John Popper

by Jason AnkenyThe harmonica virtuoso and rotund frontman for jam band favorites Blues Traveler, singer/harpist John Popper was born in Cleveland, OH, on March 29, 1967. While attending high school in Princeton, NJ, he befriended drummer Brendan Hill; together, the two — in combination with guitarist Chan Kinchla and bassist Bobby Sheehan — would go on to form Blues Traveler, earning a fervent grassroots following during the early 90s on the basis of their relentless touring schedule and a sprawling blues-rock sound that aligned them alongside other neo-hippie outfits including Phish, Widespread Panic, and the Spin Doctors. All of the aforementioned joined Blues Traveler in 1992 on the inaugural H.O.R.D.E. (Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere) tour, which was originally conceived by Popper and band manager Dave Frey and went on to become one of the most successful annual tour packages of the decade. The groups momentum was derailed in the fall of 1992, however, when Popper was severely injured in a motorcycle accident; returning to the road, he played a number of dates while confined to a wheelchair. 1994s Four was Blues Travelers mainstream breakthrough, launching a major hit with the single Run-Around. After completing his 1999 debut solo effort, Zygote, Popper — whod been experiencing chest pains for months — was forced to undergo an angioplasty; the records eventual release that September was further overshadowed when Blues Traveler bassist Sheehan was found dead in his New Orleans home on August 20. But following his records release, Popper took his backing band out on the road for the first time through that winter. Still struggling with health problems (and obese for quite a while), Popper underwent gastric bypass surgery the next year, which led to a significant weight loss. The sixth Blues Traveler album, Bridge, then appeared in May 2001; Truth Be Told followed two years later. When BT decided to take a break at the end of the year (to accommodate Chan Kinchlas growing family), Popper wasnt ready to sit around and so hooked up with bassist Rob Wasserman (of RatDog fame), playing a random show together in San Francisco. Turntablist DJ Logic happened to drop by for that set, and next thing anyone knew, Popper and Logic had formed the John Popper Project together in early 2004. The group, which also includes Blues Traveler bassist Tad Kinchla and Mosaic drummer Marcus Bleeker, went on to tour sporadically in between BTs schedule, eventually releasing their first album together in October 2006.