1870s – 1930s: The Ancestral Foundations

  • 1871: Great-granduncle Don Giuseppe Battista Balsamo is born in Sicily. He migrated to New York via a cargo ship in 1895 and established himself as the original capo de capos of the early Brooklyn Mano Nera (The Black Hand) networks.
  • 1900–1905: Don Giuseppe orchestrates and wins a brutal five-year waterfront war against the Irish “White Hand” gangs, securing absolute Italian-American control over the Brooklyn shipping, hauling, and longshoreman docks.
  • 1920s: Don Giuseppe smoothly retires from active leadership, clearing the path for his successors, the Mangano brothers (founding what would become the modern Gambino crime family).
  • Late 1970s: Jason’s father, Richard Cohen, performs as an elite contemporary jazz-fusion virtuoso guitarist with the CBS Jazz All-Stars (Columbia Records network), tracking historic live albums including Havana Jam (1979) in Cuba and the multi-volume Montreux Summit in Switzerland alongside legends Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Bob James, and Billy Cobham.

1976 – 1994: Early Life, Education, & The Dimebag Connection

  • 1976: Jason Cohen is born in Patchogue, Long Island, New York. His early childhood is split between the urban docks of Brooklyn (under his maternal grandfather, longshoreman Joseph “Joe Fish” Balsamo) and suburban Long Island.
  • 1980s: Mentored on Long Island by his uncle, veteran longshoreman and underworld historian William Balsamo, who is actively researching his 1988 book, Under The Clock: The Inside Story of the Mafia’s First Hundred Years.
  • 1986: Jason sees Metallica opening for Ozzy Osbourne at Nassau Coliseum. Next day purchases his first guitar.
  • 1990 Forms the NYC Hardcore Band Misery which renames to My Misery in late 1990
  • 1991: Joins Nightfall as Lead Vocalist and plays the legendary Village Gate in New York City.
  • 1994: Graduates with High Honors in Television and Video Production from the regional BOCES Technical Center alongside his diploma from Sachem High School North.
  • 1994: Jason attends a major metal bill at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island featuring Pantera and Prong. Co-headliners Sepultura do not perform due to a sudden internal band injury. After the show, Jason goes to a local Long Island strip club frequented by touring musicians. He meets Pantera’s legendary guitarist, Dimebag Darrell.
  • The Demo Hand-off: Jason gives Dimebag Darrell a raw studio cassette demo tape of his groove-thrash band, My Misery. Blown away by Jason’s fast, heavy guitar work and production phrasing, Dimebag takes the tape directly to his industry contacts.
  • 1994: Recognizing his exceptional technical facility and rising reputation on the New York circuit, Jason secures his very first official endorsement, landing a direct industry endorsement with Spectraflex Cables courtesy of his relationship with Dimebag Darrell.

1995 – 2001: The Roadrunner Deal, Bad Boy Era, & NYC Studios

  • 1995: Backed by the direct personal endorsement and industry leverage of Dimebag Darrell, Jason’s band My Misery successfully secures an official development deal with extreme music powerhouse Roadrunner Records, culminating in the release of the Unsanitary Justice EP.
  • 1995: Breaks into the major-label studio tracking circuit under his given name, Jason Cohen, engineering initial tracking sessions that would eventually culminate in tracking engineering credits for Alicia Keys’ multi-platinum debut album, Songs In A Minor, yielding a foundational Grammy Win credit.
  • 1996–1999: Recruited as an official House Engineer for Bad Boy Records during Sean “Puffy” Combs’ dominant “Shiny Suit” hip-hop and R&B golden era, securing three distinct Grammy Nominations.
  • The NYC Recording Studio Circuit: Operates across the definitive tracking rooms of the New York urban music boom, managing sessions at Daddy’s House Recording Studios, The Hit Factory, Quad Recording Studios, and Sony Music Studios.
  • 2000: Jason permanently exits My Misery to explore electronic and industrial arrangements, prompting the remaining members to rebrand the unit as Misery Kills
  • Late 1990s–2001: Adopts the early internet forum and Yahoo! Chatroom handle guitarguru777, building an underground digital reputation for guitar speed and tone optimization using the Line 6 Pod.
  • 2001: Tracks a dark, industrial-thrash two-man studio project called N.M.E. alongside New York vocalist Key Fitz. Their self-titled debut record (archived as Prison Cell Philosophy) is distributed digitally by The Orchard. Following the release, Key Fitz transitions into stand-up comedy on Long Island.
  • 2002: is guitarist in the short lived project Pharo

