Hello! I’m a Bay Area guitarist/songwriter specializing in lap steel and slide guitar. I perform regularly with my band John Howland Trio and with Cyndi Harvell, a bay area indie/americana artist signed to Fortune Records.

My formal education was found at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where I learned the “science” of music on standard tuned guitar. While in school I performed at venues around New England and was a favorite to open for touring acts such as Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Seeing and feeling the emotional impact of Robert’s steel guitar was a revelation. It was the connection that I was looking for, and not always finding, in the clinical approach that music school often fosters. Coincidentally, the legendary Dave Tronzo signed on to teach slide guitar at Berklee right at this time and my slide adventure began.

Not long after this experience, I moved from Boston to California with a girlfriend, two cats and a Honda Civic packed to the gills with stuff. Upon arrival I began digging further into the world of slide instruments including Weissenborn-style acoustic lap steel. I’ve been performing and teaching music full time ever since.

In 2007 the album Sunburn was released by John Howland Trio. The album is a collection of songs with evocative lyrics, catchy music, and a penchant for improvisation when played live. Sunburn was released independently in the US and picked up for distribution in Japan by GreyDog’s Records.

In 2008 Cyndi Harvell Band, a long time side project, was discovered by producer Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, John Lennon) at Ex’pression recording school in Berkeley. Jack was guest hosting a recording class. The band lucked into the guinea pig spot for the class, and Jack liked what he heard. He passed the band along to Jim Greer of Fortune Records who signed the band on and promptly started pre-production for the first album.

The Night Turned Into Song was then recorded at Old School Studio in Caspar, Ca.

SF radio station KFOG chose the song “Photographs” to be put on their 2008 compilation and asked the band to perform on air during morning drive time.

The band was also invited to play at the 2008 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park. The rest of 2008 and into 2009 is heating up with the album slated for release in February of ’09. Advance reviews have been favorable. Billy’s Bunker had this to say:

“What first struck me about this album was the simplicity and taste in the performance of these songs. I'm a big fan of slide guitar, and John Howland's Weissenborn slide guitar is played with the kind of mastery that is worthy of such a fine instrument. That thing has a tone no amount of fiddling with knobs can duplicate. I think John Howland's ability on the acoustic slide guitar warrants the creation of such a fine instrument. With Cyndi on acoustic and Mike Stevens playing all things percussive with inventive simplicity (drum kit, djembe, triangles, shakers, et cetera, et cetera), this band gives the song what it longs for”.

I joined the Dunlop artist roster in the fall 2008! It’s a good thing ‘cause stringing up all those geetars can be expensive! (www.jimdunlop.com)

I’m looking forward to a new year of making music with my friends and folks I’ve yet to meet!