ArtistInfo

John Forbes

key, *1964 US
Musician / Composer / Producer
A.k.a. John Frederick Forbes

American producer, engineer, keyboardist, synth player, Atlanta, GA-based. Born 9 March 1964 John Forbes was raised in Pensacola,Florida. The son of a music store owner and pipe organ designer, John studied music with Harrison Newkirk for 14 years before going on to summer workshops at Berklee College in Boston. After playing in a regional reggae band for a few years, John moved to Austin, Texas and then to California. In Austin John played with “The Killer Bees,” a reggae band nominated for the Reggae Grammy in 1989. After arriving in California, John got the gig playing with Bobby Brown, at the time the undisputed “king of the stage.” The gig with Bobby lasted almost six years in which time John established himself as an accomplished R&B Hip Hop keyboardist, programmer and later as a producer. In 1994 John worked with Reality Entertainment CEO, Warren Croyle, producing a rock band from Miami by the name of Farrcry. This short deluge into rock was an introduction into the realm of high end analogue production. Also in 1994, John lost his home in the Norhtridge, CA earthquake sending him south to Orange county to write and and play in a band called “The Gnarley Braus.” The”Gnarlies” was a quartet featuring guitarist Philip Gough (now guitarist with “Bow Wow Wow) where John’s keyboard skills could shine. The Gnarlies later became “Cross Culture” signed to G Recordings Warner Bros. G Recordings was founded by legendary Mc G Nichols, director of the Charley’s Angels films as well as The OC and many others. 1997 brought the release of Rick James from jail, and John had the honor of arranging and performing keyboards on Urban Rhapsody as well as performing with Rick on the support tour. Shortly after the run with Rick James, John was introduced to an up and coming playwright by the name of Tyler Perry. John would work with Tyler as a keyboardist and orchestrator on and off Broadway on six of Tyler’s plays. John also collaborated with Elvin Ross on Tyler’s debut movie “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” for Lion’s Gate Films. John’s music has made it’s way to numerous television shows including America’s Next Top Model, ESPN, Fox Sports, Cane, Dexter and many others. John has recently been working with international recording star Shawn Rivera of Azyet fame as well as composing and producing music for Leona Lewis. As of January 2009, John has relocated to Atlanta, GA where he has built his studio and production facility, thus positioning his company to actively produce music for mainstream film and television.

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