John Wright (musician)

Last updated

John Wright
John Wright, NoMeansNo.jpg
John Wright in Naples, Italy (2012)
Background information
Born (1962-02-23) February 23, 1962 (age 61)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Origin Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres Punk rock, progressive rock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, drums, keyboards
Years active1979–present
Labels Alternative Tentacles, Wrong Records, Southern Records

John Wright (sometimes known as Mr. Right) (born February 23, 1962) is a Canadian musician and songwriter.

Contents

Biography

Wright is best known as the drummer, keyboardist, occasional vocalist and co-songwriter in the progressive punk rock/punk jazz band NoMeansNo, as well as the lead singer and co-songwriter of the pop-punk group The Hanson Brothers. [1] Both groups also feature Wright's older brother Rob and guitarist Tom Holliston. [2] He has also performed in noted Canadian punk groups DOA, the Showbusiness Giants, and the Infamous Scientists. He was the songwriter and "musical director" for Compressorhead, a collaboration with Berlin-based artist Frank Barnes consisting of a "band" of robots that play real instruments. [3] In 2023, Wright formed the band Dead Bob who released their debut album, Life Like, in November of that year. [4]

Wright's distinct style of drumming utilizes traditional grip, an uncommon method for hard rock drummers, and fuses jazz, rock and punk techniques. His playing has been cited as an influence by several noted drummers, including Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, [5] [6] Tre Cool of Green Day, [7] and Tim Solyan of Victims Family. Nomeansno further emphasized the drumming in the live environment by positioning the drum kit not near the back of the stage as is more common, but rather near the front of the stage so that the audience may see a side view of the drummer. Wright confirmed that this arrangement was intentional:

There's no doubt that it's more exciting for audience to see what the drummer's doing and you feel more connected to the rhythm section that way. I mean that was standard set up in the old days – rock n' roll was the oddball that put the drummer in the back. [8]

An avid homebrewer of beer, he has filmed and released an instructional video detailing his recommended brewing process. This video is currently available on DVD packaged with the live Hanson Brothers record It's A Living. In 2019, Wright and his brother Rob teamed with Isaac Tremblay to open the Wildwood Public House, a craft beer pub in Powell River, British Columbia. [9] The pub closed for re-organization in December 2022, with the intent to re-open the following March, but the business remained closed.

Wright is the father of two sons.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nomeansno</span> Canadian rock band

Nomeansno was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They released 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, and numerous EPs and singles. Critic Martin Popoff described their music as "the mightiest merger between the hateful aggression of punk and the discipline of heavy metal." Nomeansno's distinct hardcore punk sound, complex instrumentation, and dark, "savagely intelligent" lyrics inspired subsequent musicians. They were a formative influence on punk jazz, post-hardcore, math rock, and emo.

The Hanson Brothers were a Canadian punk rock band formed in 1984 in Victoria and later based in Vancouver. The group included John and Rob Wright and Tom Holliston, all members of the punk rock band Nomeansno. The Hanson Brothers' band name references characters in the cult ice hockey film Slap Shot.

<i>Wrong</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Nomeansno

Wrong is the fourth full-length album by Canadian punk rock band Nomeansno. It was released in 1989 through Alternative Tentacles record label.

<i>Sex Mad</i> 1986 studio album by Nomeansno

Sex Mad is the second full-length album by Canadian punk rock band NoMeansNo. Released in 1986, it is both the first Nomeansno LP to feature long-time guitarist Andy Kerr in addition to founding members Rob Wright and John Wright and the first Nomeansno album issued through Alternative Tentacles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Wright</span> Canadian musician and songwriter (born 1954)

Rob Wright is a Canadian musician and songwriter best known as the bassist, lead vocalist and occasional guitarist of the progressive punk rock band Nomeansno, as well as the bassist of the pop punk band The Hanson Brothers. Wright was born in Montreal, Quebec, and currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.

<i>All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt</i> 2006 studio album by Nomeansno

All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt is the tenth and final studio album by Vancouver punk rock band Nomeansno. It was released by the band's own Wrong Records imprint, in conjunction with AntAcidAudio in North America and Southern Records in Europe, making it their first record not to be released by the Alternative Tentacles imprint since Mama in 1982. The album marked a return to shorter and more conventional songs than their previous efforts, Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie (1998) and One (2000).

<i>Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?</i> 1993 studio album by Nomeansno

Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? is the sixth full-length album by Vancouver punk rock group Nomeansno. Released in 1993, it is their second album recorded by the original two-piece lineup of brothers Rob and John Wright following Mama (1982), and first after the departure of longtime guitarist Andy Kerr. Here the band mostly replaced its hardcore punk sound with slower songs influenced by heavy metal and progressive rock. The album was well-received by critics and praised for its balance of heaviness and subtlety, showcasing the dynamics of the band in its original incarnation.

<i>Live + Cuddly</i> 1991 live album by Nomeansno

Live + Cuddly is a live album by Canadian punk rock band Nomeansno. Released in 1991, it featured live recordings from European performances in support of the band's album Wrong (1989). Live + Cuddly has been praised as one of the best punk rock live albums ever recorded. The cover photo features drummer John Wright as a child, in between his cousin and an unknown wedding band drummer.

