influences
KISS was the reason that John wanted to play the drums. He thought Peter Criss was the coolest guy in the band and wanted to be like him. So he started drumming.
He has grown to be such a diverse listener of all styles of music. He respects the great jazz drummers like Buddy Rich and he is influenced by drummers like Mike Portnoy, Gavin Harrison, Greg Bissonette. All these influences allow him to be a great songwriter on the drums.
Endorsed Artist
John has been featured in Modern Drummer for his drumming chops – as well as Mix Online for his engineering chops.
John is endorsed with Pork Pie drums and Soultone cymbals. These are smaller esoteric companies, and he loves the sound of their drums and cymbals. He feels that they are different and that difference really adds to his unique qualities as a drummer.
Renaissance Man
John is truly a modern-day renaissance man. He juggles family, friends, recording national acts & artists, soundtracks, video games, recording his own personal projects and bands, playing hockey, gigging with several choice bands where he is a full member, manages his business, and still finds time to taste good beer. He literally does it all.
John has played out live extensively. He gigs regularly and has toured over several states, sharing the stage with bands like Fates Warning, Iron Butterfly, In This Moment, John5 and Otep to mention a few.
As a recording engineer, John has recorded the likes of Donna Summer, Tokio Hotel, Doug Fieger (The Knack), Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go’s), Gregg Bissonette (session drummer), Lee Sklar (session bassist), and even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice-over for a video game.
John writes great parts on the drums as a band member and creates a solid foundation musically – as well as personally – because John has such an unwavering steadfast character and personality … much like his drumming.