John grew up in Pomona, CA and attended a high school where the academic pressure drove the kids to either elite universities or despair. John was inspired by the music of John McLaughlin, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, and Pat Metheny. He went to LaVerne College and majored in music(guitar) with a minor in religious studies.
Later on, he spent time in a seminary but became disillusioned with his career path. He didn't see the point of spending years getting a degree only to be thrown into the crab pit of academia, or worse, find no job at all.
Like many of us, he discovered that piano work offers a balance between creative pursuits and a concrete way of making a living. He started coming to Sacramento chapter meetings and learning from Terry Miller, Peter Clark, Dale Fox and Brett Dearing.
Like Antonio Bombal, another local tuner, John has a truly philosophical mind, and a conversation with him can range from music to theology to ethics. He is one of those rare people who can see deeply into a subject without prejudice. And he is deeply religious but has a sense of humor about it.
“Fotune is random, fate shoots from the hip, but God's got you covered,” he says.