Currently lives in Manassas, Virginia.

Thanks to the draft, in 1968 John, as a U.S. Army Specialist, traveled to Germany for a 2-1/2 years duty assignment. During this time, and as always involved in music, he connected with a local group known as The Smiles, a top-notch group that worked most military clubs, and also German venues. In addition to performing with the groups from time-to-time, John also wrote for the group. In 1970 the group released a single, "Baby Nur Du" (translated into German) and the flip side "My Love is Gone" (in English).

After separation from the army, John dabbled around in creating another band locally in northern Virginia. Although there was some success, he found that keeping musicians together at that time was a real challenge (as it is today!).

So, essentially he continued to play as a hobby, and just enjoyed the music.

In 2017, just by dumb luck, John received an email from Reverb.com about a big sale. Usually DELETE was the method for reading advertisements, but this time he clicked on the link. He was drawn to an online store called Reiner's Vintage Guitars located in Augsburg, Germany. Could this be?? John had been trying for over 40 years to locate Herbert Reiner, the bass player and lead singer for The Smiles. John sent an email to the Contact Us link on the website to inquire if this was the same person. A response came back from the webmaster indicating that, "Yes" it was the same person and he had forwarded John's contact information to him.

Herbert contacted John and the creative juices began flowing once again. For the next two years they collaborated on a number of songs. Putting all of this together was a challenge, being 3,000 miles apart! But they did it... Here are some samples, the first was a completed studio recording, the rest were put together in Herbert's studio in Germany (acoustic and vocal) and John's studio in Richmond, VA (the band and backing vocals): Since the Day I Met You, Baby It's You, Let My Mind Set Me Free, and I've Been Gone. Unexpectedly, in November 2019, Herbert passed away. Here is the last instrumental sound track that they recorded at Westwood Studios in preparation for the vocals: Tonight is the Night. Enjoy... The lyrics are locked away in John's safe.