John FunKinator - Drums and Percussion

Personal Background:

John was born and raised in Ottawa, and was always exposed to music in some form or another. He remembers his relatives would show up with guitars, violins and the like, and it would turn into a big party! In grade school, John sang in the choir for about three years and was encouraged to hit the bongos, when his music teacher quickly took away the trombone that was suggested he try out!

When John was around three years old, he recalls sitting behind a set of drums for the first time. It was an image that stayed with him, to this day. As a young boy, John tried to convince his parents to allow him to get a set of drums. Alas, money was tight, and space was at a premium. Luckily, some of his friends had received drums for presents, which allowed him the opportunity try and get a handle on those “rhythmic beasts!” He  drove his friends and their families’ crazy with his relentless pounding of the drums.

Musical Background:
The latter part of the seventies, John moved West. While out West, he took drum lessons at a privately owned drum studio for about a year, then bought his first drum kit. While out West, John jammed around with a reggae type band, and tried his hand with some calypso bands. John has been beating his drums around the Ottawa area for close to twenty years. He has played in various genres of music, such as Rock, Blues, R&B, Soul/Funk.

Musical Influences:
Tower Of Power, Kool & The Gang (the 70’s), Stevie Wonder, Average White Band, Earth Wind & Fire, Johnny Guitar Watson, Steely Dan, Robert Palmer (very early stuff - Sneakin' Sally), The Isley Brothers, The Funk Brothers, The Brecker Brothers, Weather Report, CCR, Steppenwolf, Little Feat, Steel Pulse, Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer.

The FunKtion:
The FunKtion has been a while in the making, and came about as a result of an R&B band that John was playing in a while back. The genres of music that The FunKtion explores, is something that he has wanted to do for a very long time, and it allows him to play with very talented and committed musicians, from the Ottawa area, who are also great fun to be around!

The objective of The FunKtion is to do something different than other big bands around town today. Along with some of the standards that may be expected from a band of this type, The FunKtion takes things to a different level. A big part of the band’s sound is sweet sounding vocals, and a big horn sound. The goal is to bring a show that will be unique and audiences will truly enjoy.