Jon Latimer Ginoli was born in Peoria, Illinois in 1959. While attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he formed a band called The Outnumbered where he was a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, and briefly served as a DJ at the Urbana radio station WPGU.
He is a vocalist and guitarist of the band Pansy Division, formed in 1991. Ginoli was featured in the documentaries Queercore: A Punk-U-Mentary and Pansy Division: Life in a Gay Rock Band along with the other members of Pansy Division.