Jon Lindsay (musician)

Jon Lindsay is an American recording artist. Lindsay made his full-length debut in 2010 with the LP Escape From Plaza-Midwood. In 2013, he cofounded the arts collective North Carolina Music Love Army with Caitlin Cary.

Jon Lindsay
Lindsay in 2009
Lindsay in 2009
Background information
Birth nameJonathan Lindsay Phillips
Born1980 or 1981 (age 42–43)
OriginPortland, Oregon, United States
GenresPop, rock, alternative, powerpop, indie, experimental, protest music
Occupation(s)singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, music director
Instrument(s)vocals, piano, organ, synthesizer, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, percussion, drums
Years active2007—present
LabelsFile 13, Bear Hearts Fox, Chocolate Lab, No More Fake Labels, North Star Media (Publisher), Heron Bay, Redeye Distribution, Love Army Records
Websitejonlindsaymusic.com

Early life

Lindsay is from Portland, Oregon.[1] He moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in the early 1990s. His father is a Episcopalian minister and transferred to a church in Charlotte.[2] Lindsay attended West Charlotte High School. He then studied English at Queens University of Charlotte,[2] and received an MFA in fiction writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.[2]

Music career

After graduation, his music has been used in Haven and MTV Cribs, Employee of the Month, and various commercials.[3]

Lindsay began his career playing and singing in Benji Hughes, as well as fronting his own rock bands The Catch Fire and The Young Sons.[4] Lindsay produced the debut album "Hearts Inc" for The Young Sons in 2007; the group disbanded in 2008.[5]

Escape From Plaza-Midwood

Lindsay signed to Chicago-based label Chocolate Lab Records in May 2010.[6] He made his solo debut with the release of his 15-song LP record Escape From Plaza-Midwood on August 17, 2010.[7][8] The title is a reference to the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood where Lindsay lived and a failed suburb by University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he grew up.[9][10] Concurrent with the album release was the 7-inch EP Coping Strategies, which features four songs from Escape From Plaza-Midwood.[11]

Shawn Haney for Performer wrote, "One of the best records to come out of the Southeast over the course of the decade, it’s full of life, bleeding with happiness and melancholy at the same time."[12] Spencer Griffith for Indy Week wrote that the album is "a sprawling opus of pop rock splendor."[13] Freeden Oeur of PopMatters gave the album an 8.[14]

Justin Gerber for Consequence Of Sound wrote, "It isn’t a bad album, but the lesson to be learned here is that there’s no shame in keeping it simple."[15]

Other works

Following Escape, Lindsay toured the US for most of 2011, both solo and with his backing band. He also signed a music publishing deal with North Star Media, performed at several festivals, and began preparations for his next releases: the EP Could It Be Christmas?, which has a loose holiday theme (November 29, 2011); Rumormill, the debut LP of Lindsay's side project The Catch Fire (No More Fake Labels, December 6, 2011).[16][17][18][19][20][21]

Lindsay's LP Summer Wilderness Program was released on June 26, 2012.[1] The music video for the album's third single “Oceans More” used 3-D information captured through the Microsoft Kinect.[1]

Lindsay performed a Daytrotter Session on January 27, 2012,[22] and a second Daytrotter Session on November 15, 2013.[23]

On October 26, 2015, The Indy Weekly premiered "All Them Houses", the first single from Lindsay's Cities & Schools LP.[24] The track was released digitally on November 6, 2015. On November 24, 2015, Paste Magazine premiered "Lifer", the second single from the Cities LP.[25] The Cities & Schools LP was released on June 10, 2016.[26][27] The record received the support of both full-band and solo US and European tour dates.[28][29] Big Takeover premiered the video for "Little Queen Drum Machine" on June 26, 2016.[4]

On December 22, 2017, File 13 released "Zebulon", a single from Lindsay which features a horn arrangement written and performed by Matt Douglas of The Mountain Goats. The song's narrative is delivered from the point-of-view of a racist southern farmer. Lindsay described the song as "psychedelic gospel pop".[30][31][32]

Political activism

Lindsay is known for his political work, having released various songs in response to different political and social events.[33][34]

Lindsay and Caitlin Cary of Whiskeytown co-founded the North Carolina Music Love Army, a non-profit music collective, in late June 2013 in support of the Moral Mondays protests.[35][36] Caitlin Cary reached out to Lindsay to form the group after watching the video for his song "NC GOP Just Don't Know Me" on YouTube. Lindsay was inspired to create the song after viewing Django Haskins's song "We Are Not for Sale".[37] The group recruited 40 members by July.[38] They released the 10-track vinyl "We Are Not for Sale: Songs of Protest" on November 26, 2013, with proceeds being donated to progressive groups in North Carolina.[37] Lindsay was producing and directing the album.[39] Performers on the album included Tift Merritt, Hiss Golden Messenger, The Love Language, American Aquarium, and Jon Shain.[39][36] The NC Music Love Army also released a song in response to the death of Lennon Lacy.[3]

