Contact John

BFE Records
PO Box 6272
Plymouth, MI. 48170

Email:johnfinanmusic@yahoo.com

About John…

Artist description:

John is a singer/songwriter/guitarist based in the Detroit area, known for his mix of introspective and funny songwriting, as well as his improvisational guitar work.

Music style:

folk/acoustic rock

Musical influences:

Richard Thompson, Paul Simon, Beatles, lots more…

In a bit more detail…

A guitarist since age 6, and a songwriter since age 15, John has been performing publicly since 1978. After years in original and cover bands, he moved to performing his own acoustic material in the early 1990’s, and hasn’t stopped since. John performs extensively, and has hosted several successful open mics in the Detroit area – most recently at Farmington’s Mentobe Cafe.  He has performed and/or recorded with Jere Stormer, Ben Hassenger, Luti Erbeznic, Bobby Pennock, Tracy Kash, Charlie Monterey, Mike Dorn, Leslie Frederick, the Delta Twins, and as half of a longtime duo with fellow singer-guitarist Sharon Tse.  He also currently sings and plays guitar with vocal group In Harmony’s Way (IHW), and continues to play solo gigs.

John’s music has been heard on Kelly Brown’s “Homeboys” show on WRIF in Detroit, as well as A3 Radio’s “Folk It!” and Pam Rossi’s “Live From UDetroit Cafe” online shows.  His online songs have been downloaded and played all over the world- including 10,000 + plays in Afghanistan by our troops during the the Afghanistan/Iraq war. His songs have also been featured on the playlist of Dutch National Radio.

In 1999 he released his first album for his own BFE label, Observations & Complaints – a lushly crafted album painstakingly recorded over 18 months. His second, demo-style-with chops album, Make It Good, came out in June of 2001. This features forays into both rock and folk styles, and includes the hit “Refrigerator Science Projects”.  His 2002 offering, Sweet Oblivion, is another self-recorded disc, but digitally recorded His subjects on this CD include the local music press (“Name in the Paper”), a Very Famous Celebrity (“The O.R.P.S. Confusion Blues”), hope (“Glory Up Ahead”), regret (“Sweet Oblivion”), and September 11th (“A Sky That Wasn’t There”). Land Of The Living (release in Sept. 2004), showed him continuing his exploration of new arrangements and subjects. Heartbreak and hope are explored in “Nothing At All” and “A Song Of Hope”, respectively, as are engagements (“I Wish You Well”), and writer’s block (“Between The Paper And The Pen”). Electric guitars dominate the rocking title cut and his take on politics and current events (“Mercy”). And, for the stately “Off The Ground”, he multi-tracked his own voice into a 9-piece choir.

John’s 5th album “Believer” was released in 2018 and includes songs that have already become popular requests, “The Ballad of Touchdown Jesus” (about the statue, not the deity), “Wolverine” (about the train line, not the animal), and the notorious “Suicide Squirrel” (about exactly what it sounds like).

His 6th album, tentatively titled “Hope”  is currently in production.