Biography
An American guitarist rooted in heavy metal, Jason Richardson also functions as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator. His reputation took shape through an unusually inventive and technically demanding approach to seven- and eight-string guitars after he entered All Shall Perish while still enrolled in high school.
Richardson spent his formative years in Manassas, Virginia, surrounded by instruments because his father worked as a musician. Piano lessons began in fourth grade yet ended quickly once he discovered he could copy his teacher’s playing without learning to read notation. In fifth grade he sampled both violin and drums; the drums held his attention longest until songwriting ambitions drew him toward guitar. At twelve his father presented him with a gothic black Gibson Les Paul, which he practiced without pause. Captivated by Dream Theater and especially the track “This Dying Soul,” he took up lawn care and assorted tasks to buy a seven-string guitar, securing his first one at fourteen. While active in the local band Gallows Hill alongside future Veil of Maya bassist Danny Hauser, his distinctive technique started to crystallize.
Seeking visibility for Gallows Hill, he answered a trade advertisement for an All Shall Perish audition, expecting merely to spotlight his own group. Instead the slot went to him, and he withdrew from high school in February 2009 with three months remaining before graduation. Ten months of road work with All Shall Perish followed. During a tour shared with Born of Osiris, Richardson covered a date for Tosin Abasi, whose schedule had become unworkable. Once All Shall Perish paused, he began a two-year stint with Born of Osiris that included playing on the 2011 album Discovery.
He had already been filling in sporadically for Chelsea Grin after guitarist Michael Stafford departed the deathcore outfit. When Born of Osiris dismissed him without ceremony in 2011—Richardson later stated he had voiced too many complaints while his bandmates dealt with alcohol and substance issues—he joined Chelsea Grin on a permanent basis. That affiliation lasted until 2015 and produced the Evolve and Lilith EPs along with the 2014 full-length Ashes to Ashes; both parties described the split as mutual and without friction.
Almost at once he started a crowdfunding drive to underwrite his first solo album. Funds arrived promptly, allowing him to book studio time where he performed on multiple instruments himself and brought in drummer Luke Holland, vocalist Spencer Sotelo, Rick Graham, and Hauser. The resulting record, titled I, appeared in summer 2016.
Richardson spent his formative years in Manassas, Virginia, surrounded by instruments because his father worked as a musician. Piano lessons began in fourth grade yet ended quickly once he discovered he could copy his teacher’s playing without learning to read notation. In fifth grade he sampled both violin and drums; the drums held his attention longest until songwriting ambitions drew him toward guitar. At twelve his father presented him with a gothic black Gibson Les Paul, which he practiced without pause. Captivated by Dream Theater and especially the track “This Dying Soul,” he took up lawn care and assorted tasks to buy a seven-string guitar, securing his first one at fourteen. While active in the local band Gallows Hill alongside future Veil of Maya bassist Danny Hauser, his distinctive technique started to crystallize.
Seeking visibility for Gallows Hill, he answered a trade advertisement for an All Shall Perish audition, expecting merely to spotlight his own group. Instead the slot went to him, and he withdrew from high school in February 2009 with three months remaining before graduation. Ten months of road work with All Shall Perish followed. During a tour shared with Born of Osiris, Richardson covered a date for Tosin Abasi, whose schedule had become unworkable. Once All Shall Perish paused, he began a two-year stint with Born of Osiris that included playing on the 2011 album Discovery.
He had already been filling in sporadically for Chelsea Grin after guitarist Michael Stafford departed the deathcore outfit. When Born of Osiris dismissed him without ceremony in 2011—Richardson later stated he had voiced too many complaints while his bandmates dealt with alcohol and substance issues—he joined Chelsea Grin on a permanent basis. That affiliation lasted until 2015 and produced the Evolve and Lilith EPs along with the 2014 full-length Ashes to Ashes; both parties described the split as mutual and without friction.
Almost at once he started a crowdfunding drive to underwrite his first solo album. Funds arrived promptly, allowing him to book studio time where he performed on multiple instruments himself and brought in drummer Luke Holland, vocalist Spencer Sotelo, Rick Graham, and Hauser. The resulting record, titled I, appeared in summer 2016.
Albums
Singles
