Twelve O' Clock Knob (TOK):
Santiago Prada- vocals, guitar
Danny "Bish" Bishop- bass
John Pence- guitar, vocals
Doug Morgan- drums
Pence&Prada (P&P):
John Pence- guitar, vocals, percussion
Santiago Prada- guitar, vocals, percussion
Influences
John Mayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, Bright Eyes, Radiohead, Silverchair, Pearl Jam, The Killers, No Doubt, Smashing Pumpkins, Bush, Maroon 5, Nirvana, Weezer, Indigo Girls... The list goes on.
Shared stage with..
*3 A.M. Friday
Adam Finchler [NJ]
Adele Glexner
Adrien Monti
Affliction Kid
A.M. Avenue
Arte Povera
The Bastards of Fate
Billy Chase
Chris Shepard
Commonplace
Corey Hunley
County
The CHS Band
Creasy's Cabin
D.O.G.
David Greenburg [NJ]
The Diana Situation
Dog Day South
Douche Newton
Echo Theory
Frantic Recovery
Gerald Delotto
Grass Monkey
*Hard Evidence
Honor Amongst Thieves
Ian Cardenas
iFunk
Jason Hill (of Pop Rivets)
Jason Mitchell & The Remedy[TN]
John Barry Conception
Judy Jackson
Justina Shandler
Kavorka
Kelly Mullen [NC]
MWB
Maddie Garber
Manic Farm
Maria Terry
Midair
Mike Jennings
Miss Suspicious [GA]
My Pretty Piranha
Nancy & The 2 Meteors
Ocean Man
PetShopTimeBomb
Rocknobb
Rock City [GA]
Roger & The Inferno
Ryanhood [AZ]
Sammy Kephart
Santiago Prada
Satan's Love Farm
Scotty Groth
Sharayah Spears
Smoke N' Mirrors
Soul
*The Situationist
Tim Sheppard
Twelve O' Clock Knob
The Wait
Sounds Like
John has been compared to artists such as John Mayer, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, and Daniel Johns of Silverchair - Quite the combination. Coincidentally, these artists are all some of his biggest influences. He plays a wide array of styles including traditional acoustic, modern rock, indie/alternative, and everything in between.
In his years of youth, John Pence has realized early that music was his niche. Comfortable on any stage, the sixteen year old, singer/songwriter, has played all over, from 5-star restaurants to bars, writers nights and open mics to even rental spaces, churches, and museums! What gives him such a confident and open attitude is his world wide view. In other words, he doesn't think, he knows he will be heard and the more shows he's played, the better. His hometown, Roanoke, VA, is just his starting place.
John started strumming the guitar at a very young age but it didn't actually stick until middle school (2005). With memories of the annual talent show, his first concerts, and being introduced to MTV, John grew fascinated with starting a rock band. In fact, that's all he ever talked about! He persuaded all of his friends to buy instruments and they started a band called No Signal. They were determined to play the talent show and sure enough, each year they did and got better each time! John left middle school with "Best Musician", "Most Musical", and "Best Singer. Those experiences gave John the chance to broaden his ear for music and become open to the many genres out there.
Going into high school (2007), the band members reduced to a trio and lived a short life under the name, The New Birds. John branched off of playing in a band when he realized his priorities were different than the rest of the band's were. He started to see the music in a wider view than just their hometown. Playing the local talent show and occasional show at the Elk's Lodge wasn't going to get them where he wanted to go. John took all the songs he wrote throughout middle school and copyrighted them. At age 14, John played Eddie's Attic in Atlanta, GA, and recorded his first CD, "My View", at Nickel & Dime Studios (2008).
Sophomore year in high school (2009), John started gigging and promoting with the locals. He's played with a variety of musicians throughout Roanoke including Twelve O' Clock Knob, former clients of the Apollo Collective, the lively Bastards of Fate, and many singer/songwriters from open mics like the Coffee Pot. John even pulled in touring act, Ryanhood, from Arizona for a show he hosted and played! With that being said, networking was a skill John naturally acquired and used to become known around his hometown. He was ready to branch out even more!
Over the summer of '09, John has visited music friendly communities, Atlanta & Nashville. For his second CD, he recorded a full length, live, acoustic album at Eddie's Attic, "Just Me". He played songwriter nights all four nights he spent in Nashville and was offered showcase gigs and guaranteed plays upon his return. These great experiences for John leave him looking forward to the many places that he will travel!
Currently, John has backed off his solo career some due to school starting up and has been gigging with TOK. The band and John have been playing shows together as separate acts since May 2009. Always helping each other out, front man, Santiago Prada decided to collaborate with John later in the year as an acoustic duo and played as Pence&Prada. Then Santiago brought John in to play with the whole band for some shows and discovered they liked his enthusiasm, guitar work, and harmonies. John played his first show as an official member of TOK on October 5th, 2009.
Junior year in high school, John's schedule was becoming very busy. On top of gigging as a solo musician and the lead guitarist of Twelve O'Clock Knob, John was getting musically involved at school by joining the gospel choir and taking electronic music and advanced ensemble choir. He auditioned for Regional Choir Districts and was accepted to try out for State, coming up in February. Things are looking pretty good for him at this point!
Hey I hope this New Year will be a great one for you..it will for me now that we are friends! Keep in touch and I would love for you to comment me when you can. I'll be in Nashville in Feb. & again in June for CMA Fan Fest...my first time in Nashville! Would love to meet you there.
Yeah, you did not miss much though, other than that we are going to have to stick with the Quil as the name. That and we need more ways to bring in submisions
thanks a lot John!! I really appreciate that, nice to meet you :) great work on your tracks bro...to answer your question, yes! I'd totally be down to produce, but we're a little far from eachother...so that would make it a bit difficult.
can I hook you up with some free song downloads? I have a way to get them to you using gmail.... I made it so you can grab them whenever you have time. (you won't need a gmail account to do it) just send me a myspace message with the subject "downloads" and I'll take care of ya :) let me know Dylan
Come out and show your Support for a Great Cause as Refuge Presents a Rock-n-Roll " Thanks-4-Giving " at the Coffee Pot This Friday Nov. 20th. A Ton of Great Bands and Artisits will be performing and it is a great cause to help out those less fortunate. Featuring Local Artists work on display and featuring "Live" Performances by John Pence,Douche Newton,SOUL & Affliction Kid plus more TBA.
Under 21 Allowed until 9:00PM (WITH ID) for $3.00 & 2 Canned Goods Over 21 Admitted for just 2 Canned Goods ! Show Starts at 6:00PM
oh yea... well i think it sounded cool and ive never heard them sing before so it was a sweet night. let me kno when the next gig is and ill try to make it
oh yes, I am soo ready to drive. Homework is a pain, I thought I went to school for 7 hours so I dont have to do anymore work at home! and I hope to get to come to a show in the near future :)
Online Now!
