John Sullivan: Four Decades Of Local Rock And Roll

Local rocker John SullivanPuplished in The Message, June10, 2009 Springfield, VT–resident musician John Sullivan has been rocking New England audiences for some four decades, having performed and recorded with such national artists as Steven Tyler of Aerosmith,The Ramones, Danny Klein of the J. Geils Band, Rick Derringer, James Montgomery, Joe Cocker, Steppenwolf, John Butcher, Joey Molland of Badfinger, among others.
Born in Keene, NH, John’s family moved to Greenfield, MA. when he was young, but has lived in Springfield since 1993. His early musical influences included the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. “The British Invasion pretty much threw open the door for me and I was off and running,” Sullivan stated in a recent interview. “I learned to play on an acoustic guitar that my mother had kicking around and I soon developed my own vocal style, which came naturally for me.”
While living in Bernardston, MA., John then stumbled upon his first opportunity to be in a band. “I was getting off the school bus one day in front of the town hall and heard a band practicing inside, they were called The Links. “The leader of the band asked me if I wanted to audition for the group so I walked in, picked up a guitar and played ‘Mellow Yellow’ and ‘Last Train To Clarksville’ and landed the gig.”
Some of the bands Sullivan has played in over the years include The Links, English Realm in the 60’s, The Dirt Road Band and Spirit In Flesh in the 70’s and Race and Hired Gun through the 90’s. “The Dirt Road Band used to play at the Duck Inn in Springfield when I was just 18 years old,” John added. “At the time I didn’t think I would be settling down in the area, but I got married and my wife is originally from this area - so here I am!” Sullivan has also won and placed in a handfull of songwriting contests over the years including a Billboard magazine contest.
John Sullivan with RainWhen this editor last wrote about John a couple years ago, he had just released a solo CD on the Ohio–based independant label Atom Records titled Many Voices.
Since then, Sullivan recorded and released a second solo CD called Touch The Sky (also on Atom Records), and is currently working on his third. John is also finishing up production on a disc with a band from CT called The Image. “It’s primarily Christian rock and is a great way for me to express my thoughts on life and faith.”
Sullivan is primarily playing around New England with his John Sullivan Band, which includes two former members of Motorplant, Eric Eaves (bass) and Kevin Trybulski (guitars), as well as Hartford, VT–native Tommy Pierson on drums. The band plays Sullivan’s original songs, along with assorted classic and current rock hits. John is currently also helping to organize a festival to be held at the Springfield Elks Club in August called the Autism Awareness Music Festival or AAMFEST.
“I am really excited about this event, John concluded. “There will be five guest bands and speakers to go along with some great food and fun. We want to help raise awareness about Autism and how it affects families.”
To learn more about John Sullivan, as well as his current projects and solo CD releases, visit www.johnsullivansite.com