2002 – 2004: The Houston Underground & Demon 6 Productions

  • 2002: Jason Cohen permanently relocates from Brooklyn, New York to Houston, Texas. He retires the “guitarguru777” handle and assumes the name Dividian within the growing online Vampire, Goth, and BDSM community..
  • 2002: Applying his family’s structural mindset, Dividian officially Founds the House of Annunaki (HOA) in Houston. He structures the house around uncompromising internal discipline and authors strict safety codes regarding safety and blood play, mandating clinical lab testing to separate the lifestyle group from online roleplayers.
  • Demon 6 Productions: Parallel to his administrative house work, Dividian becomes a prominent operational force in the physical Houston nightlife underground by launching Demon 6 Productions with Tarik. Through this entity, he coordinates, promotes, and provides security for underground raves, alternative subculture parties, dark art exhibits, and specialized local goth/vampire nights across the Houston ecosystem. Dividian became a highly recognizable fixture at Numbers Nightclub (the legendary alternative/industrial music landmark in Houston’s Montrose district). During these frequent club nights and underground operations, he builds a tight-knit relationship with Tarik, who would serve as the Prince of Houston within the regional court councils (goth / alt lifestyle groups).
  • 2004: Jason is recruited as a live touring multi-instrumentalist for progressive metal band All Too Human. He handled live keyboards and backing guitars at ProgPower USA V in Atlanta, Georgia, and embarked with the band on a comprehensive live tour of Europe culminating in an appearance at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany.
  • 2004: Jason visits NYC again and scores a massive multi-platinum, cross-genre studio credit under his real name Jason Cohen, serving as a tracking engineer and post production supervisor for the historic Linkin Park / Jay-Z mashup masterpiece, Collision Course, which secures a major Grammy Win for the track “Numb/Encore”.

2005 – 2013: The Las Vegas Strip, Nepenthe, & Eastern Ave Studio Era

  • 2005: Relocates to Las Vegas, Nevada. He permanently drops his original surname and assumes his final professional identity: Jason Constantine.
  • 2005: Forms At Fatez End which has a very short shelf life and releases one single independently “Despise”.
  • 2005–2008: Steps into the commercial Strip nightlife scene, co-managing “Sanctuary,” the first dedicated weekly Goth/Industrial night on the Las Vegas Strip, hosted inside the Krave Lounge (Harmon Ave / Miracle Mile complex).
  • April 2006: Legally files and registers Nepenthe Industries West LLC as a domestic company with the Nevada Secretary of State. Signing under his legal name, Jason Cohen, he acts as one of the Managing Member and Registered Agent to shield the private real names of his local club DJs, promoters, and house staff from public exposure.
  • May 2006: Directs the creation of the physical “Dividian Ankh” during the Krave Lounge era to act as a physical VIP security token, granting staff access to private alcoves away from wandering Strip tourists.
  • 2005-2015: Jason becomes a regular contributor on the Andy Sneap Ultimate Metal Forum, publishing highly technical gear shootouts during the beginning of the digital amp modeling revolution. Jason created Line 6 vs. Kemper vs. Axe-FX profiling comparisons utilized by metal tracking engineers worldwide.
  • 2007-2013: Jason creates Outta The Black along with Keith Trombino. Outta The Black becomes a legendary band in the Las Vegas hard rock cover band scene. Jason and Keith go on to also create the Ozzy tribute band Mr Tinkertrain.
  • 2009: Opens the first iteration of Constantine Studios out of the initial commercial space located at 6000 S. Eastern Avenue, establishing a heavy localized client roster tracking West Coast metal and rock.
  • 2010: Nominated for Best Cover Band at the Vegas Rocks Music Awards with Outta The Black.
  • 2010: Following shifting dynamics in studio infrastructure, and the Home Recording Revolution, Jason closes the original Constantine Studios.
  • 2011: VRMA Nominee with all 3 of his cover / tribute bands Outta The Black, Bluff Control, and Mr. Tinkertrain.
  • 2011: Outta The Black and Mr Tinkertrain headline the Pahump Fall Festival.

