Jonathan Wright’s Interests Keep Him Busy

By Jayme Eng / Photography by Craig Stocks

If you asked Jonathan Wright what his favorite pastime was, he couldn’t give you just one. By day, he loves being the managing editor for Peoria Magazines, but he never lost his fascination with the computer technology he mastered in his first career.  Add “avid musician” to his list of passions and you can see why it’s a challenge to find time for everything.

A native to central Illinois, Jonathan studied at Bradley University and received his degree in business management with an emphasis on entrepreneurship. In January of 1999, Jonathan moved to Denver, Colorado and received his certificate in Information Systems Programming at Denver Technical College. Jonathan moved back to Illinois in 2005 and worked in Bloomington as a computer programmer at Integrity Technology Solutions.

In 2006, Jonathan became the Managing Editor of Peoria Magazines after the previous editor left. Peoria Magazines  was founded in 1989 by Jonathan’s father, the late David Wright. Jonathan’s mother, Jan Wright, asked him to fill the position of Managing Editor because he not only has a strong knowledge of programming, but also has an English background.

Peoria Magazines publishes three magazines; “InterBusiness Issues,” “Art & Society,” and “Peoria Progress” which are distributed monthly, every other month, and twice a year respectively. Jonathan assists with editing, design, photography and writes articles as well as taking care of web design.

For Jonathan, magazines are different from newspapers and other forms of media. “The magazines aren’t expected to break news,” he explains, “so we can delve deeper into the topics we write about.” Jonathan has a keen interest in history and technology, and writes lengthier articles whenever he has time.

As for his life as a musician, Jonathan says he only started playing around three years ago. “My friends were starting a band and they invited me to play keyboard.” While being rather new to being in a band, Jonathan says he’s been involved in
music since college, when he worked in a record store, promoted concerts, and
had many friends in bands.

Now, Jonathan plays with friends, some of whom he’s known for twenty years, in a band called Lark’s Tongue. The band sells their music on vinyl and online. Jonathan considers his band’s music psychedelic rock, though he believes that Lark’s Tongue has a niche of its own. “It’s not mainstream but it’s not blow-your-eardrums type of music either. It’s loud but it’s also melodic.” Jonathan and his band members all give input when composing as well. “We usually start with a guitar riff and then everyone creates their own parts.”

Jonathan and his fellow band members also created the record label Bird Dialect to promote other bands who want to sell their music on vinyl, such as Il Cattivo and Minsk.

Lark’s Tongue has done several tours despite every member having a full-time job. “It’s very difficult, we have to schedule around everyone’s job,” and scheduling for tours can be tiring. “It’s a lot of emailing, going back and forth to schedule venues and contacting other bands, especially when we do it all ourselves.” Even if it is difficult, Jonathan believes it is important to do tours and spread out to other places. “It’s very easy to get lost in the internet now,” and Jonathan believes that it’s important for bands to play live as a way to become more personal with their fans. Through live performing, Jonathan believes it “adds more vibrancy to the arts community.”

Last January, Lark’s Tongue toured in several southern cities including Memphis, New Orleans, and San Antonio. This coming July, the band is planning to play in Nashville, Louisville, and Knoxville, Tennessee followed by three performances in Ohio. During their time in Tennessee they will also be playing with a band called Tanks.

For more information about Jonathan Wright, visit www.peoriamagazines.com/staff/jon. For updates on his band, Lark’s Tongue, visit birdialect.com to find out tour schedules or listen to their music on Bandcamp at larkstongue.bandcamp.com.

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