IAP BIO:
It's a rare occasion, indeed when a matchless soul
rises from among the mayhem of what is the local
music scene, especially when you enter
into
the saturated realm of acoustic artists. Let’s face it,
in a major metropolis like Philadelphia, there seems to be
an aspiring
artist
at
every turn of the wheel pitching their piece on a pawned acoustic
guitar in an attempt to secure their own precious place in
time.
Take a fresh, deep breath and introduce yourself to one - Jon DeLise.
Jon was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia
in a family of classical musicians. Surrounded
by music his entire life, Jon considers
himself fortunate to be firmly planted in the engineer’s
seat of this fast-moving train that is his divine calling.
Jon’s career has skyrocketed over the past year and it’s
no wonder why. The piece he's pitching is solid, inspiring and captivating.
He wrote, performed and co-produced a song, “Two Steps Away” that
was recorded by the legendary Patti Labelle (Island/DefJam)
and released as a single on her Timeless Journey album. Jon
was then
invited to
join Ms Labelle on a coast-to-coast tour as featured guitarist
which included
network TV appearances and culminated in Philadelphia on the
world-wide stage of the 2006 Philadelphia Freedom Concert with
none other
than Sir Elton John.
Additionally, Jon wrote and performed "Hold On" (a.k.a. “The
Piano Song”) for Virgin Records recording artists
The Starting Line which became a cult smash hit among
The Starting Line fans. Jon’s emotion laden lyrics
and guitar/piano tabs are plastered across the internet
on thousands of Starting Line fan forums.
Most recently, Jon has teamed with Grammy nominated
producer/engineer David Ivory (Silvertide (J Records),
Halestorm (Atlantic), Patti Labelle, Erykah Badu, The
Roots, etc.) to capture what is now - Jon DeLise and
Tragedy Fails.
But, enough about that… don’t - for one moment - mistake
Jon DeLise as yet another fledgling singer/songwriter clutching other’s
shadows. Quite the contrary is true. This emerging artist is a star of
his own in every right, and is summarily casting abundant light to create
shadows of his own. His concrete, unsullied and rousing songwriting proficiencies
form a rock solid foundation from which this rising star has been firmly
launched.
This is no solo flight however.
Jon has successfully framed himself with an amazing
backline known as "Tragedy
Fails” which includes; Russian Cellist Sachino "Chi" Tsinadze,
one Pablo Batista (who formerly shared his percussion
prowess with Grover Washington Jr., Alicia Keys, and
Kurt Franklin), long-time friend Brian Schwarz on backup
vocals, Jon’s brother Jimmy on drums (Jon has been
making music with Brian and Jimmy since grade school)and
last but most certainly not least, Pittsburgh native
Michael “Steal City” Steal on bass.
Now all that’s left is
to stand back, admire the ascent and bask in the luminescence
of this undeniable
talent... and say you were present as witness.
