John Hoskinson

Raised in Southern California's Inland Empire, John Hoskinson absorbed the Beatles, Elvis Costello, and Crowded House while still in his teens, shaping the melodic sensibility that would later define his own work. After finishing high school he moved to Los Angeles and became a member of Ferocious Daisies, contributing to the band's 1993 album Blue Hair City as well as its self-titled EP that appeared in 1997. Once the group disbanded shortly after the EP's release, Hoskinson turned to writing and recording material independently. He soon formed a working relationship with producer and multi-instrumentalist Joe Ongie, whose involvement helped shape Hoskinson's first solo album, Miscellaneous Heathen, which finally surfaced in the summer of 2004 following delays caused by Ongie's commitments. The record drew warm notices from critics across the international music press. Hoskinson and Ongie reunited for the follow-up, 2007's Pancho Fantastico, another collection that earned favorable coverage in pop-oriented publications. Throughout his recordings Hoskinson has relied on his own agile guitar playing and flexible voice to deliver songs steeped in the catchy pop textures of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.