1. John Popper was born on March 29,1967 and is an American musician and songwriter, known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, and frontman of the rock band Blues Traveler.
42 Facts About John Popper
1. 2.
John Popper's father was a Hungarian immigrant who left Budapest in 1948.
3.
John Popper has stated that he is a distant relative of David John Popper, a 19th-century Bohemian cellist.
4.
John Popper was raised in Stamford, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.
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John Popper attended Davenport Ridge School, Stamford Catholic High School, and Princeton High School, from which he graduated in 1986.
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John Popper took lessons on the piano, the cello, and the guitar, but none of those instruments appealed to him, and he hated being forced to practice.
7.
John Popper originally wanted to become a comedian, finding he could use humor to make friends and avoid bullies, but when he and a friend performed a routine as the Blues Brothers, he found that he enjoyed musical performance.
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John Popper formed several garage bands with friends in Princeton, New Jersey, one of which evolved into Blues Traveler in 1987.
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John Popper attended for three years but devoted himself to the band full-time once they signed a record contract, in 1990.
10.
John Popper is a founding member of Blues Traveler, serving as the band's frontman with lead vocals and harmonica.
11.
In 1990, John Popper began to perform occasional solo concerts in addition to touring with Blues Traveler.
12.
The subsequent tour was canceled midway due to poor ticket sales, and John Popper instead took the time to focus on his health.
13.
In 2017 and 2018, John Popper began to play solo acoustic performances across the United States.
14.
John Popper is often accompanied by Blues Traveler keyboardist Ben Wilson and performs songs that span both Blues Traveler and his solo catalog.
15.
In 1992, John Popper conceived the HORDE Festival as a venue to gain exposure for up-and-coming independent musicians.
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John Popper took over in 1998 as frontman of jam-band supergroup Frogwings, which then released the live album Croakin' at Toad's.
17.
Mason and John Popper conceived the project after John Popper says he was "running out of ideas" for Blues Traveler before they took a short break.
18.
John Popper has provided narration for art projects produced by his friends, including Das Clown, an award-winning short film in slideshow style that was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.
19.
In 2018, John Popper appeared in the "Fully Vested" episode of Pawn Stars.
20.
John Popper later underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost a significant amount of weight.
21.
John Popper has a tattoo across his chest that says "I WANT TO BE BRAVE", written backwards.
22.
John Popper is an avid collector of weaponry, including firearms, swords, and a working $10,000 American Civil War cannon.
23.
John Popper cites a fascination with their aesthetic of being "life-savingly efficient" machines.
24.
John Popper carries weapons in any state where it is allowed, even when onstage.
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John Popper played a short set during Paul's "We are the Future Rally", an alternative convention for Paul supporters that was held in Tampa the day before the 2012 Republican National Convention.
26.
John Popper has played at conventions, fundraisers, and ceremonies for both Republican and Democratic politicians.
27.
John Popper has said, "I was a bleeding-heart liberal, until I got a job," and describes himself as "a libertarian who is a Republican when pushed".
28.
John Popper did not vote for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in 2016.
29.
John Popper has toured with the USO, both with Blues Traveler and solo.
30.
John Popper was raised Catholic, and for a time attended Stamford Catholic High School in Connecticut.
31.
John Popper wrote the song "Trina Magna" as an exploration of his religious views.
32.
John Popper was arrested again on March 6,2007, near Ritzville, Washington, by the Washington State Patrol.
33.
John Popper was the passenger in his own vehicle, which was stopped for speeding, and was found to be in the possession of a small amount of marijuana and weapons.
34.
John Popper agreed to surrender the brass knuckles and switchblade knife.
35.
John Popper is known as an avid Twitter user and has caused some controversy on the platform.
36.
John Popper has publicly posted the home address and information of a particular Twitter user who often made jokes at his expense.
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John Popper drew attention for arguing with a bot named "assbott", which had become well-known during the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump; it was the co-creator of this bot that John Popper doxxed in July 2017.
38.
On March 29,2016, Da Capo Press released John Popper's autobiography, Suck and Blow: And Other Stories I'm Not Supposed to Tell, written by John Popper with the help of Relix co-editor-in-chief Dean Budnick.
39.
John Popper has developed some equipment innovations to accommodate his use of harmonicas during performances.
40.
John Popper now carries his harmonicas in a small black attache case.
41.
John Popper uses a special microphone with switches that change the audio effect of the harmonica as it is played through an amplifier, similar to a guitar effects pedal.
42.
John Popper was inspired by Jimi Hendrix's guitar playing to make his instrument sound however he wanted.