In the mid-90s, Jon Sewell was a fish-out-of-water mischief-maker at a private conservative all-boys school. He was called “Johnny G” by the older kids and “Troublemaker” by the headmaster. Then he discovered Crass and an anarcho-punk was born. He protested against the military industrial complex, ran the local Food Not Bombs chapter, and played drums in the band Murdered Minority. When it came time to try and get a show at Lucy’s he did what any punk prankster without recording equipment would do, he faked the demo.

Jon still thrives in the current that runs underneath Nashville’s mainstream. In 2006 he turned an old, dilapidated house into a punk club. A few years later he turned an old, dilapidated meat packing plant into a community space for musicians, artists, and other creators. The Packing Plant is also the headquarters of Salt Weekly, his beautifully designed ‘zine with an open submission policy and a mission to radically upend traditional print publishing.

Now known as “Southside Jonny, the Mayor of Wedgewood-Houston,” Jon confused Nashville’s politicos by twice running for actual mayor on a platform he called CHIT: Corruption, Hypocrisy, Influence, and Taxes. He also spent two seasons acting opposite Billy Ray Cyrus on the CMT sitcom, Still the King. For real.

Episode Music

Murdered Minority - Shaking The Chains

Murdered Minority - A World Of Freedom

Lambchop - So I Hear You’re Moving

Additional Links

Murdered Minority

Crass

From Ashes Rise

Food Not Bombs

Anti-Racist Action

War Resisters League

Committee for Public Safety

His Hero is Gone

Infinity Cat

This Moment in Black History

Times New Viking

The Packing Plant 

WXNA

Riselogy

Salt Weekly

Nashville’s Dead

The Glenn Danzig House

Kathryn Edwards

Drkmttr Collective

Daniel Pujol

This show is part of We Own This Town, a podcast network of original entertainment and documentary content. You can find more info at the official site at WeOwnThisTown.Net and on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.