john foster must have worn out a few radios in his early years. from his intimate familiarity with so many diverse styles of music, he couldn't have let the dial rest for long on any one station. this is not to slight his authenticity in any one genre; it's more a measure of his sincere fascination with all the great music of the last five decades. some artists claim to have been influenced by a broad band of benchmark artists, past to present, but every time john picks up a guitar or opens his mouth to sing, the proof comes out. john hails from oklahoma city, the heart of a state steeped in a rich musical tradition, a place immortalized in song by musical greats as diverse as woody guthrie, bruce springsteen, and rogers and hammerstein. while oklahoma seems to have put the "w" in c&w, it also must have an isolated mineral in the groundwater that might explain the mass appeal of modern greats vince gill, reba mcentire, and garth brooks, as well as legends like leon russell, david gates, and jazz guitarist barney kessel. "i guess i was something of a wallflower as a kid", admits john, which explains why he had plenty of uninterrupted time to spend internalizing the classic songs of his youth. he took up guitar to give voice to those things that words can't seem to express, and maybe improve his chances of finding a place in his community. well, just listed to the cd and i'm sure you'll agree he's found his place.