Written by: Alex Green

I’ve just learned that Jon Bunch, who fronted both the punk outfit Reason To Believe and emo heroes Sense Field has died.

He was 46.

Before I get to the highlights of his rather winning professional vitae, I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on my own experience with him.

I wrote Sense Field’s bio for Warner Brothers back in 2000 and  I spent a good amount of time on the phone with Jon. He had such an easygoing and disarming personality that after a few minutes I felt like I was talking to an old friend from high school. We talked about Minor Threat, Operation Ivy and surfing and what struck me most after the two hour-long conversation was over, was that Jon Bunch was one of the nicest people I’d ever spoken to.

Years later, Sense Field came through San Francisco and made a stop at St. Mary’s College’s radio station KSMC, where I was the Faculty Advisor.  The band was set to be interviewed by my Music Director, who told me before the band arrived that he feared he’d be too overwhelmed to make any sense on the air.

When Sense Field came out of their van and up to the station, Jon and I picked up right where our conversation had left off: Minor Threat, Operation Ivy and surfing.

The California native was even more genial in person.  A towering presence–he was well over 6’4″– Bunch was soft-spoken, charismatic and utterly cool. He looked like he could dunk a basketball, command a mosh pit and ride any wave the ocean rolled under him.

I remember as soon as he shook the hand of our trembling Music Director and patted him on the back, any nerves were forgotten.

The interview was great, Jon and the band signed some albums and that was that.

When they were gone, the Music Director turned to me and said, “I never thought that the coolest guy I’d ever meet would also sing for my favorite band.”

Sense Field released five albums over the course of their career before calling time in 2004.

Bunch went on to play with Further Seems Forever and Lucky Scars.

He was working with the post-hardcore outfit War Generation at the time of his death.

Although the cause of death is not known, on his Facebook page the following message was posted:

“With broken hearts and so much difficulty, we write these words to all of you who love Jon. He is no longer with us now. We think his life here ended early morning, Feb. 1, 2016, but it is uncertain at this time. Our love, his family.”