in his teens, jason owned a rock 'n' roll guitar and was partial to ac/dc. in the 1980s, he joined a band called three quarter country, which performed at legions, saturday night dances, and clubs in barrie, midland, orillia and other small towns. jason won a talent contest in barrie,ontario where he was discovered by country music writer henry mcguirk who later became his manager and arranged for him to travel to nashville to record an album with producer ray griff. he later signed with mca records in 1995.