User:TravelingCat/Popper bio

Early life

John Popper was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. He took lessons on the piano, the cello, and the guitar, but none of those instruments appealed to him.

He originally wanted to become a comedian, finding he could use humor to make friends and avoid bullies, but when he and a friend performed a routine as The Blues Brothers, he found that he enjoyed musical performance. From there, he took up the harmonica. Popper played fourth-chair trumpet in his high school jazz band, and convinced the teacher to let him play harmonica instead after an in-class solo on the song "She Blinded Me With Science".

He formed several garage bands with friends in Princeton, New Jersey, one of which evolved into Blues Traveler in 1987. After graduating high school, the group's members all moved to New York City, where Popper enrolled in The New School for Social Research. Popper attended for three years but devoted himself to the band full-time once they signed a record contract in 1990.

Career

Blues Traveler

Main article: Blues Traveler

Popper is a founding member of Blues Traveler, serving as the band's frontman with lead vocals and harmonica. For some songs, he forgoes the harmonica in favor of guitar. In addition, Popper has played the tin whistle on some recordings.

A prolific songwriter, he has composed a majority of the lyrics and music of Blues Traveler's songs.

The band grew a following with its extensive touring, sometimes with over 300 dates a year, and gained a reputation in the jam band scene of the 1990s. Blues Traveler crossed over into mainstream pop/rock radio success with their 1994 album four, which garnered the group extensive media exposure. The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1996 was awarded to "Run-around", a song which Popper composed.

Solo work

In 1990, Popper began to perform occasional solo concerts in addition to touring with Blues Traveler. Several songs which originated as Popper's solo pieces have become part of Blues Traveler's repertoire, and vice versa.

Bolstered by Blues Traveler's mainstream success, Popper released a solo album, Zygote, in 1999 and toured in support of it with his own John Popper Band. The backing band consisted of Dave Ares, Crugie Riccio, and Rob Clores of Cycomotogoat, with drummer Carter Beauford of Dave Matthews Band. The album's release came less than three months after his heart surgery, and only days after the death of Bobby Sheehan, Popper's bandmate and best friend. The subsequent tour was cancelled midway due to poor ticket sales, and Popper instead took the time to focus on his health.

Popper has co-written songs with Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Chris Barron and Johnny Lang. He also frequently appears as a guest performer with musicians both famous and obscure, from a diverse variety of genres. He has performed with, among others, jam bands Spin Doctors, Dave Matthews Band and Phish, bluesmen Eric Clapton and B.B. King, singer-songwriters Jason Mraz and John Mayer, saxophonist Karl Denson, San Francisco's Culann's Hounds, and even with the Hungarian Ambassador to the United States. He sat in with The Smashing Pumpkins on the second day of their acoustic 1997 Bridge School Benefit appearance, contributing harmonica for their song "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans"; Popper's solo garnered major applause from the audience.

Side projects

In 1992, Popper conceived the HORDE Festival as a venue to gain exposure for up-and-coming independent musicians. It ran until 1998.

Popper was a part of a one-time studio band brought together in 1997 by New York drummer/songwriter Solomon Deniro. Other players included Trey Gunn, Bernie Worrell, Marc Ribot and Vernon Reid. The group's only recordings were released as the album Gimme Gimme under the name The Devotees. The same recording was re-released by Deniro in 2001 with the title Solomon.

Popper took over in 1998 as front man of jam-band supergroup Frogwings, which released the live album Croakin' at Toad's. Frogwings was mainly active until 2000.

Recently, Popper formed a rock/jazz/hip-hop fusion group The John Popper Project with DJ Logic, which released an album in 2006 and performs occasionally.

Acting and media appearances

Popper had a speaking guest role in an episode of the sitcom Roseanne as a musician similar to himself. He has also had a cameo role as a bowling tournament MC in Kingpin and an appearance in Howard Stern's Private Parts. Popper's first major role was in 2000 in Just for the Time Being, an independent film starring Eva Herzigova.

Popper has provided narration for art projects produced by his friends, including Das Clown, an award-winning short film in slideshow style that has aired on the Independent Film Channel.

