Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon and Kim Campos.
Jon has been a musician his whole life, starting back in elementary school. He started playing professionally in his teens, and never looked back. He was offered a scholarship for Opera at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, which he turned down, and later attended Dick Groves Jazz School of Music in Los Angeles. Shortly after graduation, Jon took up residency at The Hyatt Waikiki, singing for the nightclub Kento’s based out of Japan. **Fun fact – Bruno Mars, yes, “The Bruno Mars” would open for him.
Jon moved on from there in pursuit of a more rock n roll vibe, which more suited his musical interest. Playing in various bands throughout his career and traveling throughout the U.S., Mexico, Japan, and England, he landed in the band Seventrain here in San Diego. The band’s self-titled debut record hit #36 on the CMJ Charts and received a nod from the San Diego Music awards 2014, for Hard Rock Record of The Year.
Jon was hungry for more, and decided to forge the fields ahead as a solo artist, or so he thought: You see that did not last long. He was concentrating on writing and playing out solo acoustically, some of San Diego’s finest talents took notice and interested in playing with Jon and reached out to see if they could be of service.
Meantime, his management received a call form a venue, two weeks before Christmas to see if Jon could put a band together for New Year’s Eve. Well, yes, Jon had planned on taking the night off, but as it was venue that he played regularly was compelled to do them a solid. So he rang up James Raub (Drums), Drew Zollo (bassist), competing the preclusion section, Jon Campos & The Incurables was born.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road but an amazing experience and always a work in progress to say the least. Lineup changes always throw ya a curveball, as well and getting stuck at the border from a gig in Mexico on a Saturday Night while trying to get to your next gig on Sunday in San Diego – yes, a challenge! As Kim will tell ya, “Where there is a problem, there is a solution”. I am learning to go with the flow and keep my eye on the prize. It’s my job to stay focused on what I believe in, and stick to what I believe is the right direction for myself and my bandmates.
Please tell us about Jon Campos & The Incurables.
We have had a very good year in that not only did we play a lot, we received 6 Global Music Awards for Outstanding Achievement, stemming from our EP, Tragic Tales & Lullabies, the categories are as follows:
- Alternative Rock Group
- Song – Tragic Tales & Lullabies
- Song – I Can See Clearly
- Alternative Rock
- Lyrics – I Can See Clearly
- Males Vocals – I Can See Clearly
Tragic Tales and Lullabies, also received a nomination by the San Diego Film Awards for Best Music Video.
It is so rewarding to have your hard work and labor of love recognized, I mean truly, this year has been an amazing ride with all of that and I don’t even know where to begin here, but I’m in awe of a Fun(d)raiser that my wife Kim, decided to put together. She has some friends (Russ & Tonya Capuano) she worked with many years ago that currently have a young child (Mia) battling bone cancer. She saw what they were dealing with in and out of the hospital for weeks at a time, the sheer heartache of your child being so ill, the unimaginable expenses, just all of it really. We had mentioned the idea of a fun(d)raiser to each other in passing but weren’t too sure how they would feel, or if it’s something we could actually pull off. At some point in early September Kim said, “it’s time to get off the bench and into the game”. She rang them up, and said here is what Jon and I are thinking. Kim’s like we have the music covered by Jon Campos & The Incurables, I can find a venue, we can sell tickets, have a raffle have face painting, maybe someone to do crazy hair etc. they were in a bit of shock and said do it. The band was all about it, and we did just that. The Capuano’s live in the Menifee area, so we found a location in Temecula, The Bridge on Third, they could accommodate the band, they have a full bar and menu, nice patio area, dog and kid friendly, plenty of complimentary parking across the street, perfection. Here is the kicker, we went in, met with the partners (unannounced) we explained with situation and our idea, and they asked, “What day do you need”? We said Mia will be 11 on Saturday, November 4th. does that work? They said done and we will donate 10% of the proceeds for the day to the family.
We reached out to some local business and got all kinds of goodness to raffle off. We contacted Anthony Cullins aka The Fallbrook Kid, to see if he wanted to jump on stage and play a few tunes with us, and he did. Boogie Magazine came out as did Sam Diego of Sons of Charity. Backstage360 came out, Kim and I shot an interview for them there at the event and they wrote up a nice article about the family and the day’s events. It was absolutely incredible. The place was packed, and everyone was having so much fun, it was a very special day indeed.
We just want to rock every venue, club, bar, festival event that we possibly can. I am a songwriter/storyteller and I enjoy connecting with every member of the audience as do my fellow bandmates. We can never get enough. We do our best to ensure everyone leaves with one good time under their belt.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Too many to list, for sure but all for the greater good. Ya know, it’s hard to say, I may have turned left instead of right at times or vice versa. Yes, I regret (to some extent) not following my instincts more often when I was younger, perhaps playing it a little too safe at times may have cost me a bit, but life is a crazy road with no real map, so if it feels like the right decision, go with it. My parents are serious, both attorneys, I think that is why it took me a bit to go with the momentum and not always had the appearance of the “logical choice”.
Always play with a contract. It does not have to be complicated just enough to ensure everyone knows exactly what is expected, after all, you are both in business. If you have publishing rights be you are registered correctly to ensure you are receiving royalties, again you are a business. Other than that, get up, create, support, kick ass, enjoy and repeat!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joncamposandtheincurables.com
- Phone: 858 360 0965
- Email: wickedtone.ent@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joncamposandtheincurables
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joncamposmusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JonCampos7
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9pdncC_z14
Image Credit:
Frank Rodrick
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
