John's Bio.
Oh boy.
The Reader's Digest Version: John busts out his acoustic guitars to play fun and popular songs to sing along to. He loves to add an eclectic mix of forgotten favorites, too. You just never know which songs he'll play, but you can always shout out your requests.
Now, if you enjoy longwinded stories that end up having no point and you've always dreamed of sitting through an insurance seminar seated next to Del Griffith, then this page is for you!
Sit back and soak in the story of John that nobody asked to hear.
How did John become an acoustic act?
Some may wonder just how in the world did the world's okayest guitarist ever become a solo acoustic act. Those folks are right to question the origin. Well, the first time he picked up an acoustic guitar was way back around 1981 when he tried to play his Uncle Jerry's six string. It felt foreign in his hands, and he thought he'd never be able to master it. (Which, according to many, is exactly what has happened.) The real shocker came when he discovered his uncle spells his name with a G, Gerry. But that's another story.
It would be another ten years before he considered playing guitar. After years of lip sync videos in high school where John played air drums (including an entire lip sync concert of KISS songs in full makeup), he and his best bud Bob decided to follow Bill & Ted on their Great Adventure and actually learn how to play instruments. Little did John know, but a lifelong long affair with guitars and music had begun.
Thanks to many friends sharing tips and tricks, John learned how to be a crappy punk guitarist, and he loved every second. He and Bob formed Terata in 1993, writing their own music in their own unique style based upon their love of Metallica and the Misfits. Add in John's minimal talent and voila: They had a mediocre-at-best metal band!
With the addition of bassist Grogg (Dan Anselmo), the band became complete and created their first every demo in 1995. Their metal roots added the comical influence of bands like Blink 182 to create three classic hits: "My Girlfriend's a Nun," "Red," and "$1.42." The pinnacle of their early career came when Dimebag Darrell of Pantera gave their demo a listen and told them, "It did something to me, man. That's what music's supposed to do." In fact, he listened to it with all of Pantera and said, "You had the whole Cadillac rocking!"
Despite Dime's love of the band, Terata did not land a record deal. Instead, they added new bass player Grease (Mark Kennetz, currently in 7th Heaven) and took on an alternative rock slant with originals and covers. They released their first and only complete album, Splurge, which has Matt Bishop's favorite song "Hey, You Babe" and the Crazy Family's favorite song, "Electricity."
After their album failed to go gold, Terata added new members to the band and eventually became a local powerhouse playing every weekend around Chicago. But then, in 2003, the band had kids and the big run was over. Kids will do that! From there, the band would only do a few shows a year, including Schoolapalooza, a middle school rock fest that John founded back in 2004. It just celebrated its 20th Annual show in 2023!
Over time, the number of shows each year dwindled as life took over, and now the band is in a seemingly permanent holding pattern. And that brings this story, finally, this long-winded diatribe, which John would be shocked to hear you are still reading, to its point: To explain how John started doing acoustic shows. Well, he got bored of not doing shows. Music is his passion! He just kept playing. And for John, music just isn't the same unless it's shared. He wanted to enjoy his songs with an audience who is laughing and singing along. Thus, Jamming with John was born!
When you come to a show, you'll see John's passion and professionalism come to life. He hopes it stirs a passion in you to raise a glass and share in the song!