Popper served as host of the third annual Jammy awards in 2002.

He has been a recurring guest on Howard Stern's and Bill Maher's shows and sits in with The CBS Orchestra on The Late Show with David Letterman on occasion.

Musical style

While Blues Traveler's songs are influenced by genres as diverse as folk, reggae, gospel and psychedelia, Popper's solo repertoire is largely of the confessional singer-songwriter style. His solo album, Zygote, is representative of both. His songs with Frogwings and The John Popper Project are credited as group compositions, and contain more diverse elements of world music and hip-hop.

A number of Popper-written songs contain an extended third verse that is sung in a more rapid style, sometimes verging on rap. The hit Blues Traveler song "Hook" is an example of this. (See also "Alone", "Business As Usual", "Escaping", "Onslaught", "Canadian Rose", and "The Path".)

Popper plays harmonica in [cross/straight?]-harp style, mostly playing melodic lines in the upper registers, but occasionally playing traditional "low down" blues riffs as well. He is known for playing a high number of notes per beat, and is capable of ( ) notes per second. {'four' book} Popper's playing has drawn criticism from ________ for _______ , but others have applauded the integration of harmonica into the standard rock music sound of guitar-drums-bass.

Popper's singing range is ______ octaves. He frequently employs vocal runs when singing, and also scats with occasional vocal percussion.

Personal life

Since the success of Blues Traveler, Popper has lived in various locations, including Philadelphia and New Orleans. He currently resides near Seattle, Washington.

In October 1992 he was involved in a traffic accident on a motorcycle while traveling to a studio to record for Blues Traveler's third album. The accident put him in a wheelchair for several months, but Popper continued touring with the band despite the difficulties it created.

In 1999, he suffered a near-heart attack brought on by years of compulsive overeating. (He had been diagnosed with diabetes a few years earlier.) Doctors performed an emergency angioplasty which saved Popper's life: he had 95% arterial blockage Popper later underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost a large amount of weight. He began wearing glasses around the same time.

Popper has a tattoo across his chest that says, "I Will Be Brave", written backwards.

Weapons collecting

Popper is an avid collector of weaponry, including firearms, swords, and a working $10,000 American Civil War cannon. He cites a fascination with their aesthetic of being "life-savingly efficient" machines. Popper is a supporter of Second Amendment rights, and appeared on an MTV roundtable discussion on gun control. He carries weapons in any state where it is allowed, even wearing them onstage. On his Daily Show appearance, he stated that when he moved to Pennsylvania, it was because of New Jersey's tight gun laws. He said that he had 32 acres on which he built a private gun range.

Politics

Popper is a member of the Libertarian Party , and has previously expressed support for the Republican Party. He endorsed George W. Bush in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Popper (with and without Blues Traveler) has played at conventions, fundraisers and ceremonies for both Republican and Democrat politicians. He has stated that politics do not influence his choice of performance setting.

Popper has said "I was a bleeding-heart liberal, until I got a job" and describes himself as "a libertarian who is a Republican when pushed." Popper summed up his political position by saying "I believe in freedom for markets and freedom for individuals, so I guess that makes me a libertarian."

Popper also supports the American armed forces. He has toured with the USO, both with Blues Traveler and solo. His most recent tour was in the Middle East, performing with the Band of the Air Force Reserve and Jamie O'Neal at various military camps.

He has appeared with Rock the Vote and recorded "The Preamble" for the Schoolhouse Rocks the Vote! album.

Religion

Popper was raised Catholic, but does not actively practice in his adult life. He has described himself as "a recovering Catholic". The song "Trina Magna" was written as a exploration of his religious views.

Arrest: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/07/12/blues-traveler-singer-set_n_55962.html

Equipment

Popper has expressed a preference for the Hohner Special 20 brand blues harp, calling them "the Porsche of harmonicas".

(a number of hats)

(vest) After his weight loss, it no longer fit Popper, so he gave it up in 2002. He now carries harmonicas in a small black attache case.