JOHN GREGORY BIO
History
John Gregory Reinhold was born and raised in Los Angeles and has been playing in bands since 1988. His band California was signed by Tom Zutaut and Mercury Records in 1999. During the recording of their debut record with producer Eric Valentine, Mercury Records was discontinued and they were folded into Island Records, then dropped shortly thereafter. The finished record was then picked up by Rob Kahane and Paul Palmer, of Trauma Records, re-branded and released. They ventured on a tour opening up for Stevie Nicks in the fall of September of 2001. While heading to the East Coast to start the tour, the Twin Towers were attacked. The tour continued on, “We all felt that we had to keep going.” The tour was adjusted and continued through the East Coast and back to the West Coast with legendary guests such as Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood, and Don Henly. Shortly after the band finished up the tour, Trauma Records faced some challenges and the band was dropped. California broke up shortly after..
Early 2000
John was signed by Atlantic Records by Ron Shapiro in 2002, began writing and co-writing new material. A new record was recorded with Rob Jacobs, Jim Scott mixed, and an end title song “Ride of Your Life” with John Shanks for an Amanda Bynes movie “What a Girl Wants.” Shortly after the record was released, John was released from Atlantic Records. He continued to write in Nashville with some great writers such as Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsay, and Bob Regan. And writing with Marti Frederiksen and Russ Irwin got a cut on Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell 3 record “What About Love.”
Current History
Despite the co-writes and publishing deals, the money ran out and so did the fire and by 2008. John pretty much left the business. Got married, raised 2 kids, and though continuing to sing in cover bands and continuing to write, it was just for himself and not for anyone else. “I took a 10 year hiatus.” I reconnected with an old friend Mike Fasano who I played with 1990-1993, and he really helped me reignite the fire and encouraged me to start playing again. I had compiled a lot of songs over those years and we put a little band together with a pedal steel player and some old friends Alan and Freddy and started playing out. It feels good to be doing original music again with friends and just enjoying myself. It’s never too late to start again and I’ve got nothing to prove and nothing to lose.
A SAMPLING OF JGB MUSIC BELOW
