The Break-Up

Jon Brion is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer. Brion was born in Glen Ridge, New... Jersey. He came from a musical family; his mother, LaRue, was an administrative assistant and singer, and his father, Keith Brion, was a band director at Yale. His brother and sister became a composer/arranger and a violinist, respectively. Brion had difficulties at Hamden High School and at the age of 17 left education, opting instead to play music professionally. From 1980-85 Jon was part of the band The Excerpts, along with Stephen Harris, Dean Falcone, Jim Balga & Spike Priggen. In the early 1980s, Brion and musician/producer Bill Murphy began a writing collaboration in New Haven, Connecticut. They eventually enlisted bassist Don "Riff" Fertman and together formed The Bats, . The Bats released a single, "Popgun" and one album How Pop Can You Get?, on Gustav records in 1982. The recordings had much critical acclaim, but little commercial success, and the trio eventually disbanded.
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Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States, with nearly 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland," is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people in... the states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. Chicago was incorporated as a town in 1833, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, the city retains its status as a major hub for industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008, the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, the Chicago area has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product in the world. Chicago is an important worldwide center of commerce. The city has one of largest financial centers in the United States. The world cities study group at Loughborough University recognized Chicago among its leading group of cities.
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