“If you dig the ‘old-school’ of singer-songwriters who nimbly traversed genres but never lost their true identity and artistic vision - think Steve Goodman, Loudon Wainwright III, Leonard Cohen, Tim Buckley, and her holiness Joni Mitchell, then ‘Gostayplay’ is your cup of meat. Dyer’s wordplay, cinematic arrangements, and sinewy melodies are the stuff of a grand statement, yet the multi-instrumentalist (along with the help of some truly talented sidemen) pulls it off almost effortlessly. The goofy horn intro to ‘Shybreeze’ evokes the mid-sixties quirkiness of the Kinks and Stones when no instrument or off-the-wall idea was considered out of bounds. A paean to Nick Drake (‘Nick’) cobbles together lines from the late great bard in a manner that would fit neatly on ‘Bryter Layter’. Could the Beatles have used the rambling shuffle ‘Center To Hold’ in ‘Yellow Submarine’ to chase away the Blue Meanies? Probably! Just when you think pop music has become formula - along comes ‘Gostayplay’. -Tom Semioli, Amplifier Magazine 2008
* J O H N * D Y E R * is a progressive vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist whose ventures include solo and ensemble performances as well as composing and performing for live theater & dance productions. A visual artist and self - taught musician, Dyer is a prolific writer and seasoned performer. Over the past sixteen years, as an independent artist, he has crafted a substantial catalogue of songs, performed nearly six hundred shows, recorded twelve albums, and presented sixteen theatrical commissions. Founder of the popular Texas-based band "Drama Tiki" (1992-1998), Dyer, a native southerner, spent three years contributing to and being nurtured by the music scene in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, before moving to Brooklyn in 2002. In New York he has performed at the Knitting Factory, Tonic, Living Room, St. Ann's Warehouse, and Galapagos Art Space.
Dyer is a contemporary Singer-Songwriter. He is a classic writer in that his songs are built on the foundation of movement & melody, yet his approach and delivery are unique. His formative years spent drawing, painting and creating in a theatrical context have led to a strong visual sensibility that is evident in all of his writing. His lyrics are poetic and the images are rich. Primary influences include the likes of Paul Simon, David Byrne, Tom Waits, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Lennon/ McCartney, John Coltrane, and Nick Drake. Dyer’s eclectic sound infuses elements of Folk, Rock, Experimental, Jazz, Blues & Pop.
Solo recordings include "One Among" (2000), "Phantom Fire" (2003) and "Gostayplay" (2004) - named a Best Album Finalist (Folk/ Singer-Songwriter category) at the 2006 Independent Music Awards and sited as a "Top Ten Indie Release" on Todd Mack's "Off the Beat-n-Track" radio show. Dyer’s song "Hot Owl" (from the CD "Gostayplay") received Honorable Mentions in both the International Songwriting Competition - for Best Song/Performance - (2005), and The 11th Annual Unisong International Song Contest - for AAA/Americana - (2006-2007).
He is the recipient of two Meet The Composer Grants through the Home For Contemporary Theatre & Art for Lake Simons’ "What's Inside the Egg?" (2003) and the Simons/ Dyer adaptation of "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" (2006), He has received Dallas/Fort Worth Critic's Forum Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Design for the Original Music of "Alice…" (2003) and for Outstanding New Play ‘03 –‘04 for "Up in Auntie’s Attic (A Gentle Haunting)" written & directed by Johnny Simons. Dyer was commissioned by Hip Pocket Theatre to write the title song for Lake Simon’s adaptation of "Mr. Peabody & The Mermaid" (2005) and has had the pleasure of clowning in Matthew Acheson’s "Dream Life of A Garden Gnome" (2005). He served as musical director for several productions by North Carolina’s Paper Hand Puppet Intervention: "Haw River Puppet Show" (1999), "The Unexpected Journey" (1999), "Tea Time" (2000), "A Very Old Unfinished Story" (2000), & "Uprising" (2001) and has provided live accompaniment for dance in Choreo Collective’s "Recollection" (2001) and Thread Dance Theatre’s "Gather" (2004). Dyer recently collaborated with Luminescent Orchestrii’s Rima Fand on music for "How I Fixed My Engine with Rose Water" (2006) which was presented by Hip Pocket Theatre in Fort Worth Texas and followed by a run in New York as part of Theatre For The New City’s Voice 4 Puppet Festival - curated by Jane Catherine Shaw & Sarah Provost. An excerpt of "White Elephant" (2007), Dyer’s latest collaboration with puppeteer/ performing artist Lake Simons, was presented at St. Ann’s Warehouse as part of LABAPALOOZA (2007), curated by Dan Hurlin & David Neumann.
Dyer is the recipient of four ASCAPlus Awards (2004 - 2008). The ASCAPlus Awards Program provides financial support & recognition to active writers in the early to mid stages of their careers and to writers whose main activity is outside of broadcast media. Awards are determined by a panel of distinguished music experts and are based on the activity generated by ASCAP members’ catalogues with emphasis on recent performances.
Dyer is currently juggling a number of recording projects which are at various stages of development, including "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", four-track and ensemble recordings from North Carolina: "Mighty Vivid Cricket" and "Quiet By the Blade", and a handful of new song cycles. In November of 2007 "Alice..." was performed with students of Texas Woman's University with Dyer providing live accompaniment on guitar, percussion, and voice/ narration. "White Elephant" is a work in progress which Dyer and Simons are further developing as artists in residence (2008) at Dixon Place in New York City.
More info/ visit www.papertrumpet.com