The Soul Of John Black
THE SOUL OF JOHN BLACK
There is simply nothing on the contemporary American music scene like The Soul Of John Black.
The music has the feel of a tightly integrated Band. A propulsive groove underlies every track, but on top of that are subtle pop-rock melodies and warm, soulful singing. Most of these thirteen songs could be played on a single acoustic guitar, but the clean, spare arrangements are filled with adroit musical accents like the wailing sax solo on “Supa Killa” or the fuzzed-out slide guitar on “No Mo”.
John “JB” Bigham (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, lead vocals) was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, the youngest of five children. His earliest musical influence came from his mother. “She was actually very hip,” JB recalls, “and whatever she brought home, that’s what I got into. I also had an older brother who came back from Vietnam with (Jimi Hendrix’s) Band of Gypsies and Led Zepelin II.” Then at 13, JB began playing guitar.
After JB’s mother died, he moved to Atlanta and began playing in teenage cover bands. “I was crazy aout Cameo-I saw them many times, and my groups covered their tunes. Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince, Chaka Khan-all the big names came through Atlanta.” JB also lived for a time in Washington, DC, where “go-go was the happenin’ thing then-Trouble Funk, E.U. (Experience Unlimited), Chuck Brown & the soul Searchers.”
JB joined the Air Force Reserves after high school and after being activated for service, spent the next three years as an aircraft mechanic stationed in Victorville, CA. When his service ended, JB moved to Hollywood and began picking up occasional gigs. He also became friends with jazz legend Miles Davis, and their relationship would profoundly influence JB’s future.
“I auditioned for Miles as a guitar player but didn’t get the gig, so I went back to parking cars at a condo in Westwood! One week later, I got a call from a friend: ‘Miles wants you to write him a song.’ And I knew I could do that, because I’d been writing for a while on the underground scene.
“I went home and wrote two songs for Miles-and he liked them! I became like a protégé. Miles put me on his payroll and really helped me gain my confidence. I’d go to his house two or three times per week-I’d bring him some stuff to hear, and he’d play me a lot of music from Africa and the Caribbean.”
Miles recorded the JB composition “Jilli” on Amandla, the trumpeter’s last studio album with his working band. JB also played percussion with the Davis group during nine months of international touring and he appears on the home video Live In Paris. By this time, JB had met Phillip Fisher a/k/a “Fish” of the pioneering rock-funk-ska band Fishbone. After one final tour with Miles, JB accepted an invitation to join Fisher’s group.
During his years with Fishbone, JB contributed songs, guitars, keyboards and background vocals to such albums as The Reality Of My Surroundings and Chim Chim’s Bad Ass revenge. Today, he describes the best and worst aspects of this experience as simply two sides of the same coin; Fishbone was a true democracy.
“The worst thing about that band was getting seven aggressive guys to try and agree on any one thing. And that could be whether or not we were gonna eat lunch at McDonald’s that day when McDonald’s was the only restaurant in a ten-mile radius.”
“But those same guys taught me everything I needed to know about the music business: how to book the gigs, how to lease the tour buses, how to design and print and sell the t-shirts. At one time I became the leader of the band, just because it was my turn!”
“Fishbone also listened to a lot of music and read a lot of books. From Mutabaruka to Kate Bush to Iggy Pop to the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, they just opened me up to so much.” During this time, JB appeared on Bruce Hornsby’s album Harbor Lights, playing on tracts that also featured Jerry Garcia and Bonnie Raitt.
Soon after, JB and Fishbone parted as friends. He still lived down the street from the band’s rehearsal space at Hollywood and Vine, and almost immediately began cutting his own demos there after hours. JB has since toured and played on sessions with Eminem, Dr. Dre’, Rosey, Joi, Nikka Costa and Everlast.
The next year, JB got a regular gig at a small club called Goldfinger’s in L.A. and put together the first version of The Soul Of John Black (The name was loosely inspired by the 1976 cult film J.D.’s Revenge, one of JB’s favorites). JB (on guitar and vocals) was joined by Fish on drums and the gifted bass player Christopher “CT” Thomas. This lineup self-released it’s first CD in that year; it included an early version of “Joy” (from the album) as well as a song called “Space Cowboy”, covered by west coast rap star Aceyalone on his forthcoming album.
