John Christopher Thomas

John Christopher Thomas’ eclectic musical roots have helped him to create songs with a unique appeal. Born in Omaha Nebraska and raised in San Antonio Texas, John began playing piano when he was 7 years old. His style developed in his early teens, while studying classical and jazz music.
During the mid- 1980’s, local bands in San Antonio were looking for the few available keyboard players. John began to play in a variety of styles, including rock, funk, blues and fusion jazz. While attending university in Austin, John primarily performed as a sideman with artists, such as saxophonist Kyle Turner at local clubs to help pay his way through school.
In 1991, after completing his Bachelor’s degree in studio art, John’s had a strong desire to travel. He moved to South Korea for a job teaching English as a second language. There, he managed to record the numerous songs he had been writing over the years. These songs, recorded in four track reel-to-reel and eventually eight track digital formats, definitely had a low-fi quality, which would hold a certain appeal to his musician friends.
John also befriended many local musicians in Seoul, and eventually joined a Korean group called Joybox, whose pop single “Special” made it to #23 in the K-Pop charts in 2000. Now adding acoustic and electric guitar to his repertoire, John recorded over 200 demos during this time, to further develop his songwriting craft.
After returning to the States in 2003, John completed his MA and proceeded to teach and edit educational materials back in San Antonio. For fun, John created the pseudonym “Sweaty Monk”, to colorfully express the difficulty and occasional fear of following a creative path. Constantly recording in the studio (which was primarily an apartment closet with vocals recorded in the bathroom) he was able to record tunes that reflected his earlier musical roots.
The eleven-song CD Again and Again stems from songs written and recorded by John from 1996 through 2009. Using such instruments as toy drums, toy keyboards and ethnic instruments, John attempts to create songs for those who are approaching or passing middle age– with all of the trials and tribulations that this time of life entails. Issues of regret, disillusionment and attempts of personal redemption and hope are examined. His aim is to create indie rock songs with slight hints of jazz, folk and world music that will be both familiar and refreshing to listeners everywhere.