"John is the most talented guy I know. He has huge attention for detail and an unbelievable ear for music. I don't think there's any kind of music he doesn't understand. He's very good at figuring out what a band does well and bringing it to its highest fulfillment."
-- Josh Sarubin, Vice President of A&R, Arista Records
"John Custer is a musical genius, a man whose brain can store more music, more accurately, than whole reels of magnetic tape. Since returning home to the triangle in the late '80s, he's also become the most successful record producer in the region, producing major releases by Raleigh's Corrosion of Conformity and Cry of Love and wrangling a deal for his own virtually unknown songwriting and production project, Dag."
-- Ross Grady, The Independent from "John Custer: Machine Dreams"
"Just about everybody who works with Custer uses the same word to describe him: genius."
-- David Menconi, News & Observer, Author "Between The Tracks"
"Nothing really amazing. Some black artists, some country artists, some disco. Nothing amazing except for the fact that it's all Custer. His music, all original, runs the gamut from roots-style R&B to very uptown, high polish jazz. From eastern-sounding instrumentals, complete with sitars and gong, to borderline offensive funk and rock. And everything, absolutely everything, in between. There are classical tunes there are rap tunes, there are complete orchestral movements. 'If he's heard it, he's played it.' A friend remarks. 'He's like a musical sponge. It's amazing.' And it is amazing."
? F. Levie, Live! Magazine from John Custer: Musical Sponge
DAG: Doug Jervey, Brian Dennis, Kenny Soule and Bobby Patterson
CUSTER FORMED AND DEVELOPED FUNK BAND DAG. THEY WERE SIGNED TO COLUMBIA RECORDS AND PUT OUT TWO CDs ON THAT LABEL. CUSTER PRODUCED, WROTE AND CO-WROTE SONGS WITH THE BAND FOR BOTH DISCS.
ALL OF THE SONGS IN THIS REVERBNATION PLAYER WERE PRODUCED BY JOHN CUSTER. SOME OF THESE TRACKS WERE WRITTEN OR CO-WRITTEN BY CUSTER.
John Custer has produced major label releases and Number One Billboard tracks. He has produced Grammy-nominated songs, tracks included in four major motion pictures, he has written and co-written radio hits, won awards and world-wide critical acclaim for his production and songwriting. He gained record deals for two acts from his hometown and as a session guitarist, has provided guitar tracks for national ads and television. In 2003, he opened his own studio and production service.
John Custer began his career as a studio session guitarist. By age 23, Custer was providing guitar tracks for the number 1 scoring house in America, New York's Vision Sound Studios. Custer played guitar on National Television Ads for VH-1, Ford, Jovan, Mazda, Revlon, and Coca-Cola. At age 25, Custer returned home to Raleigh, North Carolina to produce and develop original artists.
Punk-metal crossover giants, Corrosion Of Conformity hired Custer to produce their first major label disc, 'Blind' in 1991. The disc was hailed as an instant classic. CREEM magazine writers chose Blind as "One of the top 25 most influential metal recordings of the last 25 years". MSN's Ed Rivadavia wrote, "The album's fiercest moment, "Vote With A Bullet" is a sonic precedent for the countless aggro-metal bands (Korn, Fear Factory, Limp Bizkit, etc.) which dominated the late '90s. Years ahead of its time, BLIND is simply one of the most important heavy rock albums of the decade." SPIN magazine raved," Combining the heavy groove of the 70's with the hardcore political stance of the 80's, COC has set the metallic standard for this decade."
The success of 'Blind' brought the attention of Columbia Records, who signed COC in 1993. Custer produced COC over the next ten years. In that time, they received a Grammy nomination in '97 for the single, "Drowning In a Daydream," a gold disc for 1995's Deliverance CD.
Combining the heavy groove of the 70's with the hardcore political stance of the 80's, COC has set the metallic standard for this decade."
---SPIN Magazine Two Custer-produced COC tracks appeared in major motion pictures "Clerks" and "The Fan".
By 1992, Custer landed two major label deals for Raleigh bands he'd been developing since 1989. Cry of Love, and Custer's own funk creation, Dag both signed to Columbia Records on the strength of Custer-produced demos. Cry Of Love's first Columbia single, "Peace Pipe" went to number 1 on Billboard's Rock Radio charts. It remained at number 1 as the most requested song in the nation for an entire month, and was the 5th most played song of that year. The next single "Bad Thing", which Custer co-wrote with the band, went to number 2 in Billboard.
Funk band Dag was Custer's 2nd studio project to get signed. Custer wrote three songs showcasing the quartet's funk arsenal. They recorded. Three months later Dag was signed to Columbia Records.
Dag recorded their first disc, "Righteous" in legendary Muscle Shoals with Custer producing and writing or co-writing the material. Their songs, so true to the classic funk recordings of the 70s, attracted guest performances by legendary drummer Roger Hawkins of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Hawkins is known for his drum work with Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, The Staple Singers, Steve Winwood etc. VIBE magazine hailed 'Righteous' as "…one of the best funk records since 1978. Dag's debut, 'Righteous', is definitely some of the most ass-grinding grooves you've heard since back in the day." A now legendary story, retold by writer Farnum Brown, holds that VIBE staffers didn't realize Dag's members were white until they sent a photographer to shoot the band.
MSN's Andy Hinds wrote "Although the notion of white guys playing funk is enough to make a person justifiably skeptical, make no mistake about Dag-they are the real deal. On 'Righteous', the band lays down some of the dirtiest, deadliest grooves this side of George Clinton, and do so with great restraint and respect for the genre. Bobby Patterson possesses a falsetto that could make Prince envious (as heard on the gorgeous title track).
VIBE magazine hailed 'Righteous' as "…one of the best funk records since 1978. Dag's debut, 'Righteous', is definitely some of the most ass-grinding grooves you've heard since back in the day."
Dag's strength is their commitment to funk; unlike bands who use funk as a gimmick or try to fuse it with other styles, these guys play it pure. Highly recommended." Dag songs were featured in two major motion pictures, "Bad Boys" starring Will Smith and "Ready To Wear" starring Kim Basinger.
Custer has produced in every genre: He produced music for comedian Rich Hall's show on Comedy Central. He co-wrote songs with Canadian rock star Sass Jordan. Produced the brilliant Chris Whitley, Alt-country pioneers The Backsliders, Jazz/Hip-Hop band San Kofa (who made it to the finals of MTV's Best Unsigned Band In America Competition on the strength of the Custer-produced "Suspended Animation"), and Pop group Gran Torino (whose single "Moments With you", co-written by Custer, won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest as the Best Pop Song of 2000). Moments With You was a Top 10 Most Requested Buzz Track on Pop Radio for 4 months. In 2003, Custer finished construction of his own Pro Tools recording studio, which began in late 2001, Custer continues to produce and record acts such as television and motion picture star Michael Pitt (Murder By Numbers, Bertolucci's "The Dreamers") who Custer developed for Sony Music in 2003.
CUSTER PRODUCED AND CO-WROTE SONGS ON "BROTHER" BY RALEIGH ROCK BAND CRY OF LOVE. CUSTER DEVELOPED THE ACT FOR THREE YEARS BEFORE CRY OF LOVE WAS SIGNED TO SONY/COLUMBIA RECORDS
Thanks for your friendship, and welcome aboard the Redline ship. Looking forward to sharing the journey ahead with you. Take Care, and thanks again. Peace, Karl
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