There is simply nothing on the contemporary American music scene like The Soul Of John Black.
The music has the feel of a tightly integrated Band. A propulsive groove underlies every track, but on top of that are subtle pop-rock melodies and warm, soulful singing. Most of these thirteen songs could be played on a single acoustic guitar, but the clean, spare arrangements are filled with adroit musical accents like the wailing sax solo on “Supa Killa” or the fuzzed-out slide guitar on “No Mo”.
John “JB” Bigham (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, lead vocals) was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, the youngest of five children. His earliest musical influence came from his mother. “She was actually very hip,” JB recalls, “and whatever she brought home, that’s what I got into. I also had an older brother who came back from Vietnam with (Jimi Hendrix’s) Band of Gypsies and Led Zepelin II.” Then at 13, JB began playing guitar.
After JB’s mother died, he moved to Atlanta and began playing in teenage cover bands. “I was crazy aout Cameo-I saw them many times, and my groups covered their tunes. Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince, Chaka Khan-all the big names came through Atlanta.” JB also lived for a time in Washington, DC, where “go-go was the happenin’ thing then-Trouble Funk, E.U. (Experience Unlimited), Chuck Brown & the soul Searchers.”
JB joined the Air Force Reserves after high school and after being activated for service, spent the next three years as an aircraft mechanic stationed in Victorville, CA. When his service ended, JB moved to Hollywood and began picking up occasional gigs. He also became friends with jazz legend Miles Davis, and their relationship would profoundly influence JB’s future.
“I auditioned for Miles as a guitar player but didn’t get the gig, so I went back to parking cars at a condo in Westwood! One week later, I got a call from a friend: ‘Miles wants you to write him a song.’ And I knew I could do that, because I’d been writing for a while on the underground scene.
“I went home and wrote two songs for Miles-and he liked them! I became like a protégé. Miles put me on his payroll and really helped me gain my confidence. I’d go to his house two or three times per week-I’d bring him some stuff to hear, and he’d play me a lot of music from Africa and the Caribbean.”
Miles recorded the JB composition “Jilli” on Amandla, the trumpeter’s last studio album with his working band. JB also played percussion with the Davis group during nine months of international touring and he appears on the home video Live In Paris. By this time, JB had met Phillip Fisher a/k/a “Fish” of the pioneering rock-funk-ska band Fishbone. After one final tour with Miles, JB accepted an invitation to join Fisher’s group.
During his years with Fishbone, JB contributed songs, guitars, keyboards and background vocals to such albums as The Reality Of My Surroundings and Chim Chim’s Bad Ass revenge. Today, he describes the best and worst aspects of this experience as simply two sides of the same coin; Fishbone was a true democracy.
“The worst thing about that band was getting seven aggressive guys to try and agree on any one thing. And that could be whether or not we were gonna eat lunch at McDonald’s that day when McDonald’s was the only restaurant in a ten-mile radius.”
“But those same guys taught me everything I needed to know about the music business: how to book the gigs, how to lease the tour buses, how to design and print and sell the t-shirts. At one time I became the leader of the band, just because it was my turn!”
“Fishbone also listened to a lot of music and read a lot of books. From Mutabaruka to Kate Bush to Iggy Pop to the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, they just opened me up to so much.” During this time, JB appeared on Bruce Hornsby’s album Harbor Lights, playing on tracts that also featured Jerry Garcia and Bonnie Raitt.
Soon after, JB and Fishbone parted as friends. He still lived down the street from the band’s rehearsal space at Hollywood and Vine, and almost immediately began cutting his own demos there after hours. JB has since toured and played on sessions with Eminem, Dr. Dre’, Rosey, Joi, Nikka Costa and Everlast.
The next year, JB got a regular gig at a small club called Goldfinger’s in L.A. and put together the first version of The Soul Of John Black (The name was loosely inspired by the 1976 cult film J.D.’s Revenge, one of JB’s favorites). JB (on guitar and vocals) was joined by Fish on drums and the gifted bass player Christopher “CT” Thomas. This lineup self-released it’s first CD in that year; it included an early version of “Joy” (from the album) as well as a song called “Space Cowboy”, covered by west coast rap star Aceyalone on his forthcoming album.
Website: http://www.thesoulofjohnblack.com
