A Grape Dope

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A Grape Dope
Also known asJohnny Machine, A Grape Dope
Born
John Herndon

(1966-04-09) April 9, 1966 (age 59)
Long Island, New York, U.S. [1]
Origin Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres Instrumental hip hop, indie hip hop, jazz, post-rock, electronica, progressive rock, dub
OccupationsProducer, musician
InstrumentDrums
Years active1990–present
LabelsGalaxia
Website www.trts.com

John Herndon (born April 9, 1966) [2] is an American musician and artist. Based in Chicago, he was a founding member of the post-rock band Tortoise, where he plays drums and percussion.

Contents

Herndon also works as a producer for instrumental hip hop under the name A Grape Dope. [3]

Early life

Herndon was born in 1966 on Long Island, New York. He was the second child of his family, with a brother two years older than him. After his family moved to Boston, Herndon's father was jailed and his mother was a drug addict, so the children were put into the foster care system when Herndon was a toddler. He described the experience as abusive. He remained in the system until his father was released from prison in 1971. [2]

In 1976, Herndon moved to the North Carolina mountains with the Grateful Union Family Trust, a commune that Herndon's father and his girlfriend were a part of. [2]

Career

John Herndon is a member of the bands Tortoise and Isotope 217, playing mainly drums but some other percussion (vibraphone, etc.) and occasional keyboards. [4] He produced Deep Puddle Dynamics' song "More from June" in 2002. [5] He released the Missing Dragons EP under the alias A Grape Dope on Galaxia in 2003. [6] It features a guest appearance by rapper Doseone. [7]

Personal life

Herndon resides in Los Angeles, California. He has two children, one of whom is noted rapper and producer 2hollis. [8]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Productions

Contributions

Remixes

References

  1. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "John Herndon". Allmusic.
  2. 1 2 3 Locker, Melissa (19 November 2020). "John Herndon of Tortoise has a deal for you". Chicago Reader.
  3. ↑ Gordon, Scott (May 27, 2009). "Tortoise's John Herndon to DJ with Madison's Ka-Boom!Box at Mickey's". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012.
  4. ↑ "A GRAPE DOPE, "MISSING DRAGONS"". Brainwashed.
  5. ↑ Hunt, Sam (March 31, 2002). "Dusted Reviews: Deep Puddle Dynamics / Anticon - More From June / We Ain't Fessin' (double quotes)". Dusted Magazine.
  6. ↑ Bryant, Andrew (July 2, 2003). "A Grape Dope: Missing Dragons EP". Pitchfork Media.
  7. ↑ Lee, Andy (May 2003). "A Grape Dope - Missing Dragons". Exclaim!.
  8. ↑ Pierre, Alphonse (2025-03-07). "In Defense of 2hollis". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-05-07.


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