Biography
John Popper entered the world in Cleveland on March 29, 1967, as the singer and harmonica virtuoso who would front the jam-band stalwarts Blues Traveler. During his high-school years in Princeton, New Jersey, he struck up a friendship with drummer Brendan Hill; the pair, later joined by guitarist Chan Kinchla and bassist Bobby Sheehan, launched the group that built a passionate following in the early ’90s through nonstop road work and an expansive blues-rock style shared by like-minded neo-hippie acts such as Phish, Widespread Panic, and the Spin Doctors. All four outfits participated in the first H.O.R.D.E. (Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere) festival in 1992, a touring package originally devised by Popper and Blues Traveler’s manager Dave Frey that became one of the decade’s most durable annual events.
Momentum faltered in autumn 1992 when Popper sustained serious injuries in a motorcycle crash, yet he resumed performing several shows while still bound to a wheelchair. The 1994 album Four marked the band’s commercial arrival, propelled by the hit single “Run-Around.” After finishing his first solo record, Zygote, in 1999, Popper—who had endured months of chest pains—underwent angioplasty; the September release was further clouded by the death of bassist Sheehan, discovered on August 20 in his New Orleans residence. Later that year Popper nevertheless took his own backing musicians on the road for the first time.
Bridge, Blues Traveler’s sixth studio album, surfaced in May 2001, with Truth Be Told arriving two years afterward. When the band paused at year’s end to allow Chan Kinchla more family time, Popper stayed active, teaming with bassist Rob Wasserman of RatDog renown for an impromptu San Francisco gig. Turntablist DJ Logic joined that performance and, with Popper, founded the John Popper Project in early 2004; the lineup also featured Blues Traveler bassist Tad Kinchla and Mosaic drummer Marcus Bleeker. The project toured intermittently during Blues Traveler’s downtime before issuing its debut album in October 2006.
Blues Traveler reconvened for 2008’s North Hollywood Shootout on Verve’s Forecast label and maintained a heavy touring pace in support. Throughout the early 2000s Popper remained a sought-after session musician, appearing on John Oates’ 1000 Miles of Life, ZO2’s Casino Logic, and Lisa Bouchelle’s Blue Room with a Red Vase. In 2010 he assembled John Popper & the Duskray Troubadours, which he characterized as “a scrappy roots rock alter ego to Blues Traveler,” though the sound drew clear inspiration from the music of the Band. Alongside Popper the ensemble included guitarist/producer/keyboardist Jono Manson, bassist Steve Lindsay, drummer Mark Clark, and guitarists Kevin Trainor and Aaron Beavers; the group delivered its self-titled debut on 429 Records in early 2011.
Momentum faltered in autumn 1992 when Popper sustained serious injuries in a motorcycle crash, yet he resumed performing several shows while still bound to a wheelchair. The 1994 album Four marked the band’s commercial arrival, propelled by the hit single “Run-Around.” After finishing his first solo record, Zygote, in 1999, Popper—who had endured months of chest pains—underwent angioplasty; the September release was further clouded by the death of bassist Sheehan, discovered on August 20 in his New Orleans residence. Later that year Popper nevertheless took his own backing musicians on the road for the first time.
Bridge, Blues Traveler’s sixth studio album, surfaced in May 2001, with Truth Be Told arriving two years afterward. When the band paused at year’s end to allow Chan Kinchla more family time, Popper stayed active, teaming with bassist Rob Wasserman of RatDog renown for an impromptu San Francisco gig. Turntablist DJ Logic joined that performance and, with Popper, founded the John Popper Project in early 2004; the lineup also featured Blues Traveler bassist Tad Kinchla and Mosaic drummer Marcus Bleeker. The project toured intermittently during Blues Traveler’s downtime before issuing its debut album in October 2006.
Blues Traveler reconvened for 2008’s North Hollywood Shootout on Verve’s Forecast label and maintained a heavy touring pace in support. Throughout the early 2000s Popper remained a sought-after session musician, appearing on John Oates’ 1000 Miles of Life, ZO2’s Casino Logic, and Lisa Bouchelle’s Blue Room with a Red Vase. In 2010 he assembled John Popper & the Duskray Troubadours, which he characterized as “a scrappy roots rock alter ego to Blues Traveler,” though the sound drew clear inspiration from the music of the Band. Alongside Popper the ensemble included guitarist/producer/keyboardist Jono Manson, bassist Steve Lindsay, drummer Mark Clark, and guitarists Kevin Trainor and Aaron Beavers; the group delivered its self-titled debut on 429 Records in early 2011.
Albums
Singles
