Jon Sewell

At age four Jon Sewell took ballet lessons, drew pictures of mermaids in fishbowls on the backs of flat-bed trucks, and enjoyed playing underneath the piano while his grandfather imparted a love of jazz. By nine he was playing cello himself and beginning a life-long interest in mythology. Growing up in the shadow of an active volcano and a nuclear power plant during strained economic times and under the watchful tutelage of religious zealots, his disposition was shaped by idyllic days in forest and field distorted by the overarching threat of divine retribution and wrathful calamity. As an adult Jon Sewell traveled to Seattle to pursue a career in the performing arts as a guitarist, singer and composer. The influences of jazz and psychedelic rock permeated his writing while his exploration of the esoteric aspects of religion, ritual and the occult further impacted his composition and reshaped his view of reality. Jon discovered his spiritual home within Ordo Templi Orientis, and eventually sought ordination as a Priest of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, where he has continued to serve his community as an organizer and volunteer. Wanting to explore something deeper, Jon brought his love of drama and mythology into his creative work. He was inspired to compose music for each of the seven planetary rituals that comprise Aleister Crowley's Rites of Eleusis. For over a decade he has been composing and performing with his wife, Melissa Holm in these rock operas.