John Clinebell

For a big-time Southern California talent, look no further than John Clinebell. This acoustic rock songwriter is drawing larger crowds to his Los Angeles shows and more online listeners from all across the country every day. He serves up a variety of original tunes, ranging from upbeat melodic pop rock to somber indie ballads, in a way that truly honors the spirited ups and downs of everyday life.

Having never received formal music training, John's voice developed a unique tenor timbre over the years that effortlessly switches from gritty to silky smooth depending on what the song requires. The expressiveness of his singing could be partially attributed to growing up as the son of a recording folk songwriter; young John would often find himself in front of his father's microphone singing Christmas carols or children's songs. This was a liberating, music-loving environment that he grew up in.

After his father passed away in an abrupt, tragic fashion, John's life took a bumpy trip away from music. It fortunately ended when he arrived in college at the University of Arizona. Wanting to learn how to play some R.E.M. songs, John pulled one of his father's old guitars out of storage and started to learn some chords. It wasn't long before he was fronting his own band, Tricky Luz, which won several Tucson music awards.

John quickly matured as a solo songwriter after graduating from college. He began showcasing at Tucson coffee houses and bars, and eventually felt confident enough in his abilities to take the plunge and move to Los Angeles, where he had always wanted to try and make a name for himself. Soon after moving to the L.A. area, he met seasoned producer/songwriter John Wolf. Over the course of the next year and a half, they constructed John Clinebell's first album, Stomping Grounds.

Drawn to the west side of Los Angeles, with its laid-back charm and coastal scenery, John moved to Santa Monica where he began street performing on the world-famous Third Street Promenade. While briskly selling the original print run of Stomping Grounds, he began recording his second album with Aram Arslanian, another talented local producer/songwriter.

Breaking Sweetly was completed, but was never actually released because right before the mastering of the album was scheduled to take place, John was signed by SP&G Records, an indie label based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Since joining with SP&G Records, Clinebell's Stomping Grounds has been professionally remastered and re-released, and pre-production on a brand new album has begun.

This exciting news has done nothing but generate more interest for John Clinebell's music in the Los Angeles area and beyond. Recently showcasing at the House of Blues on Hollywood's Sunset Strip, John's blistering performance stirred a large audience to demand an encore. He heard responses from the HOB staff praising his fearless solo acoustic cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" as one of the featured songs that night. They called it: "a ballsy move."