Meet the Band

the band : paul : george : jon : mayank

Jon Pilat
bass/beatbox

Photo of Jon singing, holding a microphone. The photo is a closeup, showing head and shoulders. Jon is wearing a black shirt, glasses, and a silver ring.

photo by Bill Lange

Drive. Feel the pulsing beat as it courses through your veins and gives your blood a reason to flow. Feel the driving rhythm take over your existence, turn it upside-down, and shake out the dust. Feel your heart rumble as the floor shakes with the reverberation of incredible lows. Feel it -- don't think it. Your brain cannot fathom that what you are experiencing is the drive of one man: Jon Pilat.

Jon's skills will drill you with a barrage of sound that will leave you breathless. Start with an alarmingly perfect imitation of a full drum kit that drives Hookslide's set. Throw in an accurate and resonant bass voice that supports Hookslide's sound (Apache Wedding Prayer). Add in a frighteningly huge buzzed bass that takes Hookslide's sound to new depths (Fascinating New Thing). Then hit the other extreme with a soaring high range to drive home Hookslide's most dramatic moments (It's You). And get set to rock out when Jon comes out front to show off his rocking solo voice (Takin' It To The Streets, Get Down Tonight)!

Hookslide needs Jon's drive not only on stage, but everywhere. Jon's arrangements have defined the band's sound (Dream On, Ride, Love You Madly, Don't You Forget About Me) as much as his performance skills, and his contributions to original compositions (Maybe Next Time, It's You, Tossed) have added a new color to the palette of the band's writing abilities. Jon pushes hardest for an funky, earthy, rocking sound that gets you moving.

Drive yourself to the next Hookslide show and try to comprehend the man behind the sound. Just don't think about it too hard.

Drawing of Jon wearing a trenchcoat and cowboy hat

Birthday	January 28
Hometown	Raleigh, NC
Favorite Musicians	Metallica, Prince, Maktub, Stevie Wonder
Favorite CD's	Metallica: S & M, Fleming and John: The Way We Are, Spiralmouth: Spiralmouth, Live: Mental Jewelry, Maktub: Khronos
Favorite Hookslide Songs	Dream On, Ride, Funk Bus
You May Have Heard Me In	The Stanford Harmonics, Redshift
Day Job	Systems Administrator, Stanford University
Hobbies	Golf, Cooking, A Cappella Nut
Roles Within the Group	Enforcer of the Groove, Archivist, Arranger, Useless Trivia Committee