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an
early promo
photo
(circa 1984)
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John's musical odyssey began in 1976 when his father bought him a red
Rickenbacker 4001 bass (click
HERE
for more on the hunt for "Rosebud"...). One has to consider what a monumental gesture
this was on his father's part... John had just quit school (an honours student, this
definitely didn't play well on the home front...) and not long before
that, he had decided to turn his back on hockey, which in Canada is sacriledge
at the best of times but must also be weighed against the fact that he
had been scouted by the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL that winter. So the decision to become a musician was tantamount to
throwing his future away...
THE LONG ROAD AHEAD...
Never one to take the easy road, John began his 'training' in earnest
and soon found himself in a band with his childhood friend, guitarist
Martino Vergata. Within a short time the band (unilaterally renamed
'Vergata'... as ego was never in short supply) was getting attention
from local 'industry types' and in 1978 they played their first gig (as a
warmup act...) at the elegant and historic 1500 seat Playhouse Theatre
in Winnipeg (now renamed Pantages
Playhouse, click
HERE
for more info...). |
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TENNEFIELD DOWN... Personal
differences with Vergata (this would not be the first 'parting of the
ways' over the years...) found John moving on to follow a more 'proggy
road' and he left that band (taking keyboard player Greg Fill with
him...) to form the all original TENNEFIELD DOWN. This band
featured
several notables, among them... vocalist
Danny Kramer (who later went
on to prominence in Canadian musical theatre...), Daria Bilash
on electric violin, flute and vocals (Daria (now Daria Watkin..), is a
well known music educator and still active in the music scene),
keyboard player Greg Fill went on to release albums
with his own band 'I AM I AM' and others... (sadly, Greg succumbed to an
AIDS-related illness in 1995), as well as drummer-percussionist Peter
Kamieniarz and guitarist Dave Neufeld (David now lives and performs in
the Vancouver area as David Bird...). The band had a unique
progressive style with John's bass (used in a melodic context) taking
a lead roll (ala Chris Squire of Yes or Jon Camp from Renaissance).
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HEARTLAND...
After keyboardist Fill
left to form his own group, John found himself back with guitarist
Vergata once again. This time in the hard rock quartet
HEARTLAND.
John had been living in Toronto at the time and was recruited by
Vergata to be the 'keyboard player' (note the quotations marks...) in this new up and coming project.
John had only dabbled with keys up to this point and the idea of going out on
the road with a high profile 'A' circuit band as a keyboard player took a serious
amount of nerve! This group, which also included drummer Dana Sekundiak
(ex-VIENNA) and bass player Karl Rahnefeld (later of Kenny Shields
Band, see Streetheart). This, along with several other versions of Heartland
toured western Canada extensively between 1984 and 1989.
...more on
HEARTLAND
HERE |
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HEARTLAND
(Mk II)
on stage
in 1986,
Martino Vergata (guitar) & John Pascoe (keyboards)
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In 1990, sick of
the road and Vergata's reluctance to focus on original material,
they parted ways (yet again...). John's main priority from day one
had always been writing and by this time he had between two and
three hundred songs in his ever expanding portfolio! Time for
something more artistic...
LEMMINGS...
In 1993, along with current
IGWT
guitarist Gary Semkiw and sax
/ MIDI wind player Ray Bach, he formed the progressive rock trio,
LEMMINGS. Focused exclusively on performing original
material, this was the first unit in a long, long while that he felt
was actually pursuing an 'honourable' course. Being a progressive rock
band in Canada in the 1990's proved to be no easy task however. Met at
every turn by 'suits' who not only didn't understand the concept of
progressive rock, but were actively hostile to anyone professing a
contrary opinion about it. After four years of struggle they realized
that the Canadian music industry, at that time a wilderness (*) of lame
alternative bands and rap, wasn't going to change anytime soon, so
there was no use swimming against the tide...
(*) Apologies...
and respect to all the excellent prog & fusion bands in Quebec that
continue to survive in that island of good taste...
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'A new fish in a whole other pond...'
John continued writing
(while at the same time making important contacts in Europe...) and
in 2003 he began work on what was to be his biggest challenge to date.
A full-blown prog concept album entitled
"In God We Trust... (An Apocalyptic
Fairytale)
(for more on this project click
HERE).
This stunning 'what if...?' tale of America's descent into madness
and anarchy, is sure to be controversial when released. The idea of
nuclear weapons being used on American soil has long been a taboo
subject but in recent times has become more of a 'when' than an 'if'
question, sadly. Never one to shy away from controvery, John has
invested almost four years in this project and it has become a
statement he feels driven to make... stay tuned!! |
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In God We Trust...
(An Apocalyptic Fairytale)
(release date pending...) |
...more photos
HERE |
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