John's
music career started while on vacation visiting relatives in Puerto Rico,
in 1975. An uncle had a "rarely played" guitar hanging on the
wall. By the end of the vacation, John could play some easy chords. His
vacation may have ended, but his desire for learning and playing guitar
continues to this day. While in high school, John taught himself to read
sheet music and studied music theory, styles and modal scales.
His
first guitar was a cheap department store acoustic, a 1975 Christmas
present. In 1976, his dad bought him an electric guitar. While in
High School, he played with a local Bay Ridge, Brooklyn band called
"Deja Vu."
Today,
John owns "around 17 or 18 guitars and basses, 3 synthesizers,
a PA, 2 drum sets, several Guitar and Bass Amps - lot's of
stuff," or as John prefers to call them "toys". John
recently bought a 2nd house just so all the instruments could be on
the same floor in adjacent rooms.
| "Practicing when everything is nearby is so much easier."
|
 John's first taste for Genesis was in his college fraternity, at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he discovered a friend's
"Foxtrot" album. Playing a Crumar Organ borrowed from his high
school band's keyboard player, he learned to play most of the songs and
others on "Three Sides Live." Over time, he continued
buying all the Genesis albums available. John's musical tastes seemed to
center around good keyboard & guitar bands. In college, the bands
John listened to were Genesis, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, King
Crimson, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Kansas, Deep Purple and Rush. Later,
John added a number of Alternative Rock bands to his list of favorites,
such as Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, 3rd Eye Blind, Creed, U2, Tool,
Fuel, and Staind.
Johns Equipment: 6 String Electric Guitars include a
Tan Sunburst Paul Reed Smith, a Black Carvin DC-400,
a red Fernandez with built-in Sustainer and a Wine
Red Les Paul Custom. Also used are a Wine Red 6 & 12
String Double Neck, a Black 12 String
Acoustic-Electric Ovation, and a Natural Wood Yamaha
6 String Nylon Acoustic-Electric. The Rack has an
SGX ART 2000 multi-effects unit, a Korg digital rack
tuner and a 2x200 Crown Amp. Speaker Cabinets used
at shows depend on the size of the venue. From Large
to small venues, these are 2 4x12 Marshall 1960A
Cabinets, 2 Carvin 2x12 Cabinets for midsize venues,
or 2 smaller Drive Amps, for small venues.
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