John Schneider - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

John Schneider, born in 1949 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, almost immediately started playing his Elvis guitar from morning to night as a child. After taking a few guitar lessons, John, found even more joy in hammering out notes on the grand piano in his grandmother's home.

Later, he started playing drums and started his own band, "The Electric Harpoons," which played in South Florida's first so-called Love-In.

  John's family owned a nationally-recognized amusement park (which was on the cover of LIFE magazine) and so John was continually surrounded by actors and celebrities.

Soon, the acting bug bit him and he was taking parts in every play in the community, high school and college that he could get his hands on. After graduating from a junior college in Palm Beach, Burt Reynolds provided John with a college scholarship to pursue his acting career.

Before long, he was attending the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City while the William Morris Agency was sending him out on auditions. John took several parts in plays, but Burt Reynolds was instrumental in producing a short film, "The Eighth Daffodil," and John soon stepped into to take the lead role. Later in his musical and acting career, John started directing plays and producing short films. Musically, he continued to produce his own orignal songs and played live in a variety of venues. Today, John lives at the Jersey Shore and performs frequently at local venues.

 Recently, he played at Jon Bon Jovi's restaurant, "Soul Kitchen," in Red Bank, NJ. He also produced a song and music video called "Everybody's Gonna Go" to support the Jersey Shore's relief efforts John also founded two companies: Original Music Factory which produces musical soundtracks and CreateAVision Media whch produces documentary and promotional films. Whenever possible, John is also a substitute teacher at the local high school and volunteers to help the local communities. People say I sing and play "lovin' country music with a lick of the rockin' devil." I guess that's true!

 I do love country music, but I have a deep-rooted need to put a little edge in my music once in a while. I have to thank Garth Brooks who challenged me when he became the rocker "Chris Gaines" and so I had to do the same thing just to show him he wasn't the only one who could do it. That's why I created "John Nicole" and produced a few albums under the pseudonym. Meanwhile, Music Reviewer Zack Daggy says I have a rich smooth-toned voice wiht the charismatic quality of Bono.

 I don't know what he's been drinking, but I appreciate the complement. I'll let you be the judge as you listen to "Country Free." "Country Free" is my fifth or sixth album and I'm proud of it. Yes, there are a few familiar tunes which I've remixed, but hopefully I made everything sound a bit better. I'm just so grateful for the folks who are listening to the ablum, paying for it and then letting me know how they feel. "Happy Life" is one of my all-time favorite tunes! I surprised even myself when it was first written. It has a nice feel to it and Laura Baron sings it so sweetly with me. Her career just seems to be taking off and I'm happy for her.

 Nadia Fauteaux from Memphis, TN, also does an incredible job with our duet of "Love Me Tender." I've never heard the song as a duet, but it seems to work well. Hope you like it, too. Nadia also sings in French on the song "Beyond Words (Au-Dela des Mots)" and I think she'll become an international sensation if she plays her cards right. Of course, I do sing some standards like "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and I certainly hope Mr. Zimmerman likes what I did to his great song. He's such a legend.

 I was also privileged to have one of Chuck Berry's piano players, Daryl Davis, perform on my rendition of "Johnny B. Goode." Of course, I also played along with him on my own keyboard, but he was much better than me! I'm also extremely happy Karen Oliver saddled up to sing with me on a little story-tellin' song, "Take Me Home." She's provided lots of backup vocals in the past and this time she's stepped a little closer to the microphone. Nice job, Karen.

 There are some more original and cover tunes in this album and most of them are just sort of calm and easy going. There's nothing too edgy on the album except maybe "Play Ground," which has more of a darker theme than I normally write or sing about.

Well, that's about it. I'm grateful that you listen to my music. And I appreciate the opportunity to play around once in a while. Hopefully, it's keepin' me young just like Garth Brooks.

 John Schneider