[2] Segel went to college at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he studied under Peter Elsea and experimental music pioneer Gordon Mumma.

He later obtained a master's degree in music composition at Mills College, studying with Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran and Joëlle Léandre.

During the period from 1989 to 1997, Segel was based in San Francisco, where he formed the experimental band Hieronymus Firebrain, which dissolved and reformed as Jack & Jill.

During this time, he performed and toured with Sparklehorse,[6] Clyde Wrenn, Magnet, and Eugene Chadbourne, among others, in addition to Camper Van Beethoven.

[8] In addition to the revived Camper Van Beethoven, Segel records solo projects and leads the Jonathan Segel band,[9] performs improvisational electronic or avant-garde music (either solo or, since 2004, with Chaos Butterfly), and he is an occasional contributor to music from the Big City Orchestra.