Starting off, What’s your earliest memory involving music?
John: My earliest memory with music? There’s a song I found that I wrote when I was six called Rocky Road. The only line I remember from it is, “Gonna go down to the beach, gonna bring back a leech” So just great songwriting from early John.
(laughs) Sounds like it.
John: (laughs)
What does your songwriting process look like?
John: So I normally start with just one lyric or a line, like a phrase. It’ll either come from listening to another song and getting an idea or reading a little phrase, and then I’ll kind of base the song around that and go from there. I always start with lyrics and then a melody. So I just kind of sing the song as I’m writing it and then I try to put chords to it after. I’m really not a great instrumentalist, so everything starts off with just singing and then trying to make the guitar fit to it afterwards.
Do you come from a musical family?
John: Yeah, my dad is a bass player. He’s been playing for fifty years, or something - I’m in his music room right now - and he taught me guitar - I wish that I had let him teach me earlier than I actually did because he tried to get me involved in music since I was really little and I was not interested in it, when I was in middle school doing other things, I guess. Then, when I was 16, I finally let him teach me a few chords and started learning from him. But yeah, he plays in a lot of bands around Charlotte, like bar bands and things like that.
His dad was a trumpet player, I think and my mom’s dad sang in a choir church, so (laughs) there’s a little bit of it here and there.
So you’re releasing a new song called, Aces High, which I wanna add it is a very good song, by the way. And I wondered if there were any certain artists who inspired the song?
John: Thank you. I don’t think, off the top of my head, if not directly with this song. All of the songs on this new EP, I think I finished in 2017 as well as my last EP, so it’s been a while since it’s been written. I don’t super remember writing this song, so I wish I could give you some insights into what inspired it but I (laughs) really cannot remember writing this song.
(Laughs) Well, that’s perfectly okay. All that matters is that you did a great job and I like the lyrics. I like everything about it.
John: Thank you, I appreciate it!
You’re welcome. Speaking of musical influences, when you’re writing a song, who usually inspires the songs you’re writing?
John: So I think a lot of my songs, for the most part, they’re not - I don’t sit down to write about myself and my life. Usually, it’s from just writing a story, so I pull a lot of influences from Tom Petty and country writers like Robert Earl Keen, that are just really good story tellers, and Brandi Carlile. So that’s what I just try to do with my songs is tell a story, but even when I’m not trying to write about myself, I’ll go back and listen to older songs and be like, “Oh, that was about my life,” and I just didn’t realize it at the time.
So, what draws you to rock ’n’ roll?
John: I’ve always grown up with rock ’n’ roll. The Beatles, The Eagles, and Tom Petty were always playing in the house when I was little, so I just grew up with it. Then at a concert - the energy and the raw emotion in rock is what really draws me to that more than other genres. I listen to just about everything, but the energy, especially live shows - which sucks that we can’t go to any right now - that rock ’n’ roll energy that makes you feel badass and you can do anything.
What can we expect from your new EP?
John: After Aces High is released, three of the five songs will be out, but it’s kind of a moody, dark EP. The last song on it is kind of more Americana-y. I look at it like a bonus track because it doesn’t really fit in with the other four, but it’s one of my favorites, so I’m really excited for that to come out and Aces High, obviously. I’ve spent a lot of time with that song recently, working on the video, so I’ve grown to like that one too. It’s very lyrically-based. Like I said, very singer-songwriter is my method. So there’s some great musicians that played on there, some great guitar solos, and things like that, but lyrically-based, moody kind of classic rock feel music.
