j. bell was born, raised and honed his musical and songwriting chops on the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. Always drawn to music, he has played nearly every instrument over the course of his life, but was never drawn to anything like he was drawn to the guitar. He can’t quite remember when he started playing in bands, he has lots of memories of gathering in neighborhood garages and making noise with countless groups of kids. Eventually he started writing songs when he discovered Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Willie Nelson. Later he found the same draw in bands like the Counting Crows, Soul Asylum, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, and the Jayhawks.