Lindsay was part of a group of 24 artists who performed in protest of the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act.[33][40][41] In December 2016, Lindsay organized and performed at "Hate Free By The Sea" in Wilmington, NC, a benefit concert in support of a UNCW student who received threats after being bullied by a faculty member because of her race, religion, and sexual orientation.[42]

Discography
  • Magic Winter & the Dirty South EP[9] (released in 2009; re-issued February 2011 on Chocolate Lab Records)
  • Escape From Plaza-Midwood LP (August 17, 2010, Chocolate Lab Records)
  • Coping Strategies 7-inch EP (August 17, 2010, Chocolate Lab Records)
  • Could It Be Christmas? EP (November 29, 2011, Bear Hearts Fox)
  • Summer Wilderness Program LP (June 26, 2012, Bear Hearts Fox)
  • Cities & Schools LP (June 10, 2016, File 13 Records)
  • Happy Old Pictures EP (2016) — with NC Music Love Army[40]

References
  1. Dubovoy, Emily (October 12, 2012). "A New Video Using The RBG+D Kinect Hack To Distort Actual Footage Into Geometric Animations". Vice. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  2. Devores, Courtney (October 1, 2010). "Jon Lindsay Charlotte Observer Sunday Arts Feature". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  3. "Charlotte songwriter 'obsessed' with teen death case". The Charlotte Observer. August 7, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  4. Big Takeover Lindsay video premier
  5. Hahne, Jeff (March 3, 2009). "Creative Loafing: Young Sons Songs See Light of Day". Charlotte.creativeloafing.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  6. Hahne, Jeff (May 17, 2010). "Creative Loafing: Jon Lindsay Signs to Chocolate Lab Records (May 2010)". Blogs.creativeloafing.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  7. MAGNET Staff (2010-08-05). "MP3 At 3PM: Jon Lindsay". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  8. Oeur, Freeden (2011-05-18). "Technicolor Revelations: A Conversation with Jon Lindsay, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  9. Parker, Chris (July 9, 2010). "Jon Lindsay's Escape From Plaza-Midwood". Shuffle Magazine. No. 8. p. 7. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  10. "Blurt review of Escape From Plaza-Midwood". Blurt-online.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  11. Frequent Flyer from Magnet Magazine MP3 at 3
  12. Haney, Shawn (December 1, 2010). "Record Review: Jon Lindsay | Performer Mag". Performer. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  13. Griffith, Spencer (2010-08-25). "Jon Lindsay's Escape From Plaza-Midwood". INDY Week. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  14. Oeur, Freeden (2011-02-17). "Jon Lindsay: Escape From Plaza-Midwood, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  15. "Album Review: Jon Lindsay. Escape from Plaza-Midwood". Consequence. 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  16. Parker, Chris (November 23, 2011). "Jon Lindsay live at Tin Roof show preview (staff pick) and new album feature story". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  17. Hahne, Jeff (January 3, 2012). "Creative Loafing Rumormill Review". Clclt.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  18. The Catch Fire Best of 2011 Charlotte Viewpoint
  19. "Rumormill by The Catch Fire: Editor's Pick, Shuffle Magazine". Shufflemag.com. January 13, 2012. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  20. Devores, Courtney (December 27, 2011). "Rumormill by The Catch Fire: Best of 2011, The Charlotte Observer". Charlotteobserver.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  21. Lindsay Interview
  22. Jon Lindsay Daytrotter Session (now archived at Paste Magazine)
  23. Lindsay Daytrotter Session 2
  24. Klein, David (2015-10-26). "Hear "All Them Houses," a new track from Jon Lindsay". INDY Week. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  25. Lifer premiere and feature story at Paste Magazine
  26. Indy Week review of Cities and Schools
  27. Ghettoblaster magazine review of Cities and Schools
  28. Happy Old Pictures EP Announcement via Creative Loafing
  29. Reverb Nation covers tour dates and "Cities"
  30. Zebulon Premier
  31. Charlotte Magazine "Songs We Can't Stop Playing
  32. "SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: JON LINDSAY - "ZEBULON"". The Spill Magazine. 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  33. Workmon, Bob (July 26, 2016). "Musicians take the fight to HB2". Wilmington Star-News. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  34. Video premier of "Dear Mr. McRory" and interview feature
  35. "Local Spotlight: The North Carolina Music Love Army". WKNC 88.1 FM. 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  36. Lawrence, Jordan (2013-07-10). "The NC Music Love Army simply wants people to listen up about the state's political troubles". INDY Week. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  37. "NC Music Love Army releases Moral Monday benefit album". Facing South. 2013-11-22. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  38. "Love Army Fights NC General Assembly With Music". WUNC. 2013-07-12. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  39. Bellamy, Cliff (July 4, 2013). "Songs of protest". The Herald Sun. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  40. Moran, Pat. "Jon Lindsay's NC Music Love Army Battles Bigotry with New CD". Creative Loafing Charlotte. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  41. Encore Magazine Lindsay Feature/Magazine Cover
  42. Star News Concert Feature
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