson! Whoever it was, I knew I wanted to be on stage.

          When I was old enough, my dad bought me my first guitar for Christmas and started teaching me. Then at 13, he gave me my first electric guitar and started teaching me music theory which showed me the foundational secrets of how music works. I started playing little made-up tunes for family and friends. Their cheers tapped into my innate desire to make people feel good. This is what I wanted to do. So I continued.

          In middle school, I wanted to join the concert band and play the saxophone. I think I just wanted to play the Pink Panther song. But they had too many saxophones, so they put me on drums. I stayed on the drums through High School and joined the marching band playing the quints. And when I wasn't on the drums, I was FINALLY picking up those piano skills I dreamed about on the band hall's upright piano.  I eventually picked up some bass guitar skills here, some drumset skills there, and kept getting better and better at my guitar. And I got to implement all those skills while playing in my local church band every Sunday. This is what I wanted to do. So I continued.

          As an adult, I joined the U.S. Navy Band as a drummer. I also began expanding my skills into songwriting, composing, and even taking up audio engineering. After my enlistment was up, I tried starting several music projects/bands that just didn't work out, so I enrolled in Full Sail University where I eventually received my Bachelor's in Recording Arts. I gained a lot of technical knowledge about sound. This was KIND OF what I wanted to do. So I continued.

          It wasn't until I started performing as a solo act that I started actually doing what I wanted to do: SING. To sing songs that I wrote. After years of drumming in the back, playing bass in the corner, and strumming the guitar on a couch, I had now made it center stage. This is what I want to do, and I will continue.

          It's been a long journey, but I'm closer to my dream than ever before. If you want to help me along in my journey, or even just follow along, I'd be honored. Click here to find out how.

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