Smart, introspective songs and lushly layered arrangements combine with fresh production choices and inspired performances on this debut record from Denver-based songwriter John Common. A classic "head phone" record from start to finish.

11 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Progressive Rock, POP: Beatles-pop



Details:
JOHN COMMON

THE SHORT VERSION:
Be born. Spend a lot of time alone. Find your brotherâs guitar. Write a lot of songs. Bump into amazing musicians. Start bands. Play all the time. Break up. Experiment. Make records. Write more songs. Keep going.

PRESS QUOTES:
"Drawing as much from Radiohead and Yo La Tengo as it does from Wilco and the Jayhawks, the group folds elegant melody into brooding experimentalism -- an epic, adventurous sound that will be showcased on an upcoming full-length debut." -- Westword

"John approaches songwriting as though each song is a scene from a movie. The music and lyrics traverse in opposite directions. Music that grinds and roars, exhales and charges again in a fashion reminiscent of early Rolling Stones or Neil Young Two contrasting streams of expression meet to create an energetic dissonance that is pleasant to the troubled ear, in a word rock."
-- Boulder Weekly

"John Common has a keen melodic sense and the requisite ability to take the basic pop formula and turn it on its head. The mix of goodies on his new release, Good To Be Born, bring together a host of elements and styles that, although diverse, avoid the abrasion that many artists suffer when trying to blend too much The blossoming Denver scene should be plenty proud to have Common in its quiver of emerging artists."
-- Kaffeine Buzz

"Common writes a great song just about every day... 'Good To Be Born' is a Matthew Seet-meets-Queen rock opus filled with catchy songs and layers of clever vocals... Damn him." -- 5280 Magazine

"Common is a gifted songwriter with a playfully weird sensibility."
-- Denver Post

"Singer-songwriter John Common first won over Colorado audiences with the appealing Americana of his band Rainville, releasing two albums before the project came to an end in 2004. Since then, Common has changed directions with his music, and his new album, Good To Be Born, leaves his earlier alt-country sound behind to focus on innovative pop-rock, enhanced with computerized sounds, Spanish phrases, and other sonic surprises. No two songs sound exactly alike." -- New West, Boulder

"Good To Be Born is a compilation of 11 powerful songs with multiple layers and complexities..." -- North Denver News

"John Common refuses to cave to category." -- Denver Daily News


THE INEVITABLE BIOGRAPHY

JOHN COMMON sometimes wishes he were a filmmaker or a painter, but due to a run-in with his brother's record collection at an impressionable age, he ended up with a bad case of the rock and an obsession for making music instead. He's constantly writing songs... they range from raucous and snarly to beautiful and introspective. He grew up in Pensacola, Florida -- hotbed for every strain of rabidly fundamentalist, evangelical Christian sect known to man (action) and a surprisingly vibrant indie music scene (reaction). When he was thirteen, he found his older brother's Epiphone acoustic guitar covered in dust in the back of a closet and a light bulb went on. "Writing songs is pretty much the only thing I've ever stuck with," he says.

After traveling around the country, writing, playing shows and just soaking it all in, he eventually made his way to Colorado. As the singer, songwriter and guitarist for the Denver-based band RAINVILLE, he built a reputation for writing gritty, honest songs and then playing and singing the hell out of them live. Rainville released two albums to critical acclaim nationally and in Europe, and toured from 1999 to 2004. In late 2004 John began exploring different territory. That desire to experiment led him to begin writing and recording a body of music unlike anything he's ever done before. It's difficult to classify and hes quite happy to be making music without labels.

THE BAND
In 2005 John started putting together a new project to flesh out the music he was looking to create. Tapping into Denvers growing indie music scene, he met an incredibly talented group of musicians, writers and friends including Tom Germain (drums, vocals, samples), Kevin Meyer (bass, vocals) and Jed Marrs (keys, vocals). The music they make together integrates smart lyrics with layered, artfully arranged music that can pin you to the wall, break your heart or just send you off thinking for a while. The group has an unmistakable chemistry whether live or in the studio. Together, they are that unique kind of band where each player is a seriously talented artist in their own right but when they play together something extra happens. The result is an engine that is firing on all cylinders... or maybe a bird taking off. Im incredibly lucky to be playing with people who are this good... The music wouldnt be the same without the thing each of us brings to the group. We genuinely love playing together and I think it shows", says Common.

THE ALBUM
The debut record, GOOD TO BE BORN, is a classic headphone album from start to finish. Smart, introspective songs and layered arrangements combine with artful production choices to create a fully realized record that documents Commons exploration into new territory. GOOD TO BE BORN is a chronicle of a group of artists and friends experimenting and using the studio to define a new voice. "The only rule we had was that any obvious choices had to be challenged. And that meant hours of trying different things, looking for how the puzzle of each song might fit together in new ways, says Common.I feel like this record is just the beginning. We all cant wait to get back into the studio and see what happens next.

PERFORMED WITH
JOHN COMMON has shared the stage with Cowboy Junkies, Camper Van Beethoven, Matthew Sweet, Dolorean, Jim White, The Replacements, DriveBy Truckers, The Old 97s, Trashcan Sinatras, Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers, Widespread Panic, Cracker, Rhett Miller, The Gourds, Slobberbone, Jesse Dayton, The Souvenirs and others.

MEET THE BAND:
John Common â vocals, guitars, keys, songs
Tom Germain - drums, vocals
Kevin Meyer â bass, vocals
Jed Marrs â keys, vocals
Various Friends â various things

RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE:
Wilco, Grandaddy, Sparklehorse, Radiohead, Sun Kil Moon, Yo La Tengo, Guided By Voices, The Beatles, Elliot Smith, Mark Lanegan