07/07/2025
Growing up, Jon Muzikowski idolized bands like Green Day and Blink-182. They inspired him to take up bass when he was 13.
This spring, Jon was shopping in a grocery store right near his home in Wayne when he found out his band would be sharing the same festival billing as Blink-182 this September.
“I just left my cart behind, went outside and started Face Timing our band, just thinking ‘Holy God, is this really happening?’,” he admits.
Asbury Park was where it all began for Jon, and it’s where the band would eventually make their name, headlining sold-out rooftop shows, making MTV-worthy videos, and having some rockstar dreams fulfilled. Not bad for a guy who happens to have the nickname of Music, thanks to his last name.
About ten years ago, Jon was in Asbury taking in a show when the six-foot-six former Division II basketball player suddenly decided to ride the crowd “an absurd amount”. He was eventually deposited alongside another rather tall person, a woman named Carrot. They struck up a friendship, and after Jon saw a video of her singing on Facebook, suggested that they start a band.
Eventually, that band became NOT YER BABY, an Indie dance-punk band that’s full of energy and known for crowd-wowing performances that captivates this mecca of Jersey music. (Jon believes that the name, as you’re probably wondering, came from a line from Scarface.)
When he’s not playing bass with NOT YER BABY, Jon works as a group home manager for people needing psychiatric care, and also is a caretaker for a friend’s special needs son. “It’s not a job to me,” Jon says. “He’s special. I’m just his buddy.”
This special mentality is evidenced throughout the band. “Every one of them is just a great human,” Jon boasts.
“We genuinely care about the people who are around us, so maybe that’s why we have our following and our scene in Asbury. I think people like being around us, and we like being around them, so it’s kind of great.”
Not Yer Baby can be found online on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram (), Facebook, etc.