Interview

1. You started playing guitar at 5, and performing professionally at 15. Who first inspired you to pick up a guitar? Do you come from a musical background?
Well, to be honest, I started playing so young because my parents decided that I needed a hobby to keep me busy and out of their hair! LOL! So they sent me for guitar lessons, which I begrudgingly went to. I actually quit after a couple of years but then missed playing so much that I started playing again but I taught myself. I also learned to play a bunch of other instruments along the way such as bass, drums, keys, trumpet, & sax, so I was always busy playing in some band or school project. I also began singing in grammar school and took years of lessons growing up. As for the musical background, not one person in my family has any musical talent beside myself. No one else is able to sing or play anything, so it's a mystery...but one I'm happy to have.

2. How has your music evolved and changed over the years?
My music has changed and morphed so many times in the course of my career, to a point. Where I was going with it has changed and the course of my career. The underlying theme of what my music is and what it stands for has never really changed though. I still write for the song and go for the big hook. I try my hardest to write songs that mean something to me and hope that they connect with others also. But they have to hit me first. I have tons of songs that have never seen the public just because they never hit me. Lyrically, my music has evolved a lot in the last few years. I've gotten away from the really mushy love ballads and stories of broken hearts and such and have been writing songs with much more meaning and more about life and how to live it so that you get the most out of it. Not that there's anything wrong with a good love song, but as I'm growing up, I'm just writing a bit more mature I guess...which scares me! I was always the guy who wouldn't grow up because I had too much fun being a kid! But my writing has definitely changed as far as my lyrical content. I still go for the big hooks and I think I study the craft of writing now more then I ever have. It's all I do. I'm truly a songwriter first, then a guitar player, then a live performance musician. If I had my choice of only one to keep, it would definitely be a songwriter. To see something that I've written touch someone else...nothing compares...I have tons of stories of people who have emailed or written me with stories about what my songs have done, and it's the best part of my whole career when I hear those stories.

3. Before your 1999 release of the CD Leap of Faith, what did you do for a profession?
I have had a pretty varied background in my life as far as what I've done besides music. I've been playing professionally for about 20 years now, but have almost always needed that day job to make ends meet, and I've had a bunch. I always go for the one that will let me still do my music and not interfere...which isn't always easy to find! I worked for the phone company, for a catalog company, did warehouse work, retail work, a little bit of everything. Whatever it took generally to keep the music career up and running. I've also toured and made my living that way, so I've pretty much run the gamut of jobs and paychecks in my life!

4. You played all the instruments yourself on Leap of Faith, with the exception of keyboards. Was there a driving force behind wanting to do that?
Well, the reason I decided to do "Leap" in the first place was kind of a soul-searching thing. I was turning 30, was in a cover band, and was a songwriter who hadn't written a song in a long time because I got too comfortable just getting by and having fun. Then I started to miss the originals and started getting mad at myself for basically quitting. I've never been a quitter and I've always been the kind to go after what I wanted. And I found myself being a songwriter that was not going after being a songwriter. I'd been close to record deals twice before this and seen others screw it up. So I started thinking, was it me or was it them? Is music what I'm meant to be doing for my life?? So I went on a vision quest of sorts and started thinking about doing the CD. Then the title song came to me one day...in the shower oddly enough...and then the floodgates opened. I wrote about 150 songs in a 3-month period and whittled them down to eventually the 12 that made the CD. I played, recorded, and produced everything alone because I didn't want anyone to blame if the venture didn't fly. I wanted to know that it solely rested on my shoulders whether this was going to succeed or fail so that I had no more questions inside about my abilities and myself as a musician. The goal was just to finish the CD and get it out. Once that was accomplished, I was happy because I'd done what I needed to do to be able to look myself in the mirror again and be happy with who I was. All the rest that has happened since then…the record deals, the sponsorships, and the tours...have all been gravy! I'm having the time of my life right now and wouldn't trade it for the world...and the best part is that I know I accomplished what I set out to do.

