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Monday, December 22nd, 2008

Colorado Music Buzz Article

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SPOTLIGHT - The Messiah’s Plumber

Monday, December 01, 2008

by Dave Preston

A friend of mine once told me: “There is nothing common about John Common.” This was immediately followed by a roaring laughter and a swift punch to his gut for saying such a moronic phrase. However, this simple comment was not far from truth. Those musicians who have worked with Common can agree that his sarcastic, Frank Zappa-type humor only adds to his artistic style while his music stands alone and victorious.

After seeing John Common perform three times at A Moveable Feast (2007), Denver Post Underground (2008) and The Living Room Series (2008), I can say, without doubt, Common takes his music extremely seriously. Through Common’s powerful voice of contrasting raspiness and subtlety, the audience can emotionally comprehend what it is he’s singing about while the value of his virtuosity climbs. His fun and witty comical sense captivates audiences both live and on websites, where he cleverly posts new sayings and phrases that rain in hilarity. A perfect mix of beautiful songwriting and a delightful stage presence keeps him on the minds of every local music enthusiast. In the words of Dan Craig on stage at the Denver Post Underground, “John Common is Denver’s celebrity.”

The story of John Common begins in Pensacola, Florida, where he grew up listening to a mix of Neil Young, The Beatles, The Cars, Kiss, Lynyrd Skynyrd, James Taylor and Frank Sinatra, as well as a variety of Baptist hymns. Tom Waits is another influential artist for Common, as John is renowned for performing Waits’ “Rain Dogs” in its entirety. “It was raining like an Old Testament story that summer afternoon” (“it was raining hammers, it was raining nails,” as Tom would say). As we drove around East Hill through buckets of rain, smoking cigarettes with the windows barely cracked, I was only thinking two things: I am in love with this girl and she will clearly never love me back, and what is this weird and beautiful music? I’d never heard anything like it before.

John Common performs on Colorado’s finest stages usually headlining an evening of well-put-together music. His performances are nothing short of national quality, featuring gorgeously written material with texture upon texture of musical tones and timbres. The audience can feel ease in knowing that session musicians Scott Davies (fomerly Opie Gone Bad), Jessica De Nicola (Jen Korte) and Jimmy Stofer (Hello Kavita) playing with Common are top of the line and leading the pack of quality session players, making a John Common concert easily memorable. A constant switching between lead guitar and piano keeps the magic of Common’s real musical dexterity alive and adored.

Currently a four-album discography occupies Free School Records, Common’s independent record label, and plans of releasing a couple more are in the works. Feel free to purchase these albums online at JohnCommon.com and shoot him a friend request on myspace. Enjoy locally before he gets huge!

Posted By John Common at: 12:12 am

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