Jonathan Mann (musician)

Jonathan Mann
Mann performing at the 2011 Macworld Expo.
Background information
Origin	Westford, Vermont
Genres	Alternative rock, folk rock, freak folk
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	vocals, guitar, banjo, ukulele, piano, accordion, harmonica, programming
Years active	2005–present
Associated acts	The Spinto Band, Sparky Grinstead
Website	http://jonathanmann.net/

Jonathan Mann (born April 9, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for creating and publishing a new song and video each day since January 2009, under the YouTube channel "Song A Day."^[1] Because of his vast quantity of material and speed of composition, his songs often reference immediate current events and popular trends of the very day the video was uploaded. His biting satire and musical versatility have been referenced by Steve Jobs, Paul Krugman, Rachel Maddow and Steve Wozniak, among many others. In November 2014, Jonathan Mann set a world record for the most consecutive days writing a song.^[2]

Career

Mann started composing at the age of 12, before enrolling at Bennington College. While pursuing his graduate studies at CalArts,^[3] he co-wrote and starred in a rock opera called “The Last Nympho Leprechaun” with colleague Thomas Hughes. In grad school, he wrote and starred in a rock opera based on the Super Mario Brothers. Since then, he has recorded music and self-released albums under the names Forty (or 40) Second Songs, The Nympho Leprechauns, Novox the Robot, GameJew, The Mario Opera, as well as simply Jonathan Mann.

In 2006, Mann started uploading videos to YouTube under the alias “GameJew." He later started his best known project, "Song A Day," which has been continuously operating since January 1, 2009. The project came to national attention following several viral hits and an exposé on CNN.^[4]

From 2006 to 2012, Jonathan lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and made many live appearances with the band of local musicians he formed and dubbed The Rock Cookie Bottoms. After many personnel changes, the group's membership solidified around 2009 with keyboardist Pete Feltman, singer Nic Kaelin, bassist Eric Yeargan, guitarist Sam Douglass and drummer Sparky Grinstead (who went by the name Norman Famous). A singer/songwriter with his own career, Grinstead (Famous) was a huge fan of Mr. Mann's work and provided the band with a studio and much of its equipment. They were often joined onstage by Oakland-based multi-instrumentalist Matthew Joseph Payne (Sparky's son). The band stayed together until 2012 when Jonathan left California for New York, where he still resides.

In July 2012, Mann's "Song a Day: The Album" initiative let colleagues from around the world interact with performers and contribute to compositions via livestream. The album was produced by Mann along with Nick Krill and Thomas Hughes of the Spinto Band and was recorded at Famous House, the Berkeley, CA home studio of fellow Singer/Songwriter Sparky Grinstead (who was at the time playing drums with Jonathan's band, The Rock Cookie Bottoms, under the name Norman Famous. Members of the Rock Cookie Bottoms made cameo appearances on the album, as did "fluffy," a long-time participant in Song Fight!.

In June 2014, Mann celebrated his 2000th song with a Reddit AMA ("Ask Me Anything"), creating songs as answers to the questions and a tribute "Song a Day" video on YouTube.^[5]

Personal life

Mann has one son, Jupiter Mann, born May 5, 2014.^[6]

Notable Compositions

• His most viewed video, "The iPhone Antenna Song," was played by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the start of the iPhone 4 press conference.^[7]
• The commercial tune "Bing Goes the Internet" won a jingle contest sponsored by Microsoft Bing, yet was deemed "the worst jingle in the world" by the website Techcrunch.^[8]
• "Hey, Paul Krugman!," a song dedicated to economist Paul Krugman, was performed live on the Rachel Maddow Show.^[9]
• Janet Hill, the wife of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, commissioned Mann to produce a song in honor of Wozniak's 60th birthday. The song "That's Just the Woz," was noted as Wozniak described the composition as the "best present she'd ever received." ^[10]
• Mann composed the official theme to the 2011 TEDMED conference, and debuted it as the conference's keynote speaker with an interactive and comedic presentation.

Discography

• "Animals" (2014)
• "Song A Day: Year Five" (2013)
• "Song A Day: Year Four" (2012)
• "Song A Day: The Album (2012)
• "Song A Day: Year Three" (2011)
• "Song A Day: The Album" (2011)^[11]
• "Song A Day: Year Two" (2011)
• "Song A Day: Year One" (2010)
• "Barefoot in the Family Tree EP" (2009)
• "Tonight I'm Gonna Shave My Head" (2007)
• "The Mushroom Singdom Vol. 0-3 " (2007)
• "The Mario Opera: Acts 2 + 3 Demos" (2006)
• "The Mario Opera: Act 1 (demos)" (2005)
• "Songs for Girls" (2005)
• "There Are So Many Possibilities" (2004)
• "I've Got A Bigger Radio" (2004)
• "Novox The Robot" (2004)

References

1. Mechanic, Michael. "Jonathan Mann's 365 Songs in 365 Days". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
2. Guinness World Records 2016. Macmillan. 1 September 2015. p. 187. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
3. "CalArts Alumni". CalArts.
4. "CNN official interview: The 'song a day' guy". CNN. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
5. "Jonathan Mann Reddit AMA".
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNKNhlKplcA
7. "The Apple iPhone 4 Antenna Song". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
8. Mechanic, Michael. "Jonathan Mann's 365 Songs in 365 Days". Mother Jones. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
9. "Jonathan Mann performs "Hey Paul Krugman" on the Rachel Maddow Show". MSNBC. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
10. "To Celebrate Woz’s Birthday, Wife Commissions Special Song [Video]". Cult of Mac. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
11. http://archive.hellomann.com/album/song-a-day-the-album

External links

• Official website