For those who may be interested, it’s called "The Jon Bates Band" because Jon is the common thread who, as he describes it, "was blessed with the extraordinary friendships and opportunities that gave me a chance to bring this world class group of musicians and vocalists together as a working unit". He became well established over the years as a music contractor and producer, and was responsible for putting many different performers together for all sorts of musical events around the world. Since Jon was the one who clients, producers, agents, promoters, event planners, and club owners always dealt with, they referred to this collective wealth of musical talent as his band – "The Jon Bates Band".