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Jon Courtney, who grew up in Reading, Berkshire, is a singer and guitarist in the British rock band Pure Reason Revolution. He is also responsible for most of the songwriting and lyrics, though some songs are attributed to former band-member Greg Jong. Outside of Pure Reason Revolution, Courtney is involved in the DJ set All Bangers No Mash, with partner "Jack (Knock 'em Dead)", under the pseudonym "Cedo Simplex"..
Background
Courtney and his brother and former bandmate Andrew Courtney grew up in Reading, as did Pure Reason Revolution member Chloe Alper. In an interview, Courtney points to the precise moment, at approximately age 11, when he decided he wanted to be a musician, when he saw the band Nirvana on the MTV Awards in about 1991. Courtney said, "rom that point on it was like "wow!" - I was transfixed by the TV - "this is what I've got to do, there's no question." The next day I was just hassling my mom for a guitar. I have to play guitar and then I started a huge obsession with Nirvana and the whole grunge scene. So that's definitely a strong turning point for me." He credited the appeal of the moment to the passion of the music and the audience and also to the "alien" style.
Courtney began playing in bands in high school. He and his brother were involved in the punk band Gel, which was scouted and briefly signed by Seymour Stein, the founder of Sire Records, although it was dropped prior to releasing any material. Courtney enjoyed the experience of touring and recording, and teamed up with his brother, Alper and several others to form the indie pop band The Sunset Sound, which received some airplay before the band members dissolved the band as not representing their style.
Along with his brother and Alper, Courtney came together with Jamie Wilcox and Jim Dobson to form Pure Reason Sound, whom Courtney met at University of Westminster. The band's name was inspired by Courtney's thesis on the nature of genius and its application to Beach Boy Brian Wilson, for which he studied Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant. The band's music was also inspired by a project in which Courtney was involved creating new original music for the 1960s television show The Prisoner.
Songwriting
According to Alper, the music of Pure Reason Revolution "grew organically from Jon's songs and influences". The band's prevalent use of harmony, described by Disorder Magazine as a "trademark", is credited to Courtney. Courtney's songwriting draws together the inspiration of such bands as Nirvana, which he describes as his "first obsession", the Beach Boys, the Chemical Brothers and Crosby Stills & Nash. In 2005, Gigwise.com, who termed Courtneythe "creative force" behind the band, described the "amazingly intricate" songs as "one of the most enticing things" about Pure Reason Revolution. Lyrically, Courtney expresses an interest in writing about "the less obvious", stating that he writes "subconsciously about snapshots of life, observations, moments, my and other people’s experiences, dreams". Dreams, and the time individuals spend asleep, are among what Alper describes as Courtney's obsessions, which, she notes, "kind of trickle down to us". Courtney acknowledges that his lyrics are often directly inspired by his dreams, which he frequently writes down.
References
- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=247913090
- ^ Wilcox, John A. A few words with...Jon Courtney. progsheet1. Retrieved 15/03/08.
- ^ Vermillion Media. Pure Reason Revolution vermillionmediagroup.com Retrieved 15/03/08.
- ^ Loundra, Alexia. (January 6 2006). Rock & Pop: Roll on the Revolution The Independent. Retrieved 15/03/08.
- Velocity Recordings. The Sunset Sound velocityrecordings.com. Retrieved 15/03/08.
- http://www.contactmusic.com/new/artist.nsf/artistnames/pure%20reason%20revolution
- ^ Ridgway, Julian. (April 10 2006) Pure Reason Revolution. Disorder Magazine. Retrieved 15/03/08.
- ^ Einwiller, Petra. (July 21 2005). In perfect harmony: Pure Reason Revolution. Gigwise.com. Retrieved 15/03/08.