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Westmont, IL —
It’s pretty obvious that Westmont resident Jon Kostal Jr. loves music.
Not only does he play in two different bands, he also co-owns a music store in downtown Westmont that’s been open for several years.
And he comes from a family of musicians, which he said inspired him at a young age.
“I grew up listening to my father play music, and I just picked it up quickly and started playing in school bands,” Kostal said. “My father plays with me in bands today.”
Many of his family members also perform with him in one of his bands, The Ice Cream Vendors, which earlier this month played a children’s themed music show at The Beat Kitchen in Chicago.
“I’m pretty much playing shows every weekend, usually in the city and in Westmont festivals and events during the summer,” he said.
Uncle Jon’s band of ukulele players
Kostal’s day job is as the co-owner of Uncle Jon’s Music, a family owned music store at 33 N. Cass Ave. in Westmont that he operates with his father, Jon Kostal Sr.
Uncle Jon’s sells instruments and music accessories, offers lessons in a variety of music and hosts a number of events throughout the year, such as the annual “Hot Dog Party,” where his band, The Ice Cream Vendors, plays for crowds.
“(The business) really caters to musicians of all ages and skill levels,” he said. “We get kids that come in here wanting to learn to play heavy metal guitar, or older people wanting to play jazz saxophone, or classic rock buffs. It really is a wide spectrum of musical tastes.”
The instrument that’s been the most popular lately at the store has been the ukulele, a small guitar that was popular in the 1970s and in Hawaiian music and now has had a resurgence of popularity. Kostal said some of the reasons it may be trending now is because it’s less expensive than a guitar, and easier to learn to play.
“We had a ukulele demonstration here a couple months back, and it was really popular. A lot of people showed up,” Kostal said. “We are planning on doing another demonstration pretty soon.”
The goal of the store is to be family-oriented and reach out to the community.
Uncle Jon’s hosts a food drive in November each year, and any customer who brings in two cans of nonperishable food can get their guitar restrung and tuned at no cost, with all the food donated to local pantries.
It’s pretty obvious that Westmont resident Jon Kostal Jr. loves music.
Not only does he play in two different bands, he also co-owns a music store in downtown Westmont that’s been open for several years.
And he comes from a family of musicians, which he said inspired him at a young age.
“I grew up listening to my father play music, and I just picked it up quickly and started playing in school bands,” Kostal said. “My father plays with me in bands today.”
Many of his family members also perform with him in one of his bands, The Ice Cream Vendors, which earlier this month played a children’s themed music show at The Beat Kitchen in Chicago.
“I’m pretty much playing shows every weekend, usually in the city and in Westmont festivals and events during the summer,” he said.
Uncle Jon’s band of ukulele players
Kostal’s day job is as the co-owner of Uncle Jon’s Music, a family owned music store at 33 N. Cass Ave. in Westmont that he operates with his father, Jon Kostal Sr.
Uncle Jon’s sells instruments and music accessories, offers lessons in a variety of music and hosts a number of events throughout the year, such as the annual “Hot Dog Party,” where his band, The Ice Cream Vendors, plays for crowds.
“(The business) really caters to musicians of all ages and skill levels,” he said. “We get kids that come in here wanting to learn to play heavy metal guitar, or older people wanting to play jazz saxophone, or classic rock buffs. It really is a wide spectrum of musical tastes.”
The instrument that’s been the most popular lately at the store has been the ukulele, a small guitar that was popular in the 1970s and in Hawaiian music and now has had a resurgence of popularity. Kostal said some of the reasons it may be trending now is because it’s less expensive than a guitar, and easier to learn to play.
“We had a ukulele demonstration here a couple months back, and it was really popular. A lot of people showed up,” Kostal said. “We are planning on doing another demonstration pretty soon.”
The goal of the store is to be family-oriented and reach out to the community.
Uncle Jon’s hosts a food drive in November each year, and any customer who brings in two cans of nonperishable food can get their guitar restrung and tuned at no cost, with all the food donated to local pantries.
A customer appreciation day each June, the Hot Dog Party, has customers listen to live music, get a free hot dog and participate in raffles. The store also hosts open mic nights and other music events during the year.
The Flat Cats and The Ice Cream Vendors
Most of the employees at Uncle Jon’s actively play in bands.
Kostal frequently plays in two bands, playing the tenor saxophone in The Flat Cats, which he describes as a jazz-swing band, and The Ice Cream Vendors.
The story of The Ice Cream Vendors started when Kostal and a friend, Westmont resident Greg Barnett, were still students at Westmont High School more than 20 years ago and played a concert in the school auditorium.
Kostal said the name of the band came about when the band was asked to sell ice cream during the intermission of one of its shows at the school.
“They gave us these little paper hats to wear, and we went out and got pants and shirts to match them,” Kostal said. “The name just stuck.”
Barnett, who met Kostal in school and was a couple grades above him, said the two just clicked when it came to music.
“Jon had a recording studio in the basement of his home, so playing music with him was easy,” Barnett said. “We just seemed to play well together.”
The band developed a solid local following in the early 1990s, and released an album — “On Ice” — in 1994. Originally a duo with Kostal and Barnett, other members joined during that time, but by the late ‘90s, the band drifted apart as members went on to do other things before getting back together in the spring of 2010.
While Kostal’s other band, The Flat Cats, is much more straightforward, ICV, as they are known as, are all over the place musically.
ICV’s tunes include absurd musings about high school janitors, edible birds, deep-sea divers without limbs and a boy with a plant growing out of his head, according to the group’s website. Their sound comes from offbeat sources: polka beats collided with rap, synthetic clarinets replacing electric guitars.
The band hopes to put out a new album in the next few months, and to build more buzz.
“I’d like to be able to get more shows booked for ICV, and concentrate on getting out there and playing more,” Kostal said.
While Barnett said he enjoys playing in ICV, he admits he isn’t as hardcore into music as Kostal is.
“I dig music, but Jon lives and breathes music,” Barnett said.
About Jon Kostal
AGE 35
RESIDENCE Westmont
FAMILY Married with three children
MUSICAL INFLUENCES Jazz bands like Sony Rollins, pop bands like Devo, offbeat music from Weird Al Yankovic, Dr. Demento, and classical and electronic music, as well.
INFO www.unclejonsmusic.com. Also, check out his band’s website for The Ice Cream Vendors at www.icecreamvendors.net for samples of music, to purchase albums, watch videos and more.
