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John Popper (born March 29 1967 ) is an American musician and songwriter. He is most famous for his role as frontman of rock band Blues Traveler , performing Harmonica , 12-string Acoustic Guitar and Vocals . He is widely considered a harmonica Virtuoso , and is listed by harmonica manufacturer Hohner as a "Featured Artist", an accolade reserved for only the best and most successful harmonica players. LIFE AND CAREER John Popper was born in Cleveland , Ohio and raised in Connecticut , New York , and New Jersey . He wanted to become a musician after seeing the film '' The Blues Brothers '' ( 1980 ). Popper tried the Piano , the Cello , and the guitar, but finally settled on the harmonica. He formed a garage band with high school friends in Princeton, New Jersey , which evolved into Blues Traveler in 1987. He soon began to perform solo concerts in addition to touring with Blues Traveler. In 1992, Popper founded the HORDE Festival as a venue to gain exposure for up-and-coming independent musicians. In October of that same year he was involved in a traffic accident on a Motorcycle while traveling to a studio to record for Blues Traveler's Third Album . The accident put him in a wheelchair for several months, but Popper continued touring with the band despite the difficulties it created. The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1996 was awarded to " Run-around ", a song which Popper composed. He took over in 1998 as front man of jam-band Supergroup Frogwings , which released the live album ''Croakin' at Toad's''. Bolstered by Blues Traveler's mainstream success, Popper released an album with his own John Popper Band , '' Zygote '', in 1999 and toured in support of it. Also in 1999, he suffered a near- Heart Attack brought on by years of Compulsive Overeating . (He had been diagnosed with Diabetes a few years earlier.) Doctors performed an emergency Angioplasty which saved Popper's life (he had 95% Arterial blockage)Skanse, Richard. "Popper's Inferno" , '' Rolling Stone '', 7 September 1999., and he later underwent Gastric Bypass Surgery and lost a large amount of weight. Popper recently formed a Rock / Jazz / Hip-hop Fusion group The John Popper Project with DJ Logic , which released an album in 2006 and performs occasionally. A prolific songwriter, he has composed a majority of the lyrics and music of Blues Traveler's songs. He also frequently appears as a guest performer with musicians both famous and obscure. He has performed with, among others, jam bands Ambassador to the United States. He sat in with The Smashing Pumpkins on the second day of their Acoustic 1997 Bridge School Benefit appearance, contributing harmonica for their song "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans"; Popper's solo garnered major applause from the audience. He has been a recurring guest on Howard Stern 's and Bill Maher 's shows and sits in with The CBS Orchestra on '' The Late Show With David Letterman '' on occasion. Popper is a at various military camps. Legal trouble In 2003, he was arrested for possession of Marijuana . Mug shot of Popper Popper was also arrested on knife, a Taser , and Night Vision Goggles . Popper's vehicle also had flashing emergency headlights, a siren and a Public Address system. Popper explained that he had installed these items in his vehicle because in the event of a natural disaster he didn't want to be left behind. Popper also said he was a weapons collector. Officers also recovered a small amount of marijuana and a marijuana pipe. The vehicle was seized.Geranios, Nicholas K. "Manager says Blues Traveler's Popper legally had weapons" , Associated Press. 9 March 2007. "Blues Traveler rocker arrested on gun, drug charges" , ''The Times of Trenton'', 9 March 2007. EQUIPMENT John Popper uses Shure microphones and Marshall Amplifiers , a setup nearly identical to what Blues Traveler guitarist Chan Kinchla uses himself; Popper noted in an interview that "I just asked Chan what he used." He also uses D'Addario strings. Trademark equipment Popper has developed some equipment innovations to accommodate his use of harmonica during onstage performance: Due to the fact that Diatonic Harmonicas are tuned to one particular Key , he has fashioned belts (worn as Suspenders ) with enough pockets to hold an entire set of harmonicas in 12 different keys, plus extras. This allows Popper to change keys during a performance quickly without looking; he often exchanges harmonicas multiple times within one song. Popper has also rigged a special microphone with switches that change the audio effect of the harmonica as it is played through an Amplifier . He has also fashioned a floppy-brimmed hat with flattened harmonica plates on its band, which he almost always wears during appearances with Blues Traveler. He is also fond of Smith & Wesson revolvers. PERFORMANCES AND APPEARANCES Featured music appearances
Guest music appearances
Television appearances
Other appearances
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