John started composing his own music in the early months of 2004. With the help and persistence of his ever-loving friends, he started performing in front of live audiences, beginning with a talent show held at Fordham University in November of that year.
He has been playing music since the early age of 6, when he started taking classical piano lessons. In the following years, he performed at several piano recitals held in his hometown province of San Ildefonso, Bulacan. At age 9, John got his first acoustic guitar, a gift from his aunt. The guitar was from Cebu, a city in the Philippines famous for their flamenco guitars crafted from Langka wood. With his background in music, it didn't take him long to learn some tunes, jamming with a Beatles songbook. Influenced by his brother, drummer for the rock core band "Clad", he started playing the drums at age 10. At 13, his dad introduced him to the bass guitar, which became his instrument of choice. John's style is heavily influenced by well-respected bassists Buddy Zabala of the Eraserheads, and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. His high school cover band "David and The Goliaths" performed in school programs, and placed third in the their Battle of the Bands competition, where they played "Only Wanna Be With You" by Hootie and The Blowfish. Along with his brother, he had a brief outing as a bassist for the band "Blank Verse". In 2002, he joined the short-lived rock outfit "Shades of Gray", which exposed him to the New York City club scene in venues such as "The Elbow Room", "Downtime" and "Castle Heights". John then supplied bass grooves for "Steinway", an indie rock core band, in 2006.
Over the years, he never lost his passion for the acoustic guitar. Back in high school, John entertained his friends by singing songs from David Gates, Stephen Bishop and Jim Croce, and the like. During his years in college, that habit never died. Nothing gives John more pleasure than playing his guitar for friends, while they enjoy the show and sing along off key. Modern artists such as John Mayer and Dave Matthews have since influenced the type of music that he plays, as well as the style of his compositions. He was also the lead guitarist for his all-Filipino pop rock group "House of Straw".
John graduated from Hunter College of the City University of New York in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. While he doesn't have a real job, he is currently doing music collaborations with other solo artists, such as Maui Zafra, Jay Legaspi and Myke Christian, while working on his own music. Help John help you...give him a a gig or two or he will just sing for you...come to one of his shows!! you'll get a free hug and a cookie!!
Enjoy the music!!
John Violago - The Perfect Movie
with Reyenne Maghirang, Michael Lesley, Ron Gejon and Jason Castillo
