Originally from Saint Louis Missouri, John was influenced early on by that town's rhythm and blues and his Oklahoma mother’s singing. This funky start was drastically tempered by a nine-year stint in a Catholic seminary where silence and Gregorian chant were his daily bread. After leaving the brotherhood, and armed only with his vow of poverty, John moved to New England and pursued the path of an itinerant musician, playing in sundry bands and bad barrooms. It was during this time, he realized, that his audience could not understand Latin.
Winner of both the 2003 Boston Folk Festival Songwriting Contest and the 2006 Rose Garden Coffeehouse Song Contest, John has also been a finalist in many other song contests.
His CD Memory Train was CD of the Week on Chicago’s WFMT’s Midnight Special. His new CD is Two-Step Man.