Jon's songs reflect the stories, experiences, wisdom and seasoning of someone who is a poet, explorer of life and a lover of sound.

12 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, FOLK: Gentle



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Join me in the storyâ¦..

Jon Bachman 2007

In nearly forty-five years of singing, performing, composing, entertaining and having fun playing the guitar I have been asked three questions hundreds of times, âWhat kind of music do you play?â, âWho influenced you as you learned?, and âDo you write your own materialâ?

Letâs start with âWhat kind of music do you play?â

A way back during the mid sixties I started saying âfolk musicâ, back when playing folk music put you in some sort of lofty intellectual, down with the roots of what itâs all about kind of expression. I mean, everyone seemed to be tuned in and I tuned in and loved it. I spent every dime I could lay my hands on ârecordsâ; Vanguard, Electra, Verve, Folkways and more. I started buying better and better guitars. Singers were telling stories to me, this green suburban kid, life stories that I had never thought of much less experienced. The roots of blues, the humid slide guitar of the Mississippi delta, the raucous vaudevillian ragtime, ballads and balladeers filled my head with ghosts, madmen, bloody rebellions, lost ships, tell-tale hearts, social consciousness and unrequited loves. I soaked it up.

Well, times have a way of detouring your clarity. I copped out and by the mid â70âs the nomenclature didnât fit, the term folk music no longer worked. I guess it was hearing too many bad jokes about Kumbiya and Michael rowing boats that got under my skin and sort of dampened my purist spirit. I started saying I was a âsingerâ, then âfolk/pop singerâ, then, âcontemporary folk/pop singerâ, and then âcontemporary, folk/pop acoustic singerâ.

It got pretty weird. The fact is that I still played and sang the same types of songs I had been for years. My repertoire expanded, more ballads, more great story songs and by the mid 80âs I realized that I was truly a âfolk singerâ and that was ok.

Let me explain the 360 degrees retrospect. Folk Music is people music, for and by the people and can incorporate any and all genres. I mean from the rock to the pop, blue grass to blues. Itâs all about the music people can understand, dream with, love with and take inspiration from. Finally, I didnât have to cover up the fact that I played âfolk musicâ and I still loved it.

Now for the second question, âWho influenced you as you learned?â

Anyoneâs style is the amalgamation of the people you listen to and respect for their honesty of effort and poetic use of the instrument to support a song. I love the playing and inner voice of Richie Havens, the abstract introspection of Cat Stevens, the stories of blues artists such as Sonny Terry, Son House, and Memphis Slim. I love the vocals of Brook Benton, Joni Mitchell, Hoyt Axton, Billy Ed Wheeler, John Gorka, and Gordon Lightfoot, and many many more. They could capture an image that would spring from their lyrics. You could see the song. That became my style, playing the guitar with the right degree of emotion to let the listener see the song and join me in the story

Now for the last of the three questions,â Do you write your own material?â

The short answer is âNoâ. My wife and I co-write 95 of the original tunes I now play. I am blessed with a partner who not only can write but can figure out and be honest with a tunes expression. Dianneâs contributions are incalculable. They are absolutely essential in helping co-write songs that carry a story or enlighten a heart.

To sum it up, I am a folk singer who uses emotion, image and style for the listener to see and feel the songs. As of the last decade I have contained my musical venues to the Fredericksburg area due to my career as a teacher (my other lifeâs work) and also to be available for my children as they grow.