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

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

) is an American musician and business owner, best known as the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

player for the band

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

from 1982 to 1987. Brant was a founding member of the Chicago band D'Thumbs with Tommy Aldridge and Pete Comita and has also played with Chris Spedding, Robert Gordon,

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

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Lesley Gore Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein, May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. At the age of 16, she recorded her first hit song " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She follow ...

, Jason & the Scorchers, Micki Free, 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 (born May 9, 1950), better known as Tom Petersson, is an American musician who is best known as the bass guitar player for the rock band Cheap Trick. Career Before joining Cheap Trick, Petersson played in a number of bands ...

left the group in 1980, he was initially replaced by Pete Comita. 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, 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 Robi ...

'' (1983), '' Standing on the Edge'' (1985), and ''

The Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

'' (1986), and co-wrote the hit single " Tonight It's You". 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 and 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 ...

'' 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 lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

. 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 Micki Free and

new age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

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

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Djibouti Djibouti, 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 Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

, and

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. Brant competes in the equestrian sport of

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

and has a horse ranch in Illinois. He co-founded Equustock, LLC a national consumer products company focused on horse bedding, cat litter, absorbents, and fuel pellets creating one of the industries best known brands. In 2024 Brant has focused on development of new wood based businesses with an emphasis on sustainability, energy and agriculture.

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