Today’s Sunday’s Child could have just as easily been a Fallen Friday, the only reason it isn’t is because Numeria isn’t on iTunes. There are very few musicians whom I’ve ever secretly wished that I was. It just so happens that John Stack is one of those very select few that I really wish I was. Fortunately I’ve at least known John on a personal level. We used to play around Los Angeles together, shared the stage a couple of times over a few years. I remember his band Choking Ghost prior to Numira. I saw them once and that was it. One of the few bands where I was floored by the excellence they had.
Another friend of mine, John Achenbach, actually got the chance to start jamming with John Stack. I was very jealous about that. Silly isn’t it. John Achenbach and I used to pal around and go mountain biking. Then he got a gig drawing for the Simpsons. He’s an extremely talented artist. He was also a fucking hard guy to keep up with when mountain biking. Then one time Achenbach and I went riding and he took a nasty spill and injured his wrist. That was the last time we rode together. I believe John has become more than just an artist for the Simpsons, I think he’s doing scene supervision now. He drew me as a Simpson at one point. It was fantastic.
John’s brother Tim, Tim Stack, is his drummer. At least for Choking Ghost and Numira. Tim is also an extremely cool dude. One of the few drummers I’ve seen that sings and plays drums and does it very well. In fact I know on a couple of occasions that Tim and I discussed headset microphones, which ones we did and didn’t like and why. That’s the little stuff musician’s tend to discuss when they appreciate each others talents.
Another thing that always made me jealous of Numira is that they generally opened for King’s X whenever they played in Hollywood. It was a gig I always wanted to have. The chance to open for King’s X. I never got that chance and if some recent news is correct, I’ll likely never get that chance. Word in the ether is that Doug Pinnick is planning on calling it quits. That’s a drag and you’d know why if you’ve read yesterday’s post. Ooooh, that reminds me of another band that I will need to eventually blog about here on Single of the Day.
I remember when John got his gig playing for Which One’s Pink. They’re a Pink Floyd tribute band based in Los Angeles. Jump back, actually I remember when he was starting to do guest appearances. He called me up one day to borrow a guitar that I have. Which guitar is it you might be asking. It’s a Don Grosh solid body nylon string guitar. A surprisingly cool guitar that is built like an electric guitar but uses nylon strings like a Classical style guitar would. There was a particular Pink Floyd song that John wanted to use for that sound. The great thing is that guitar also sounds great distorted through a huge guitar amp. Since that gig John has gone on to become a full fledged member of Which One’s Pink.
I still see John once in a while. I just read on his website that he’s selling copies of the music he’s written. I really ought to push him to get it onto iTunes. It’s a crying shame that he hasn’t done that yet. At least you are able to purchase his music. I really think you need to buy it. It’s fantastic stuff and like I said John Stack is one of the very few musicians that I wish I were. He’s a great singer. He comes up with insanely cool guitar riffs. I’m not gay but he’s a handsome dude (or if that industry woman who called me eye candy saw him – she’d probably say the same of him). Make his day, contact him because of this post. Tell him you love it and want to buy it, then make good on that.