John W. Patterson Biography

I was born in April 21, 1955 in Washington, D.C., USA. I grew up in probably, the lowest middle-class, blue-collar echelon that suburban Maryland offered. Unfortunately, music lessons were out of the question. So my creative energies were expressed in art and writing then and continue unabated to this day. But at the core of my being dwelt the Muse of Song. I heard it nonstop, in phrases, passages, riffs, drones, and endless rhythms. At twelve years old, after years of Top 40 pop’s mindless banter, I heard Blue Cheer, Hendrix, then Cream, Jeff Beck, Led Zep, Grand Funk, and so forth. I bought the guitar and the amp. I would seek to emulate the heroes. Not so. Friends of mine with musical training took off sailing as I stumbled along “fretting”. They formed bands, played at high school dances and well — I sold all my gear and said forget it. I continued listening, dreaming, and discovering new sounds. Whether it was Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Delius, Horslips, or Captain Beyond-it was all a fascinating beauty. I have spent thousands of hours in record shops, flea markets, yard sales looking for just one more and then I’d stop. One day a close musician friend of mine loaned me Mahavishnu Orchestra’s “Birds of Fire”. He said this was where it was at and told me to give it time to sink in and push aside all the other rock in my head. He was right. Soon I was snapping up all the jazzrock fusion and progressive rock I could find. Having a well-to-do friend in college who later opened a high-end stereo store helped immensely in my exposure to imports as well. I never looked back. I even went out grabbed another guitar not long after hearing Mahavishnu John burn the frets on “Inner Mounting Flame”. I’ve done the band practice thing, performed live, gone through the band break-up thing, reformed, drifted apart and yet I still seek that liquid legato lead break 25 years later. So here I am now, reviewing music for various magazines, websites, and inter-networking with artists to see them get the exposure they deserve and need. I hope to see “killer fusion” make a comeback and witness progressive rock make a monster return as well. The 21st century is looking good for great music. I’ll continue to riff away the minutes here and there but mostly enjoy the “soul-fire” that burns all around me in listening to music that matters-music that goes a step further. My professional, day gig is electron microscopy research as a Lab Analyst at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, USA. I am happily married with two amazing children. I love to travel, hike, and camp all across North America. I also enjoy writing sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and cross genre short stories. I write or have written music reviews and articles for fAZE3 Magazine, Progression Magazine, and the Alternate Music Press.