Check Out John Rockstar’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Rockstar.

Hi John, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
It all started with “I want to write an album of original music.” I have been playing guitar since I was 14, messing around with chords and scale runs I would learn from my guitar teacher or trying to replicate my favorite songs in my bedroom with a tiny Line 6 amp. When I was in college, I found myself spending most of my free-time creating my own riffs and chord progressions as well as writing down any interesting song lyrics that would pop into my head onto my iPhone’s Notes app. While I had enough material to post a single on Soundcloud here or there, “an album” always sounded like a monumental task. But, I kept working at it (sometimes spending hours a day getting a chord or a rhyming lyric right) and by the end of 2019, I had what I considered to be a fully written album.

But to me, the dream would only be officially accomplished once A) I recorded it to my liking, and B) I released it on popular streaming platforms. While the COVID pandemic delayed recording for a few months, I was able to find a producer who had the knowledge and skill to get the best possible sound out of my songwriting. After months of work, tweaks, and finalizations, “Off the Grid” was released on March 13th, 2021. Seeing the album on Spotify for the first time was a feeling I will never forget. It was one of those “Holy shit… I did it” moments of accomplishment that I hope everyone gets to feel at least once in their life. Even just a few weeks later, I was already itching to get back in the studio, 2022 so I began work to with my producer on my second album and most recent release, “Apes in Suits,” which was released on May 7th, 2022.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
While I’ve had the benefit of supportive friends and family to cheer me on, I’ve had my share of bumps in the road along the way. Many of my sadder songs were written during periods of self-doubt, filled with anxious thoughts about my place in the world and if anybody would be even interested in what I had to say. On top of that, much of the material that was written for “Off the Grid” was written in the few months after a family member of mine passed away and I ended the friendship with someone who had been close to me for years.

I look back at that time writing the material for “Off the Grid” as something of a grieving process. In this emotional state, I feel like I threw myself into writing and playing music to make sense of everything that was happening around me. While I wish they were still around, I’m happy for the good times and thankful they were both able to help me one last time.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a singer-songwriter playing a mix of acoustic and electric guitar-based music in the style of artists like Tom Petty, Jimmy Buffett, Chris Stapleton, Jim Croce, John Prine, and the Traveling Wilburys.

I want to do my own thing on my own terms. For example, in the world of EPs and groups releasing singles every few months, I’m only interested in releasing full-length albums of music. I do this because when I was growing up, all the bands and artists that I enjoyed (mostly from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s) released their music on vinyl records. This engrained a standard in my head that “a full piece of music is a 9-10 song collection that’s roughly 40 minutes.” While there’s no reason to stick to that other than my own choice, and I’m sure a few fans would like for me to piecemeal my music out so they can hear new stuff sooner, to me, this will always be a passion project. I’m not interested in making billions of dollars, signing a record deal, or becoming a worldwide superstar.

If any of that happens, great. Awesome. I would be humbled if someone thinks that highly of my music. But that’s not my M.O. To me, saying “I released _blank_ albums of music” is an accomplishment I feel proud of and a number I want to continue to grow so long as I write what I consider to be great music alongside the passion to keep making it.

What were you like growing up?
Shy, quiet, and introverted. But also a nice kid that liked to have fun. My first love was sports, so I played little league baseball, basketball, volleyball, golf, and bowling before I ever picked up a guitar. Music was always something that was, no pun intended, in the background of my life. I would hear a song in a commercial or in a video game and be like ‘Oh, that sounds cool,’ and add it to my iPod, but it wasn’t so much as a “passion” yet. When I was 11 years old, my iPod had everything from KISS to B5 to Crazy Frog to Rascal Flatts.

Before I got into music, I was really into video games. I remember getting a Playstation 2 when I was eight years old and it was one of those birthday gifts that you ask for dozens of times, hoping and praying you get, and when you actually get it, it’s euphoria. As an avid video game player throughout my childhood and teenage years, I discovered a lot of bands for the first time through the games I played (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Metallica, Dead Kennedys, and KISS, for example).

One of the big influences that got me interested in playing guitar was, of course, Guitar Hero. Specifically, Guitar Hero III, which was just filled with all kinds of classic rock hits that would form the basis of my rock and roll love for years to come.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnrockstarmusic/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnrockstarmusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IAmJohnRockstar
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5iOQjROzvI9IlLmAlDdkGA/featured

Image Credits
Tyler Brettnacher