#246: Songwriting in Nashville with Navy Veteran Jonathan Kingham, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Operation Song

Borne the Battle

High military aptitude test scores and high school curiosity earned Jonathan Kingham a place in the Navy that started him on the path toward a career as a singer-songwriter. On this episode of Borne the Battle, Kingham discusses how the Navy helped him enter the Seattle music scene, the evolution and future of the music industry, and how singers and songwriters make a living from music.

A high school friend convinced Kingham to skip class and take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test, starting him on a search for the right branch of the military. He entered basic training on Christmas Eve and progressed to machinist and nuclear power schools before being assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln.

As a trained pianist, Kingham had to find a more portable alternative to bring on the ship, so he bought himself the guitar that would eventually accompany him to his first performances at open mic nights in San Francisco.

After San Francisco, the Navy took Kingham to Seattle, where he started performing regularly and landed his first paid gigs. He inquired about performing as an opening act for David Wilcox at a music club, The Backstage. His curiosity paid off, and he began to open for a mix of acts after his successful performance with Wilcox. In 2010, Toad the Wet Sprocketasked him to join as a touring member, leading to Kingham playing over 700 live shows with the band.

Kingham is also a writer for Operation Song, a Nashville-based nonprofit that helps Veterans, soldiers and their families process and transform their experiences into music. Operation Song pairs Veterans with songwriters who help put their stories into words and music.

In this episode, Kingham also discusses COVID’s impact on the music industry, the benefits and downfalls of streaming music, and how musical success doesn’t have to mean being a superstar.

Borne the Battle Veteran of the Week:

• Navy Veteran Harvey Milk

Mentioned in this episode:

• Borne the Battle #199: Army Veteran Josh Strickland, Lead Singer of the Bayou Bandits
• Borne the Battle #153: Perry Firoz – Air Force Veteran, CEO Epic Music LA, Analytical Scientist
• Why we stop discovering music around age 30 – Business Insider
• Operation Song Archives – VAntage Point Blogs
• Breathe by Clifton Pierce and Jonathan Kingham – Operation Song
• Mobius delivers first of 50 IBots to VA to determine how machines may help Veterans
• VA's Rapid Naloxone Initiative provides free Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution to Veteran patients