Jon Bouwmeister

"When Jon joined Midlife Crisis, it was like glue - he holds the band together," says Jy Fairlie of Jon Bouwmeister, the youngest member of the group. That cohesive power of his comes from a lifetime of drumming. He got his first snare at age nine, and by Grade 6, he was the drummer for five school bands. He was even taken out of classes from time to time to perform at special events where they needed a drummer.

By Grade 8, he had formed a garage band called Bear and the Brass Boys. A landscaper by trade, his father got the band a gig playing at a Landscape Ontario party - and a professional career was born. His dad was also his inspiration to go into landscaping himself, and today Jon owns Dutch Style Landscaping in Stouffville, Ontario.

The entire time Jon spent in college studying, he kept up with his drumming. He played with numerous bands until he moved to Stouffville in his twenties and Grant Fullerton of Fullerton's Place took him under his wing. Jon enjoyed participating in regular Sunday jam sessions, and played drums on Grant's band Jamnation's CD. "This gave me the chance to play with topnotch musicians," he says.

Jon recalls one evening at Fullerton's that was one of the highlights of his life - when during the filming of "Blues Brothers 2000," John Goodman and the entire horn section walked in, and he had a chance to play with them.

Jon's wife and children are completely supportive of the musical side of his life. The multi-talented musician also sings and plays "a little piano." He is happy to be part of Midlife Crisis and says, "I love every minute that we're playing."