Miles Schon
Son of Neal Schon, guitar for Journey
milesschon.com ••
Miles schon Might be what you call
a chip off the old block, at least as far as
guitar playing goes. but it wasn’t always
that way. As a kid, he was more interested
in sports than in music; guitar was some-
thing he did on the side. the tables turned
during his sophomore year of high school,
however, when he threw his knee out play-
ing football. the instrument he initially
took up to emulate his father became a
source of solace.
once Miles began to show serious inter-
est in the guitar, around age 17 or 18, neal,
now regarded as one of the greatest lead
guitarists of all time, cautioned him that
the music business had changed, and not
for the better. “he said, ‘it’s a tough indus-
try, and i got lucky. You could be 10 times
the guitar player i was when i was your age,
and still it’s just not the same anymore.’ ”
but schon, who also plays bass, uku-
lele and keyboard, couldn’t forsake the
joys of writing and performing music.
his style, grounded in the work of blues
guitar masters like stevie Ray Vaughan,
eric clapton and Muddy Waters, calls to
mind the promise his father once showed
as a gifted young musician. now 24, schon
teaches guitar in Marin and is a frequent
live performer, previously collaborating
with salvador santana and lara Johnston
and now involved in an ongoing project
with keyboardist Will champlin, son of
chicago member bill champlin.
AS A KID, HE WAS
MORE INTERESTED IN
SPORTS THAN IN
MUSIC; GUITAR WAS
SOMETHING HE DID
ON THE SIDE.
