Header Banner Made with MyBannerMaker.com! Click here to make your own!My name’s John and I make music. I have been since I was a little kid in late 70’s Rochester, NY and my Mom played her Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel and Carole King records. I didn’t know what these people were saying in their songs and I didn’t really care but I knew it was something meaningful and I knew I wanted to be like them. So my Mom bought me a guitar… When I got a little older I realized that I was right and that I still want to be like them….
My formative years were spent rocking out pretty heavily after years of listening to rock radio and aspiring to be part of the magical airwaves. There was nothing like growing up in the height of rock and the growth of metal and I was more than happy to take part in its glory. The rush of the lights going down in a smoke-filled arena in the 80’s before AC/DC took the stage was monumental and that era defined what rock was to me. I spent most of the 90’s and early 2000’s playing an amalgam of everything I loved about rock music and the bands that inspired me. Bands like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, U2, The Who, Genesis, Radiohead and Pearl Jam. With my bands Officer Friendly (in Rochester) and later Saccharine (NYC), I tried to make fun, energetic rock music that had words that meant something to me and hopefully others. Between the 2 bands, we sold thousands of CD’s, hundreds of t-shirts, and played just about every venue on the East Coast, at least a couple of times. My songs have been played on commercial rock radio stations across the nation and on national cable networks. Maybe some 10-year old has heard one of my songs and was inspired as I was. Who knows… If you’ve seen me play music, it’s most likely been in a loud rock club, with a smoky stage with 4 guys on it having an unbelievable time doing something they love, regardless of who was there. And I’ve made most of my best friends playing in bands with them. Rock has been very good to me.
But then there’s the part of me that has always been drawn back to the organic beauty of a voice and a guitar. I suppose that it comes from my days listening to Cat Stevens’ soothing voice or Paul Simon’s confident finger-picking as a little kid with George Harrison’s haircut and really bad clothes… So for now it’s back to just me and my guitar. Except that only now I don’t have the hair and thankfully not the clothes either. And I’ve learned a thing or two about producing music as well and being a session musician, which I’ll continue to do around NYC. I’m also working on a new CD and will be playing clubs around New York and probably Upstate NY as well. I’ll always write music and play music because that what I love doing more than anything. Listen for me…
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