Jon Nicholson   -  Biography

A native of Madison, Wisc., Jon Nicholson toiled for nearly a decade via the traditional Music City singer-songwriter template: Pack up your belongings, move to Nashville, meet a bunch of people, write as much as possible, play in scads of bands, write songs every waking hour, and dive into the studio at every available opportunity. But it was the relationships that mattered most, namely the ones with Cory Gierman, John Rich and Big Kenny. Together, they formed MuzikMafia, the musical collective-turned-phenomenon that brought forth Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson. "We always talk big about world domination and all those things, and that's initially how MuzikMafia was formed: trash talk," Nicholson says. "We probably never really thought it was going to happen, but now MuzikMafia has totally changed how the industry thinks and has put the art back in the hands of the artist." Nicholson is expected to release his debut album on Warner Bros. in 2005.