NIPP: John Common

John Common

Artist Website	Bio
JOHN COMMON sometimes wishes he were a filmmaker or a painter, but due to a run-in with his brother’s record collection at an impressionable age, he ended up with a bad case of the rock and an obsession for making music instead. He’s constantly writing songs… they range from raucous and snarly, to beautiful and introspective. He grew up in Pensacola, Florida — hotbed for every strain of rabidly fundamentalist, evangelical Christian sect known to man (action) and a surprisingly vibrant indie music scene (reaction). When he was thirteen, he found his older brother’s Epiphone acoustic guitar covered in dust in the back of a closet and a light bulb went on. “Writing songs, recording and playing music helps me make sense of things… it’s a habit that won’t go away,”" he says. After traveling around the country, writing, being in bands, playing shows, and just soaking it all in, he eventually made his way to Colorado. As the singer, songwriter and guitarist for the Denver-based band RAINVILLE, he built a reputation for writing gritty, honest songs and then playing and singing the hell out of them live. Rainville released two albums (COLLECTING EMPTIES in 1999 and THE LONGEST STREET IN AMERICA in 2002) to critical acclaim nationally and in Europe, and toured from 1999 to 2004. In late 2004 John began exploring different territory. That desire to experiment led him to begin writing and recording a body of music unlike anything he had ever done before. You can hear it on GOOD TO BE BORN (2006) and WHY BIRDS FLY (2007). Both records have earned rave reviews from music press and fans alike, being named best local releases by numerous regional publications and websites. Denver’s Westword called Good To Be Born “A brilliant, extremely ambitious disc… Denver’s finest rock recording of the past decade.” A year later, Westword said “Why Birds Fly is even more uncommon than its acclaimed 2006 predecessor… it rewards repeated listens even as it confounds expectations.” The Onion described his music as “Raw yet sophisticated pop.” John Common’s music is difficult to classify and he’s pretty happy about that. He’s currently writing songs, traveling and working on a new record that will likely be released in 2008. You can listen to and read about John’s entire catalog online at FreeSchoolRecords.com. Visit JohnCommon.com for updated show dates, photos, movies, press resources and his personal blog.

Bio

JOHN COMMON sometimes wishes he were a filmmaker or a painter, but due to a run-in with his brother’s record collection at an impressionable age, he ended up with a bad case of the rock and an obsession for making music instead. He’s constantly writing songs… they range from raucous and snarly, to beautiful and introspective. He grew up in Pensacola, Florida — hotbed for every strain of rabidly fundamentalist, evangelical Christian sect known to man (action) and a surprisingly vibrant indie music scene (reaction). When he was thirteen, he found his older brother’s Epiphone acoustic guitar covered in dust in the back of a closet and a light bulb went on. “Writing songs, recording and playing music helps me make sense of things… it’s a habit that won’t go away,”" he says.

After traveling around the country, writing, being in bands, playing shows, and just soaking it all in, he eventually made his way to Colorado. As the singer, songwriter and guitarist for the Denver-based band RAINVILLE, he built a reputation for writing gritty, honest songs and then playing and singing the hell out of them live. Rainville released two albums (COLLECTING EMPTIES in 1999 and THE LONGEST STREET IN AMERICA in 2002) to critical acclaim nationally and in Europe, and toured from 1999 to 2004.

In late 2004 John began exploring different territory. That desire to experiment led him to begin writing and recording a body of music unlike anything he had ever done before. You can hear it on GOOD TO BE BORN (2006) and WHY BIRDS FLY (2007). Both records have earned rave reviews from music press and fans alike, being named best local releases by numerous regional publications and websites. Denver’s Westword called Good To Be Born “A brilliant, extremely ambitious disc… Denver’s finest rock recording of the past decade.” A year later, Westword said “Why Birds Fly is even more uncommon than its acclaimed 2006 predecessor… it rewards repeated listens even as it confounds expectations.” The Onion described his music as “Raw yet sophisticated pop.”

John Common’s music is difficult to classify and he’s pretty happy about that. He’s currently writing songs, traveling and working on a new record that will likely be released in 2008. You can listen to and read about John’s entire catalog online at FreeSchoolRecords.com. Visit JohnCommon.com for updated show dates, photos, movies, press resources and his personal blog.