Interview with Jonathan Sexton (who loves his Guitar Man Bag)

Get Gifts for Him at Violettes too!

Stumped for Gifts for HIm? Have his initials or Band Logo painted onto a man bag. Fill with spare strings and concert tickets.

I met Jonathan Sexton thru his volunteer mentorship at the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC) where he is now an Entrepreneur in Residence. Always seemingly upbeat, he cheerfully lifts my spirits with his encouragement and ideas. I found the following on his resume: Jonathan graduated from UT Knoxville with an early childhood education degree, was a Knox County teacher, then traveled with his former band, "The Big Love Choir”. He created Bandposters software, then co-created the MTV award winning "Best New Music App", ArtistGrowth. Best of all, he loves his Violettes Guitar Man Bag, and has good naturedly allowed me to use him in my commercial below.

Violettes: You seem to have incorporated music or the music industry into everything that you are involved with. Music can play a wonderful role in early education. Are you still involved with early educations projects?J: Currently I’m not. I do some work with "Code Camp" locally in Knoxville. They help young children learn how to code computer software, and I also coach little league, but I've always enjoyed my work with children, and the power of music as a teaching and learning tool for children, and hope to get back to that work at some point. V:  You have recently started a new band "Feed the Birds", and recorded the new song "GIT". Is this part of an album that you have in the works? Do you have any projects currently underway with your band? J: We are writing and recording a lot of new songs, but we are experimenting with a variety of models, including releasing one song at a time, rather than working on an album and releasing it once a year, we are writing, and recording, then we take songs to the stage. If they get a good reaction from the crowd, we record it and release it. V:  Can you attribute anything from your parents' influence to your warm nature, music interests and immense creativity?J:  Sure, my Father has always played music and my Mother has always loved music and supported me in my ambitions. They are both really friendly loving people, so I guess I couldn't help but be "warm", and most of my music has always reflected that. The new band "Feed the Birds" is a bit of a departure from the "happy-go-lucky" style that a lot of folks are used to; the new music is a bit edgier and darker - it’s still me, but I'd say it’s a lot more transparent. V:  You are hosting a television music segment for a Knoxville Fox Affiliate. When is this on, and what is it about?J:  On stage with Jonny Sexton is on every Friday Morning at 8:30 am and I started doing it about a year ago. The goal is to showcase as much local music as possible and it’s great because I get to jam with everyone in town. We play the guests songs and I always play along, kind of like my own "Live from Daryl's House". V:  Are you working on any new innovations at this time?J:  I am working on a lot of stuff. Besides managing the digital media program at Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, I am working on a new kind of guitar case, a mobile recording app, and an endorsement management app; and I have a baby on the way - so that’s a really new innovation. V: Yes it is Jonny. Congratulations!!!________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________