John McManus

John McManus has been playing bass and guitar since the age of 10.

In the mid 1970’s John played with founding Steely Dan drummer Jimmy Hodder shortly after Hodder left Steely Dan. John later played with former Dr. Hook drummer Jay David (On the Cover of the Rolling Stone, Sylvia’s Mother).

By the early 1980’s John was gigging part time with Joy of Cooking founding member Tony Brown. At the same time he also played in Ronnie Estrada's San Francisco based Latin rock band which included Panamanian timbale player Benny Velarde of Cal Tjader fame. Santana congo player Raul Rekow was a guest of the band.

In the early 1990's John moved from Latin jazz to Celtic Rock Fusion, co-founding the band Solstice which featured Cameron McFadden on Scottish highland bagpipes. This group recorded two albums.

John maintains his musical credentials with various performing acts, mostly on his home turf, the west coast. But he’s also performed in Europe, including sessions in Germany, England and Ireland. He produced a solo album in the 1990’s and later two CD’s with Northern Ireland vocalist and writer Kevin Barry Artt.

John has made a point of listening to a wide spectrum of music in an effort to get the widest music vocabulary.

Major influences include:

Early: The Beatles (of course), Ricky Nelson, James Brown, Little Richard, Everly Brothers, The Beach Boys, British Invasion bands (Hollies, The Who, The Yardbirds,etc.)

Later: Cream, Santana, Hendrix, Sons of Champlain, Led Zeplin, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, BB King, Chicago, Tower of Power, Blood Sweat and Tears, Taj Mahal, James Taylor

Later yet: Earth, Wind and Fire, Commodores, Steely Dan, Van Halen, Journey, Police, Weather Report, Jan Hammer, Christopher Cross, Jeff Lorber, Ltd., Jeffrey Osborne, Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Level 42, Wolfstone, Toto and many, many others.