Jonathan Edward "Jon" Brant (born February 20, 1955 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) is an American musician and business owner, best known as the bass player for the band

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

from 1982 to 1987. Brant was a founding member of the Chicago band D'Thumbs with

Tommy Aldridge Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesnak ...

and

Pete Comita Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

and has also played with

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

Robert Gordon Robert Gordon may refer to: Entertainment * Robert Gordon (actor) (1895–1971), silent-film actor * Robert Gordon (director) (1913–1990), American director * Robert Gordon (singer) (1947–2022), American rockabilly singer * Robert Gordon (scr ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop music, pop hit "It's My Party (Lesley Gore song), I ...

Jason & the Scorchers Jason & the Scorchers, originally Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, are a cowpunk band that formed in 1981 and are led by singer-songwriter Jason Ringenberg. With a sound that combines punk rock and country music, Jason and the Scorchers are not ...

Micki Free Micki Free (born May 20, 1955) is a guitarist and singer of Native American descent. He won a Grammy Award for his contribution to the ''Beverly Hills Cop'' (1984) movie soundtrack and has won two Native American Music Awards. He is the director ...

, and others. Brant has appeared on over 30 albums as composer and bassist.

With Cheap Trick

After original Cheap Trick bassist

Tom Petersson Thomas John Peterson, better known as Tom Petersson, is an American musician who is best known for being the bass guitar player for the rock band Cheap Trick. Career Before joining Cheap Trick, Petersson played in a number of bands, including t ...

left the group in 1980, he was initially replaced by

. Comita left the group early in the recording sessions for the album '' One on One'' and was replaced by Brant, who moved to the band's hometown of Rockford, Illinois. Most of the album's bass tracks were recorded by guitarist

Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, incl ...

, though Brant played on the songs "Saturday at Midnight", "If You Want My Love", and "She's Tight". Brant played on all of the tracks of the band's next three studio albums: ''

Next Position Please ''Next Position Please'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick, produced by Todd Rundgren and released in 1983. The title track was originally demoed for the band's 1979 album ''Dream Police'', which had lead singer Robin Z ...

'' (1983), '' Standing on the Edge'' (1985), and '' The Doctor'' (1986), and co-wrote the hit single "

Tonight It's You "Tonight It's You" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, which was released in 1985 as the lead single from their eighth studio album '' Standing on the Edge''. It was written by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Jon Brant and Mark Radice, and p ...

". He also played on the song " Mighty Wings", Cheap Trick's contribution to the ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an a ...

'' soundtrack. Brant left the band on good terms in 1987 when original bassist Tom Petersson rejoined; and since then Brant has occasionally filled in for Petersson when he was unable to tour, including a 2004 sojourn with

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

. He also appeared with Cheap Trick during their 25th anniversary concert. Brant rejoined Cheap Trick on stage to play bass during "If You Want My Love" and "She's Tight" during the band's 25th anniversary concert.

Other activities

Brant performed with Pete Special and Lynne Jordan for several years in Chicago, then played and recorded with

and

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

artist

Nicholas Gunn Nicholas Gunn is a classically trained songwriter, lyricist, and music producer. He is known for his originating instrumental works and his current works featuring vocalists from the electronic music space across Trance, Melodic House, and Chill ...

. Brant has toured American military bases to entertain service personnel, with appearances in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

, and

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. Brant competes in the

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

sport of

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

and has a horse ranch in Illinois. He co-owns Equustock, LLC a national consumer products company focused on horse bedding, cat litter, absorbents, and fuel pellets.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brant, Jon 1955 births Living people American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Cheap Trick members Guitarists from Chicago Power pop musicians American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists