Artist description This music will make you punch the accelerator and paint moving pictures in your mind. The lyrics ease you down into the familiar warmth of remembrances and imaginings of people you have known, and people you might have been. John writes and sings his own music and each song is different: mellow sax and harmonies, followed by folk rock, and pure folk, songs reminiscent of 50's doowop.... With heartfelt intensity and honest-to-the-bone lyrics, John delivers us straight to the center of our own desires. The songs are fun and comforting and even inspiring. You bop. You groove. You sing into the hairbrush. Each play of this CD is like the sensation of falling in love. Enjoy it. - Mary Ann

Music Style Fresh music that sounds familiar

Musical Influences Juke Tunes

Artist History Back in May of this year, John decided to record some songs and needed some help. He called Betsy Morris Rosen in desperate need of assistance with the song "Love You I Do". She was surprised and who wouldn't be. John had not played guitar in 25 years. Betsy a trained musician and friend from high school didn't even know he owned a guitar much less knew how to play it. The next thing you know they are telling an audience that the cd is available after the show. Betsy is THE voice on the cd. She makes the songs come alive with her harmonies. Joe Albano and his sax make the music real. Joe teaches John's son Jackson saxophone every Saturday. When he heard the opening chords of "How's it Gonna Be" he started laughing and said "something really bad is going to happen man! My tenor sax will growl right along with you." His horn breathed a new maturity into each song. Chris Billias plays the keyboard and was John's partner in the whole process. His vision and master musicianship helped drive the different personality of each song. John plays guitar and sings and writes the songs but says "Like anything in life that is worthwhile, the music is a communal effort. The most important thing is that each song we do seems to be more fun and better than the last."

Group Members John Patrick Kirk, Betsy Morris Rosen, Joe Albano, Chris Billias, The Berklee Interns:-----------------------------------------

