Elephonic

“Elephonic brings together the best qualities of The Byrds and John Lennon without sounding explicitly like either…" Bill Kopp, Musoscribe Magazine

We be: Mike Jarvis, Jason Klagstad, Aaron Heffernan,
Brian Wooldridge, Don Kurth Over the past few years, Mike had taken some time off to raise a family, but music was always his first love. With six critically acclaimed original albums, 2 WAMI awards and 3 European tours with respected pop bands The Lackloves & before them, The Blow Pops, the songs in his head that kept him up at night needed to be played in a band. And so, Elephonic was born. What is Elephonic? Elephonic is a band of musical peers with names familiar to the Milwaukee music scene that play mostly Mike Jarvis’ songs and a handful of beautiful covers, both obscure and not-so obscure. In Elephonic, while singer/guitarist Mike Jarvis has remained true to his power pop roots, he has grown a small orchestra to water them. The songs are melodic, instantly memorable and layered. Above all, they stand out from everything you hear on Spotify or Pandora. Elephonic is:
* Cellist/vocalist THEA VORASS is a studio musician, original music supporter, and string teacher. In addition to Elephonic, she's performed with Keith Pulvermacher, SACRED, The Belle Weather. She was awarded 2017 WAMI String Player of the Year and has shared the stage with The Prince Experience, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Weezer and more.

* Drummer STEVE VORASS. Since he was a kid, Steve made his mom take him to music stores, but not to play. He instead sat rapt - hypnotized by the drum sets. Not surprisingly, he became a drummer. He currently lives in Milwaukee Wisconsin and enjoys sharing drum-nerdery (technical term drummers use), loves
restoring drums and performs every chance he gets. He’s been seen onstage drumming with Mixtape, SACRED, I'm Not A Pilot, Zach Petrini, Trapper Schoepp and of course, Elephonic.

*Guitarist/vocalist JASON KLAGSTAD, man of many guitars, has played with Tom Petty bassist Howie Epstein, Jerry Harrison, Peter Buffett, Arroyo and Semi-Twang. He currently performs with Bill Camplin, Plumb Loco, Bristlehead, Sawyer Road and, of course, Elephonic.

*Keys/vocalist, AARON HEFFERNAN Aaron is a musical anomaly. Though piano was his first love, he played the Great Highland Bagpipe with the Milwaukee Police and Fire Pipe and Drum for eight years before forming the Appalachian folk duo, The Kitchen Boys, where he plays washboard and sings with banjoist Bob Druker at community events throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. Aaron also fronts the Rolling
Stones tribute band, Shattered, playing the Milwaukee festival circuit since 2001. He is thrilled to now collaborate with the brilliant talents of Elephonic.

* Bassist/vocalist MARK BECKER, Mark is relatively new to Milwaukee's music scene, but not to making music. He's been a professional bassist for three decades, most recently lending his songwriting skills and bass lines to the band, BOOTLEG BESSIE for four years. Adept and inventive, Mark's playing forms a signature style in Elephonic's rhythm section.

* Violinist/vocalist CORINN BONKALSKI started playing violin when she was 9 years old, at which time her mother told her she had to learn how to play The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Corinn plays a variety of styles, including classical, Irish, country, bluegrass, and rock. She is a public school orchestra director and was nominated for the WAMI Teacher of the Year Award for two years and nominated for the WAMI String Player of the Year in 2021. She has played in the Concord Chamber Orchestra and in Milwaukee area bands including Reilly, Jay Matthes Band, and Joe 2.0.