We are bullish on John’s music and songwriting abilities. He runs the gamut with his directions…………those being as numerous as his influences as you can hear with the eclectic selection of songs included herein. Understand though, it’s all rock and roll.
He’s shared the stage with Austin greats such as Gary P. Nunn, Teri Hendrix, Stephen Doster, Van Wilks and, John thinks he opened up for Lucinda Williams at the Austin Outhouse one time but, he’s not real sure.
John hails from Shawnee Mission, Kansas. He has two brothers that are much older than him. They were the ones instrumental in introducing John to rock and roll at a very early age. “I remember Billy having a Bo Diddley album that showed Bo on the front on a scooter with one of his unique trademark guitars slung on his back. That picture really grabbed me. My brothers locked me in a closest one time so they wouldn’t have to babysit me. They had the stereo on with the 45’s stacked up. The last 45 became stuck so I heard over and over again, Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” the rest of the afternoon. To this day, that song takes me back. Never forgot the day one of my brother’s friends brought over the first electric guitar I’d ever seen. It was a Sears Silvertone with the amp built in to the guitar case. I was sold with that. Of course, when I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan that was it. Rock and roll had my soul and I gave it up without a fight.”
John started out playing drums at 10 and kept it up until around 16 when he and his parents moved to Dallas after spending 3 years in Richmond, Virginia having moved there from Kansas City. Those 3 years in Richmond proved to shape John musically in a way that is still evident today with him switching to guitar.
At 24 years old, John moved to Austin somewhat on a whim. “Didn’t have a thing going on in Dallas. The band I was in, WhiteRock which was a good band, broke up. Dallas was dark days for me so I left for Austin to play down there. Didn’t tell anyone. I just drove to Austin on July 10, 1978 and got an apartment and a job straightaway. John’s been there ever since in numerous bands playing all over Texas. During the years, John went back to school and graduated from University of Texas (class of ’89-B of S in Radio, Television and, Film) bought a house, went to China to meet a girl, brought her back and married her and started a family with their one boy, Jet, who arrived March 25th, 2009.
Jody Denberg of KGSR fame once tagged “the Killing Floor as a great new up and coming band.” Luke Torn of the Chronicle basing his observation on Killing Floor’s CD “Heaven Sent”, released on NRT Records, said, “worth going to check out when they hit the club scene.” So, John’s no stranger to working his craft.
And thousands of years later, he’s still at it. John did change his stage name to F.B. White during the recording of “Big Dumb Fun” by “The White Undertakers”. We think he’s wanting to be some sort of Caucasian Lightin’ Hopkins, whatever that is. John is a breed apart but, everyone that knows him says, “John’s a nice guy.” So, he’s got that going for him.
There’s a real passion for what he does deep inside John. Just talking to him for a few minutes will prove that. That kind of passion and dedication is far and few between these days but John has it big time. It is our and John’s hopes that he can continue singing and playing until the end of his days. That’s the real dream come true. Enjoy the songs provided and come on out whenever you can see to John wherever he’s playing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||