The Band
Jason “Jay” Wells
Founder, Percussion
Jason “Jay” Wells found his talent for rhythm early, first playing percussion in elementary school at age eleven. As a young adult, he collaborated on various projects before moving to Knoxville in 2001 and immediately combing the music scene for strong bandmates. As a result, Wells gained extensive experience playing a range of local projects, musical styles, and venues.
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After accruing over 25 years of performance expertise, Wells finally decided to pursue a different approach to music - an approach which relies on original melodic improvisations and exciting, refreshing twists on classic genres.
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Villaphonic is the final iteration of this endeavor, a project that has slowly grown from street busking into invigorating, improvisational performances at various regional venues.
Yuya Ito
Guitar
Yuya Ito (40) is a Japanese guitarist whose life and musical style have been shaped over time by many cultures. His diverse experiences have played a large role in shaping his unique, yet classic and technically-proficient playing style.
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Ito was called to music as a child, buying his first acoustic guitar in elementary school and fell in love with J-Pop and rock. Many years later, he discovered the blues, sparking investigation into the greats such as Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and Derek Trucks. These players and styles inspired Ito to return to foundations in blues method and theory, leading to collaboration on blues-based improvisation in Japanese music bars.
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In 2023, Ito finally made a career move to Knoxville, Tennessee and joined Villaphonic. He believes the heart of music lies in fun, positivity, beauty, calm, and excitement—principles that shape both his playing and his collaborations.
Hannah Monarch
Violin & Keys
Hannah Monarch (34) is a local musician, composer and counselor with nearly thirty years of experience in music performance. Classically trained over 15 years, she gained ensemble and technical skill in a variety of settings. Monarch was initially a piano pedagogy major, playing with the Knoxville Youth Symphony Orchestra from 2001-2009 as well as the UTK Student Orchestra 2009-2010.
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She fell in love with improv after joining a bluegrass ensemble in 2011, later leading to collaboration on an eclectic mix of projects such as The Folk You Buddies, Mr. Ill and the Medicine, and The Gutter Blossoms.
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Monarch has performed everywhere from road-sides, to nursing homes, to Carnegie Hall, cultivating a unique and evocative playing style that fuses classical technique and ear-training with an inventive style inspired by bluegrass, blues, jazz, jam, rock, and hip-hop.
Alex Quist
Bass Guitar
Alex Quist (27) is a guitarist, bassist, drummer, percussionist, DJ, and producer born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. Quist’s musical journey began at age nine with guitar/bass lessons, leading to playing in both marching band (percussion) and jazz band (guitar) since middle school.
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He has earned his performance chops in multiple rock bands as lead guitarist, bassist, and drummer, featured in local acts such as The Stampede of Strangers, Pizza Jeans, Dee Smiff Live Band, Pseudo, and Kool AL. Quist has also opened for accomplished artists such as Kingfish Ingram and Afroman.
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In college, he began exploring new musical avenues, becoming a DJ and producer across diverse genres such as Lo-fi, hip hop, and R&B. Quist has produced for singers and rappers such as Boggz, Dee Smiff, Chromie VI, and 2PairTate. He has also been a featured artist on the WUTK 90.3 FM Gold Standard Hip Hop Show as a producer for freestyle beats, even producing several beat tapes displaying his expertise in sampling on an MPC or spinning the turntables.
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Quist has talents across several fields, having earned a B.S. in Chemistry from UTK (class of 2022) and currently working as a lab manager and teacher for the UTK chemistry department. He greatly thanks his teachers (Chris Cook, Will Ross, and Mike Trout), and can usually be found playing a show or open jam, in the studio, or in the lab.