Jon St. James

Infobox musical artist
Name= Jon St. James
Background = Composer, guitarist, producer, engineer
Instrument = Guitar, electronic devices, drums
Genre = Rock, Techno Pop, Dance, Electronic
Years_active = 1977 to present

Jon St. James is an American guitarist, songwriter/composer, producer and engineer whose Casbah Recording Studio was a hotbed of musical activity in Orange County, California's new music scene in the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s, continuing through the 1990s and beyond.

Career

As a producer and engineer, St. James presided over several influential recording projects beginning in the 1980s,including records by punk bands The Vandals and Social Distortion, as well as the new wave band Berlin. [ [http://www.songnet.org/members/guest/jon-stjames/Jon%20Bio_1.htm] "John St. James Bio", L.A. Songwriter's Network website] )] As a songwriter, guitarist and producer, St. James helped to bring the talents of techno-pop diva Stacey Q and the dance-pop duo Bardeux to a wide audience. In addition, St. James has provided musical soundtracks for television and radio, including sound-alike projects for TV's "St. Elsewhere" and "Hill Street Blues", "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Dawson's Creek", among others. [ [http://www.songnet.org/members/guest/jon-stjames/Jon%20Bio_1.htm] "John St. James Bio", L.A. Songwriter's Network website] )]

St. James' growth as an artist and producer has run a parallel course to the growing affordability of electronic devices -- including synthesizers, drum machines and studio effects -- beginning in the late 1970s. As such, his Casbah studios -- purchased using borrowed cash -- became a work in progress, as St. James added more equipment, upgrading from a TEAC 8 using one-inch tape, to a TEAC 16 Track unit using two-inch tape. [ [http://www.keithwalsh.us/casbah.pdf "Shareef "Does" Like It", Walsh Editorial Services] ]

Early projects included sound-alike promos for Los Angeles radio station KMET, an album of electronic music with a space navigation theme, and a four-song EP featuring Stacey Swain, who would climb the charts as Stacey Q with the song Two of Hearts, produced by St. James. [ [http://www.keithwalsh.us/casbah.pdf "Shareef "Does" Like It", Walsh Editorial Services] ]

The Casbah attracted a variety of talent, including Righteous Brothers keyboardist John Van Tongeren and Berlin drummer, synthesist and producer Dan Van Patten, who lent their abilities to a variety of projects. After the success of Stacey Q's "Better Than Heaven" album, St. James sold the Casbah to members of Social Distortion and opened the new Formula 1 studio in La Habra. F1, as the studio is known, has hosted a wide variety of acts, ranging from Jon Anderson of Yes, to No Doubt to Tenacious D. [ [http://www.songnet.org/members/guest/jon-stjames/Jon%20Bio_1.htm] "John St. James Bio", L.A. Songwriter's Network website] )]

References