Jonathan Balas

It seems music has always been a part of Jonathan’s life. He was fascinated by the black and white keys of the piano and took lessons at the age of six. As his musical interest grew, so did his love and dedication. But with most kids, there was always something “cooler”, and for Jonathan that happened to be the electric guitar. A Berklee School of Music graduate began to teach and mentor Jonathan and the skills necessary to play the guitar came quickly. The first assignment as a newbie guitar player was to learn the solo off a little tune called “Talk to Your Daughter” by Robin Ford, and by ear! Well, Jonathan was doing something right, because his guitar instructor committed to continue the lessons for five years.

With the guitar under his belt, songwriting began to evolve. Lyrics from “Batman and Robin” to “Mighty Mouse” developed into songs of real life admirations and struggles. But what good is a song if no one gets to hear it? So his musical interest went to the next level, the world of production.

His very first recording was on a Marantz tape player/recorder where he had dubbed his lyrics on top of an old hip-hop track. As technology progressed, so did Jonathan. Hard disk recording was now more affordable to consumers and he began to further pursue the recording process out of the midst of his own bedroom.

At the age of eighteen he interned at one of the largest recording studios in the Seattle area, Robert Lang Studios. It has tracked bands such as Nirvana, Kenny G., Dave Mathews Band, Smashmouth and MXPX to name a few. Jonathan learned to be proficient with the SSL mixer as well as the routing and configuration of the studio. Following his work as a maintenance man, he sat in on several sessions as assistant engineer. There he got to work with Brendan Hill, drummer for Blues Traveler. During this time he studied audio engineering at a local community college.

So, his time in Seattle came to an end, and Nashville was the start of something new. Songwriting became his main focus in Music City, and landed his first market success. A band named Exit East picked up the song he had written called “I Will Save You” for their debut album. He also continued to sharpen his engineering skills at a local studio.

As Jonathan continued to develop as an artist, he found himself heading off to sunny Los Angeles, California. During his time in LA, he signed a major recording deal, and got television play on a song he had previously written. “California here I go, top down and the radio, and I know…”. I guess he couldn’t have said it any better for MTV’s “Laguna Beach” and the USA Network’s “The Great American Christmas”.

During these adventures, Jonathan has discovered many aspects about his musical abilities. After years of playing the guitar, performing in bands, writing songs and living in the production world, he has come to this point in his life. He made a choice to take his career into his own hands, to levels very possible from an unsigned artist using self-marketing tools and strategies. With the technology available today and the drive he finds within himself to succeed, there is no doubt that Jonathan Balas will be a mainstay in the music industry for years to come.