His musical history began in Texas when he took up the guitar at an early age. He began playing rock and blues professionally during high school and later pursued classical and jazz studies in college. After a brief stint with graduate school, he focused on his growing performance and teaching schedule. While in Austin, he performed with Ghandaia, Grupo Fantasma, Brent Palmer, Mitch Watkins, among others. His gigs took him all over the state along with performances at the SXSW and NXNW festivals.
Relocating in 2002 to the Bay Area, he began playing with Aphrodesia, Bitches Brew, Chris Rossbach, Fulanis, among others. He formed The Other Lebowski, an instrumental trio with Jon Herrera and Jon Arkin that featured his original compositions as well as arrangements of tunes by Hendrix, Frisell, etc. The music reflects a focus on improvisation and exploration rather than image hype.
He has now moved back to Austin where he is currently playing mostly slide and trying to combine the blues with other vocal sounds. He is now playing around town and beyond in a funky roots band with saxophonist Topaz in a group called Mudphonic. They released their debut record “Music for Dorothy” in August 2008 which is now available on iTunes and Amazon. The band is currently in the studio when they are not touring for a new record to be released by the end of 2009.
Tracks available on the media page feature tunes with John Colleton, live cuts with The Other Lebowski, as well as Topaz & Mudphonic.
Any and all new tour dates, music, news, and lessons will always be available at www.johnbranch.org.