It is always a difficult time when a musician leaves us, regardless of whether you knew them personally or not. If you are a fan of their work and feel a connection to their music, it quite often does feel like you are losing a friend you have known for years. That’s how I felt the moment I heard that Jon Bunch had passed away. Although I never met Jon, the music he made with his various bands has been something I have turned to in times of need; some good, and some bad. His voice was unmistakable, and you could almost hear the passion in every syllable. He wrote songs that you could relate to your everyday life, and were delivered with the utmost sincerity. While it is only natural to want to mourn his passing, it should also be a time to celebrate his career and look back on the music he has very kindly left us with.

During his younger years, Jon Bunch cut his teeth in the burgeoning Los Angeles hardcore scene. He formed the punk band Reason To Believe in 1986, who were vastly ahead of their time and remain very influential to this day. The band released a demo and 7”, and played alongside everyone from Fugazi to The Descendents. They eventually released their debut album ‘When Reason Sleeps Demons Dance’ in 1990 on Nemesis Records (home at the time to The Offspring), but would unfortunately break up that same year.

Reason To Believe may have had a cult following and certainly made their presence felt, but it would be with his next band that Bunch will probably always be most known for. After Reason To Believe disbanded, Bunch, along with Rodney Sellars and Chris Evenson, would form Sense Field. Officially forming in 1991, Sense Field would go on to become one of the pioneering post-hardcore and emo bands of the early nineties. While they may not have had a similar degree of commercial success as Sunny Day Real Estate or Jimmy Eat World, they were very much from the same scene. Initially self-releasing two EPs, the band signed with the iconic Revelation Records, one of the first non-hardcore bands to join the label.

They released two albums during their tenure with the label; ‘Killed for Less’ in 1993 and ‘Building’ in 1995, and had their EPs re-released as one album. Often considered their best work, these albums included beloved tracks such as ‘Sage’, ‘Voice’, ‘Overstand’ and ‘Building’. Similar to other up-and-coming bands at the time, including Texas Is The Reason, Mineral, and Chamberlain, Sense Field combined driving riffs and punk rock rhythms, with glorious melodies and hooks. However the thing that seemed to set them apart from their contemporaries was Jon Bunch. His voice could move you in different directions at the drop of a hat; serene and sullen when needed, but able to soar into beautiful, and incredibly powerful choruses.

Unfortunately, things took a slight turn for the worst for Sense Field in 1996. The band signed to Warner Brothers and were on the cusp of bigger things. Due to re-staffing at the label and other internal issues at the time, it left the band sitting in limbo for the best part of five years, unable to release any music. Eventually, they were able to release their next album ‘Tonight and Forever’ in 2001, on Canadian label Nettwerk. It was from this album that Sense Field had their biggest hit with their single ‘Save Yourself’, and while somewhat more polished than their previous material, it was no less stunning or heartfelt than anything the band had done before. Quick to capitalise on this, the band followed it up with ‘Living Outside’ in 2003, proving to be their final album before calling time on their career at the start of 2004.

Not one to rest on his laurels for too long, and a refusal to be beaten by the music industry lows that Sense Field had previously faced, Bunch then filled the vacant frontman position of Florida emo band Further Seems Forever, taking over from Jason Gleason. While in some people’s eyes, Further Seems Forever probably start and end with their original vocalist Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional) the characteristic vocal of Bunch brought a new dynamic to the band. Their 2004 album ‘Hide Nothing’ was more refined than their earlier work because of this, and the single ‘Light Up Ahead’ along with the album’s title track, stand up among the rest of their back-catalogue. He remained as the band’s frontman for another two years, until they broke up in 2006. Given that Further Seems Forever have toured in recent years with two of their previous vocalists, it’s a shame that we will never know if Bunch would have performed these songs with them again, had they chosen to do so.

After a fairly quiet few years, Jon Bunch returned in 2012 with a reformed Sense Field, who performed as part of the line-up for Revelation Records 25^th anniversary show. Alongside Gorilla Biscuits, Underdog, Into Another, Youth Of Today, and more, Sense Field played a hit packed set, and from the footage online sounded as powerful as ever. That same year, Bunch temporarily joined Orange County hardcore band Ignite, filling in for an injured Zoli Teglas (who was doing double duty with Pennywise at the time). The band toured Europe in the summer, which included a memorable performance at Ieperfest in Belgium, where they covered the Sense Field track ‘Building’.

Rather than do what most bands tend to do and get back together permanently, Sense Field would only appear at one more show. This time it was in Chicago in 2013 alongside Texas Is The Reason and Into Another, again for Revelation Records 25^th Anniversary. This would sadly be the last time Sense Field would ever play together.

Since then, he formed post-hardcore band War Generation with Maylene and The Sons of Disaster guitarist Brad Lehmann who released their debut album ‘Start Somewhere, Never Surrender’ towards the end of 2013. While still working on new music for War Generation, he formed what would be his final band, Lucky Scars. He adopted the nickname of “Johnny Scars” for his role, and played good time punk/rock ‘n’ roll. They released their debut EP ‘Rock and Roll Party Foul’ at the end of 2015 via Spartan Records, and had shows planned throughout 2016.

Sadly, we now have to say goodbye to Jon Bunch. While we have lost several public figures and musicians this year already, all of which are incredibly upsetting, it seems to hit home harder when it is someone from our scene. His larger than life stage presence, and limitless passion for music is something that many artists can only dream of replicating. He has been an inspiration to countless bands, and with his unfortunate passing, his back-catalogue of timeless releases will forever serve as a lasting legacy.

Thanks for the memories, Jon.

A memorial fund has been set up to help towards funeral costs and assist Jon’s family, as well as a portion going to a selected children’s charity in Jon’s honour.  More details on how to donate can be found here.