2010 – 2019: The Desert Moon, Endorsements, & Electric Messiah

  • 2010: Jason is approached directly by Danny “The Count” Koker (frontman of Count’s 77 and star of History Channel’s upcoming Counting Cars). Koker commissions Jason to completely rebuild, re-engineer, and re-vamp Count’s Desert Moon Productions, transforming it into a high-end commercial tracking house.
  • 2010–2019: Parallel to his independent studio endeavors, Jason acts as the chief operational studio manager, main tracking engineer, and producer at Count’s Desert Moon Productions. Under this umbrella, his production profile turns heavily toward the world’s elite virtuoso guitar stables, mixing, engineering, and co-producing records for Stoney Curtis (Shrapnel), Jacky Vincent, Dario Lorina (Black Label Society), and the Magna Carta records supergroup Redzone Rider featuring Vinnie Moore (UFO), Kelly Keeling, and Scot Coogan.
  • 2012: Working out of the Desert Moon Productions headquarters, Jason takes the creative reins as lead album producer, mixing engineer, and mastering engineer for Las Vegas melodic progressive metal outfit Sicocis. Under his direction, they track their self-titled symphonic metal debut record SicociS featuring their single Prelude to Insanity, with Constantine meticulously crafting their dense guitar walls, orchestral programming, and complex rhythmic baselines and even producing, directing, and filming the band’s music video from the single.
  • Hired as a sub for 11 months with the Franky Perez band and plays weekly at Palace Station in Las Vegas.
  • 2013: As his technical and performance reputation scales out of Las Vegas, Jason builds out an elite equipment catalog, officially registering as an endorsed artist for ESP Guitars, Seymour Duncan, TC Electronic, and Jim Dunlop.
  • 2013: Forms a relationship with legendary rock guitarist and producer Bob Kulick (KISS, W.A.S.P., Lou Reed), serving as his engineer on his late-career production projects at Desert Moon.
  • January 2014–2016: Fronts, writes, and produces the progressive Las Vegas hard rock / metal outfit Electric Messiah alongside powerhouse metal vocalist David Reed Watson, debuting live at the House of Blues Las Vegas and performing at high-profile charity events like KISS Night Las Vegas and KISS Night Las Vegas III.
  • 2015: Electric Messiah releases 4 singles independently. “Tell Me” a bluesy hard rocking song. “Blood Moon” featuring Oz Fox’s (Stryper) dueling guitar solo with Jason, and “The Void” featuring Michael T Ross’s (Hardline, Lita Ford) haunting keyboard work, and blazing Jan Hammer-ish keyboard solo, and “Alive” a heavy progressive rocker.
  • 2015: Jason along with Johnny Roxx produce the first Ever Guitarmageddon at Backstage Bar & Billiards. They also release an instrumental guitar single of the same name.
  • 2016: Releases the single “Poison In The Well” featuring Brendan Shane of The Nocturnal Affair.
  • 2017: Jason organizes the “Tribute To Chris Cornell: A Benefit For Suicide Prevention” attended by over 400 people at Adrenaline Sports Bar. The benefit featured members of Blue Man Group, Flotsam and Jetsam, The Ace Frehley Band, Steelheart and many more. the event raises over $10,000 for Nevada Suicide Prevention Hotline.
  • 2019: Diagnosed with spinal stenosis, and numbness in the left arm begins.

2020 – 2026: Spectre Sound, ToneHouse Records, & Lockdown Era

  • 2020: Expanding his footprint into record label management, Jason partners with longtime collaborator Jeff Duncan (Armored Saint / DC4) and his brother Shawn Duncan (BulletBoys / L.A. Guns) to officially launch ToneHouse Records. Structured as an artist-first advocacy label, the imprint focuses on protecting creative rights by leaving publishing rights in the hands of the artists while cultivating their production identity and industry literacy.
  • 2020: Collaborates with Line 6 beta testing their new “Pod Go” compact floor modeling and effects pedal.
  • Releases first video for the Line 6 Pod Go to hit YouTube racking up thousands of views in hjust a few hours and launching Jason from 200 followers to over 3k overnight.
  • Creates the Facebook group “Line 6 Pod Go Users” which has over 11k members.
  • 2020: Collaborates with Leona X (Leona Logan) on her single release “I’m Alive”. Playing guitar, mixing, mastering, and arranging all string and keyboard parts on the song. Jason also performs in the music video.
  • 2020-2023: Collaborates extensively on YouTube with Glenn Fricker’s Spectre Sound Studios. He pushes the creation of the viral channel staple “The Truth about Expensive Studio Gear,” tracks the blazing virtuoso solos for their heavy metal cover of Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” alongside keyboardist Alex Nasla, and serves as the primary technical catalyst behind the acclaimed tutorial video “Monday Mix Tips: How to get a Huge Drum Room Sound.”
  • 2020s: Establishes tight-tier engineering and tracking relationships with veterans of the international metal scene, coordinating direct production alongside Jeff Duncan (producing and mastering his instrumental album Wanderlust) and Armored Saint (engineering and vocal tracking (Jeff Duncan) for Isolation: Live from Isolation, Live: Symbol Of Salvation, Punching The Sky and their latest 2026 release Emotion Factory Reset via Metal Blade Records).
    2021: featured in Sin City Presents magazine as “Sin City Shredder” in the January issue.
  • 2022: Consolidating his production space into a custom facility inside his home, Jason steps in as lead producer, tracking engineer, and mixing architect to helm the highly anticipated debut project for Atomic Kings. The album is officially tracked for global release through his own imprint, ToneHouse Records, working directly alongside co-founding heavy metal veteran and former bass player for Badlands, Greg Chaisson.
  • 2026: Actively restructures his various production companies back under one independent commercial banner ToneHouse Productions, while implementing newly released recording assets by Kemper, Line 6, Two-Notes Engineering, and Neural DSP at Constantine Studios.
  • 2026: Jason renames ToneHouse Records to G.F.Y. Wrekords after one of ToneHouse Records artists uses bots to increase the listens to one of their songs on Spotify.This gets ToneHouse Records and all of its artists banned from Spotify.
  • 2027: creates Consciousness, an advanced, theatrical metal studio / live performance project.
  • Beyond: Jason is working on his debut solo record featuring re-worked versions of songs that were never released with Nightfall, Electric Messiah, Pharo and At Fatez End.