<i>Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie</i> 1998 studio album by Nomeansno

Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie is the eighth full-length album released by Canadian punk rock band Nomeansno. It was initially released on Alternative Tentacles in 1998 as a 10-track CD and 12-track double LP. The band's own label Wrong Records, along with distributors Southern Records, re-released the 12-track version of the album in 2007, 2010, and 2014 with modified track order and art.

<i>One</i> (Nomeansno album) 2000 studio album by Nomeansno

One is the ninth full-length album by Vancouver punk rock band Nomeansno. Released in 2000, it was their penultimate album and last of eight albums issued through the Alternative Tentacles imprint. Its long, ponderous songs generally pleased critics and longtime fans, with All Music critic Tom Schulte assessing the album's "intense and heavy collegiate punk" as one of the band's finest efforts since their seminal 1989 album Wrong. It features a cover of the Ramones song "Beat on the Brat" and a reworking of the title track of Miles Davis's Bitches Brew album. Because of the ambiguity of the album cover layout, the album has been understood at times by the press to be called No One.

<i>Mama</i> (Nomeansno album) 1982 studio album by Nomeansno

Mama is the debut album by Victoria, British Columbia punk rock band Nomeansno. Featuring the band's original incarnation comprising brothers John and Rob Wright, the album was released independently on LP in 1982. Nomeansno reissued a remastered version the album in 1992 on their own Wrong Records imprint, coupled with the tracks from their Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred EP of 1981.

<i>You Kill Me</i> (EP) 1985 EP by Nomeansno

You Kill Me is an EP by Canadian punk rock band Nomeansno. Recorded in 1985, it is the first Nomeansno record to feature the band's three-piece lineup, with guitarist Andy Kerr joining founding members Rob Wright and John Wright. Originally issued on the Undergrowth label, it was later re-released on CD with the Sex Mad album on the Sex Mad/You Kill Me compilation CD and cassette released by Alternative Tentacles.

<i>Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred</i> 1981 EP by Nomeansno

Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred is the first EP by Canadian punk rock band Nomeansno. Released in 1981, it and the "Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service" 7-inch split single from the previous year are the two official Nomeansno releases from their origins recording in their parents' basement before becoming a live band. Originally self-released in a limited vinyl run, the EP since has been re-released by the band's Wrong Records imprint on 7-inch and included on reissues of the band's 1982 debut album Mama.

Ken Kempster is a Canadian musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compressorhead</span> Rock band made up of robot musicians

Compressorhead was an animatronic robot band created by Berlin-based artist Frank Barnes and collaborators Markus Kolb, Stock Plum, and John and Rob Wright, formerly of NoMeansNo, as musical directors, songwriters and vocalists.

<i>Generic Shame</i> 2001 EP by Nomeansno

Generic Shame is an EP from Vancouver punk rock band Nomeansno. Released in 2001 on Wrong Records, the three-song EP was recorded during the same sessions which produced the album One.

<i>In the Fishtank 1</i> 1996 EP by Nomeansno

In the Fishtank 1 is an EP by Vancouver punk rock band Nomeansno. Recording during the band's 1996 European tour, it was the first release in the In the Fishtank series, in which the Netherlands-based De Konkurrent label provided bands with two days of studio recording time and released the final results.

<i>Tour EP 1</i> 2010 EP by Nomeansno

Tour EP 1 is an EP from Vancouver punk rock band Nomeansno. Released in 2010 on the band's Wrong Records imprint, the four-song EP was issued as a thumb drive and 12" vinyl EP in support of Nomeansno's 2010 touring. Tour EP 1 and its sequel Tour EP 2 were originally intended as the first half of a four-EP series, but this series was never completed. They were Nomeansno's final releases before their 2016 breakup.

<i>Tour EP 2</i> 2010 EP by Nomeansno

Tour EP 2 is an EP from Vancouver punk rock band Nomeansno. Released in 2010 on the band's Wrong Records imprint, the four-song EP was issued as a thumb drive and 12" vinyl EP in support of Nomeansno's European tour late in 2010. It was reissued in 2013 and distributed by Southern Records. Tour EP 2 and its predecessor Tour EP 1 were originally intended as the first half of a four-EP series, but this series was never completed. They were Nomeansno's final releases before their 2016 breakup.

Look, Here Come the Wormies / SS Social Service is a split 7-inch vinyl single with one song each from Victoria, British Columbia punk rock bands Nomeansno and Mass Appeal, artist Ray Carter's first audio work. The record was independently issued in a limited run in 1980 and has not been re-released. It is the first Nomeansno record and one of two, along with the Betrayal, Fear, Anger, Hatred EP, from the band's home-recording era before they became a live band.

References

  1. ↑ "Interviews: John Wright (Nomeansno)". PunkNews.org. September 20, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Nomeansno to Be Inducted into Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame". Exclaim!. June 10, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Episode 227: "John Wright & Frank Barnes of Compressorhead". Kreative Kontrol podcast with Vish Khanna. November 26, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ Chadwick, Julie (November 22, 2023). "Dead Bob proves that punk is still alive and kicking". The Discourse.
  5. ↑ "Returning to His Roots with Probot". Modern Drummer . 2004. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ 9/18/07 Grohl-hosted show on BBC Radio 1
  7. ↑ "Green Day Acceptance Speeches at the 2015 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - YouTube". YouTube .
  8. ↑ Nielson, Jeff (November 2010). "I Am Wrong: An interview with NoMeansNo's John Wright". The Big Takeover. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ "New Craft Pub Comes to Powell River". January 23, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.