Jon 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".
At this point in time, the group has a long established track record as "The Jon Bates Band" and has become its own entity. The name just stuck. Of course, anyone who is familiar with the group knows that the current all star line up consists of an extraordinary combination of players that has evolved over time, and each member is hugely accomplished in his/her own right, with an impressive musical resume all their own. The band features abundantly gifted and soulful frontline lead vocalists Steve Riddick and Debbie Major, joined by multi-talented saxophonist/flutist and vocalist Scott Harper and the high potency rhythm section of Akie Bermiss on keyboards (also a prominently featured and incredibly gifted vocalist in his own right), Ken McGloin on guitar, Bill Dotts on bass, and Jon on drums and vocals.