J.J. Anton

About J.J. Anton

Jeff is a life-long multi-instrumentalist musician and vocalist with an unmovable comittment to his Christian faith and precious wife Lori; seeking to make a difference with music. He has been playing for over 45 years; full-time professionally for nearly 30 years.

During the early school dance years (1968-1973) and the early club years (1974-1982), JJ played various genres ranging from hard rock to top 40, traditional (old school)country to disco and r&b, also outlaw country and southern rock. He worked out of eastern South Dakota in various bands, appearing with other local favorites such as the Red Willow Band, and national acts such as Johnny Paycheck and Flash Cadillac. Jeff played many locations around the Midwest, including North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, and Colorado.

As a youth, Jeff was influenced by friends of the family, Dick and Mary Alice Grace, and their son Rocke. Rocke was few years older, and was already involved with rock music, traveling around to nearby states to play dates. While doing odd jobs at the Grace home, Jeff would delight in the rare occasion to visit with Rocke, and listen to his music.

In the early 70's, Rocke told Jeff this story; he was walking down the street in Boulder, CO and heard music coming out an old auditorium. So he ventured in to unobtrusively sit and listen. Well, the guitar player noticed him and badgered him to get up and jam with the group of musicians. The guitar player was Joe Walsh, and the band went on to become Barnstorm, with Rocke on keys.

The actual account told by Tommy Stephenson, (also a noted keyboardist) - was that Joe Walsh wanted Stephenson to leave the band he was in (the late Tommy Bolin"s band) to come join Barnstorm. Things were going so well for Tommy Bolin at that time, that Stephenson declined, and referred ex-bandmate Rocke Grace to go to Boulder instead. Rocke not only got the job, but went on to score a major hit with one of his co-songwriting efforts - "Rocky Mountain Way," and some lesser success with "Midnight Moodies." Ironically, Stephenson joined up with Barnstorm at a later time; when Barnstorm dissolved, he continued to work with Walsh in the Eagles. (Hotel California)

In the later years (1982-1994), Jeff worked out of the Rocky Mountain West continuing to play a variety of genres ranging from jazz standards and show tunes, to contemporary country and classic rock. He made countless appearances in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon working in local legend bands such Snoot Gibson, the Kenny Miller Band, and the Steve Wall Band. (Kenny Miller was inducted into the South Dakota Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, Rocke Grace followed in 2014.)

In addition to a full-time music venue during the late eighties and early nineties, JJ also was a local radio personality (and producer) in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, even gaining recognition from the SD chapter of the Associated Press. Jeff began to hone his media production skills early on in his career, being mentored by a fellow band member Gerry Tschetter. Gerry left the home town band (just before Jeff left) to pursue a career with Yamaha pro audio, which blossomed into success for Gerry with his hand in development of several landmark audio devices, including the Yamaha SPX 90 and the JBL EON speaker line. Gerry currently serves as VP marketing/R&D for QSC pro audio, and plays keyboards for southern California's popular blues band Boxcar 7.

In the later years, Jeff moved on from performing live, and served as station manager/director for a community television operation in Mountain Home, ID. Jeff heralded the station into the realm of live television broadcasts with his expertise in audio production, and gave direction into shifting to digital format even before the revolution had caught on to the industry.

In recent years, Jeff has been writing and recording his music in his digital 16 track home studio. His early music influences include the likes of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Eric Clapton, Dickie Betts, Les Dudek, and Billy Gibbons. Current influences include Bryan Duncan, Phil Keaggy, Newsong, Midsouth, Guy Penrod, and Michael W. Smith.

(expired link). and his wife Lori currently reside in Seattle, WA and also enjoy doing photography; be sure to visit their other websites:
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