Analog born.
Digitally produced.

Okinawan roots.
New sonic worlds.

Johnie Tidwell, Jr., also known as JT Epic, is a Las Vegas-based sonic maker, sonic engineer, soundtrack producer, and sonic IP creator. Return of the Nerd is his creative umbrella for work across film, music, and AI-driven digital storytelling.

His education spans music, art, and film, with an AA from Parkland College, a BA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and an MFA from Chapman University. His experience spans film, news, television, and new media, working across audio, production, and post-production.

With a mother from Miyako-jima, Okinawa, and a father from Bernice, Louisiana, Johnie grew up an Air Force brat, living a nomadic life overseas and across the United States. His family roots and years in television and film shaped his love of culture, story, and discovery.

Music began as a hobby in the 1980s, when he edited quarter-inch tape on reel-to-reel machines and experimented with toy drum machines and keyboards. In 1984, he studied and trained under the guidance of music producer and recording engineer Mark B. Rubel at Pogo Recording Studio in Champaign, Illinois. Today, computers, keys, digital audio workstations, and AI have brought him back to that same spirit of sonic experimentation. Analog born. Digitally produced.