Albums Be a Man

Press Reviews No press reviews but they have gotten emails and some of them are below. Probably the coolest just came across to John from Suzy at Katmandu in Nepal. ----------------------------- You must know that when I began to pack for Nepal I had to be concerned about weight, so I chose my CDs to bring along, as though they were getting a yearly evaluation! Yours made the cut! So here in this gorgeous land where I am, all across the seas, people will hear your voice, your songs, your spirit! Imagine that. When I return we must meet. ......------------------------------------------ Massachusetts - duuuuude! I am so glad I finally found some time to pop it in and listen to (the cd). It is great! It's clearly authentic and heartfelt and amazing how many of those songs pass the instant sing-along-or-whistle test! "What I'm Talking About" I think is my instant favorite. So great you could add the angelic voice of Betsy. I had forgotten how beautifully she can sing.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minnesota - I'm playing the cd at work and have played some tracks for friends and co-workers. I gave --- a copy and he loves it. In fact, he called me from his car after I gave him a copy to tell me how much he liked it. Personally, I've found that the more I play it, the more I like it. At first, I thought tracks 1 - Take You Home and 12 - Dancing so Free were the best (they seem the most "commercial" or "radio-friendly"). As I listened more and really paid attention, I found that I like almost every track. Tracks 1 and 12 are still my favorites, but the rest of the songs are deeper and a little more complex, so it took me multiple listenings to "find them." 1 (Take You Home): my favorite, it has a real "adult contemporary radio" sound, with an excellent melody, guitar work, and lyrical hook. 2 (In Time): has a sort of Smithereens moodiness that I like. 3 (Won't Get Me Down): has a great message and a cool melody and sound; it seems to have some hitches in it as the lyrics progress, though, that distract me from the melody 4 (What I'm Talking About): a really cool song and sound, but it seems to be your story so much that I had to work past picturing you and Susan growing up together in order to find the message (I think that's more my problem than the song's problem). 5 (Love You I Do): a solid love song, really pretty, I like it. 6 (How's It Gonna Be): cool mood, but I get tangled up in the personal story (again probably my problem). 7 (If I Could Do Something): another beautiful song and message that flows nicely. 8 (Said He Was Gone): is short and sweet with a really cool tempo, I also like how your voice plays off of Betsy's. 9 (Susan's Song) is beautiful and very relaxing - I picture you hanging out on a porch somewhere playing it for Susan. Since it has no lyrics, I didn't suffer from the same familiarity problem as I did on tracks 4 and 6. 10 (Not So Far To Go): another cool, tempo song, that really pulls the listener along for the ride. 11 (Proposal): simple and beautiful. 12 (Dancing So Free): still my second favorite, its a ton of fun. I bet it gets the crowd up when you play it live. Overall, the melodies, lyrics, singing, and musicianship are excellent There's a few songs that I can envision playing in a group, but most of the CD is best heard alone without distraction, which gives the listener a chance to relate to and think about each song. This is not background music!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ New York - I listened to the CD this weekend and was really impressed - great voices and lyrics. Keep recording! Are you performing anywhere live? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Massachusetts - It is VERY listen-able! So far my favorites are "Take You Home," "Won't Get Me Down," and "Dancing So Free".--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Hampshire - Got your disc(s) in the mail today; played the thing three times through; took some notes; and then, picked up my guitar and played all your songs. Pretty cool work. "In Time" is the home run on this album in my opinion. The chick you sing with is terrific and the sax is f***ing excellent of course. Also, the cover and title are perfect. Take You Home" is obviously the song that most people will rally around on this album because it bops and the instrumentals are tight.. "In Time" is the home run on this album in my opinion. By the way, in several of your tunes (including "In Time" and "Love You I Do") you sort of inject a level of commentary with a laugh or something. I think that is one of the greatest aspects of your presentation. Keep doing that. "Won't Get Me Down" -- sounds like it's getting you down. "What I'm Talking About" has one of the best lines of the entire album. People age but they never change. I think that's a line that an entire new song and/or album could be built around. "Love You I Do" starts off too slow or something. Then as soon as you've finished your laugh, it picks up instrumentally and generally improves over time. The harmonies rule. I think the tempo or something needs retooling somehow -- can't put my finger on it. Seems like it wants to be the hit song but just can't pull it off. Any idea what I mean? "How's It Gonna Be" is just a f***ing Kirk catharsis that nobody who doesn't know you intimately will be able to wrap their brains around. "If I Could Do Something" has cool lyrics and melodic instrumentals but the tempo kind of jerks around which bothers my sense of wah somehow. "Said He Was Gone" is a clever concept. "Susan's Song" is simply superb. I find that it and "In Time" are the ones that I enjoy strumming on my on guitar the most. Maybe because they're the two most mellow tunes and I'm such a mellow guy. "Not So Far To Go" is a goddam polka. Give it a rock beat and drive it like a Farari rather than a VW bug. "Proposal" - I get a lift from thinking about you and Susan during this tune. "Dancing So Free" is tooled for my 5 yr old to jump up and down to -- which, come to think of it is more like what the title suggests. Never mind.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Massachusetts - This is our music! I am listening to it all the time!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ California - Just got the CDs in the mail today - love it! Love it. I've been listening to it round and round. First of all, hearing Betsy's voice, well, nothing beats it. Just the sweetest voice ever. It's so pure and yeah, it's great. And his voice is so easy to listen to and I like his songs. The lyrics, the melodies, the whole feel. They have great movement too and the harmonies make it dance. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Massachusetts - Totally was blown away by the lyrics, the melodies and the deep deep feelings put out there. the love songs are gorgeous, and many of the songs are so clever and fresh and new. The woman singer is extremely good, and the music too. The lyrics, the piano, guitar, were great! I played it over and over and over. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Massachusetts- I'm on my fourth listening of your completed album, and I am truly blown away. The variety of music, from acoustic folk to full-blown rockers, is very impressive, and the arrangements are perfect. Your voice has such honest emotion for the lyrics you've written, and Betsy's harmonies are simply exquisite. "Take Me Home" is a perfect opener for the album, with the acoustic start and then the addition of the full band as the song opens up into a great R&B groove with really interesting chord changes and modulations. "In Time" reminds me a little, in style and mood, of the old Classics IV hit song, "Spooky." "Won't Get Me Down" works beautifully as a solo folk performance, and I continue to love the baseball/romance story of "What I'm Talkin' About." "How's It Gonna Be?" has the sound and feel of a couple of songs from Billy Joel's "The Bridge" album, circa 1988 or so. "If I Could Do Something" has some of the best lyrics on the entire album, and I love its earnest and positive message. You and Betsy complement each other beautifully in the back-and-forth vocal lines in "Said He Was Gone," your guitar-playing is very nicely embellished by the simple sax lines in "Susan's Song," and I love the rasp in your vocal on "Not So Far To Go" - I love the way you stretch the vocal line of the verse as it leads into the refrain/chorus on "Dancing So Free," and Betsy's harmonies give it the feel of a pop hit from 1962. Congratulations on the album. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional Info

Location Boston, MA - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).