5. There is a new CD in the works that is due out later this year, can you tell us a little bit about it?
Yes. There is another CD in the works as we speak! I was signed to a label who couldn't seem to make me a priority and get me into the studio to cut the CD I wanted to cut, so I opted out of the contract after much back and forth discussion and signed to a label here in the US called Maximum Velocity Records. My band and I are now writing like crazy and getting ready to go and do the next record. We have been gigging for the better part of the last 10 months and we are ready to take a little break and then rehearse for the new record. I am really psyched for this record to because the new material is the best I've ever written. There will be 14 songs on the new CD and I'm also having songs written by my Keyboard player George Pegula and also my guitar player John Calendrillo, whom are both contributing to the CD. It's been great because after doing the first CD alone, this time I'm using my whole band, (John Calendrillo - Lead Guitar, Vocals, --George Pegula - Keys, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, -- Brian Kane - Bass Vocals, --Scott Nicastro, Drums) so there's a lot more flavor in the music. My band is amazing and we arrange all my songs together as a unit, which, in my opinion, makes the songs really strong. Plus with John & George contributing songs, the CD will have a great range of songs and I think will really impress those who hear it. We are hoping to get into the studio by years end and have the CD out by March of 2003...so stay tuned!

6. You are involved with several different charities. Is there one that you are especially tied to?
Well, I won't get involved with a charity unless I believe in the cause. I'm busy enough that if I want to give up my time for something, it's going to be something that I think is worth every second of my time and energy. The guys in the band feel the same way. So when I choose to work with a charity, it's a strong reason. We work with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, performing at their walk-a-thons and other events. What they raise money for is a very worthwhile reason and something that I hope they one day find a cure for. I also work with the "1 of 52 Hunger Network" which does food drives at various shows by artists around the country to help feed the homeless in those respective areas. Homelessness and starvation are looked at everywhere in the world, it seems, but right here inside our own country. We spend billions of dollars on other countries to help them, and for good reason, but it seems sometimes that we forget about our own. The 1 of 52 Network is trying to do something about that and to me that's awesome. I also started contributing to the 'New York Police and Fire Widows and Children's Benefit Fund". I recently released a single called "Angels Among Us" which is a 9/11 tribute song dedicated to all who sacrificed and gave their lives for what happened on 9/11. Living in NJ, right across from NYC, I unfortunately watched it happen. When I decided to release the song, I wanted it to do some good, so I looked for a charity to donate to and to me, the Widows and Children's Fund was the perfect choice. I talked to my record label and they backed me 100% and we started selling the single with 50% of the proceeds going to the charity. I wound up performing at many benefits and charity events during the 9/11 anniversary. It was touching and sad, but a good feeling knowing that in my small way I was helping. The band and I also work with the LifeBeat Foundation and we have done shows in hospitals for Aids patients who can't otherwise get out to go see a show. The look of appreciation on their faces when we do these shows is priceless and no money could be worth that feeling just knowing that we made their day better. The band and I really feel strongly about these charities and do our small part to try to help. As a person, I know it makes me feel better about who I am and why I play music. To me, I'm a musician…always will be. I play because I don't know how not to. And it makes my life better. If we can bring that to others, even just for a little while, then the reasons we were given our gifts as musicians is clear and worth everything else we have to go through in this business.

Since many of the fans will be hearing about John for the first time, if there is anything that he wants to add about himself, he can feel free.
Well…. I'm Terribly good looking and the coolest guy you'll ever have the pleasure of….LOL!! Just kidding! You know what, honestly, all I ever want people to know about me as a musician is that I do this because I love it with all my heart and soul. If you took music away from me, I'd be lost. So know that when you listen to one of my songs or see one of my shows, you are seeing and hearing a piece of my heart and soul laid out there for everyone to see. I don't do this for the fame or the money…but because this is who I am and what I do. Please visit my website at http://JohnTaglieri.com and give the music a listen. Hope you like what you hear!