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John Syers Hancock was born to Tom and Jane Hancock on June 20, 1982 in Huntsville, Alabama. As long as he can remember, music has always been a major part of his life- beginning with his family. His mother, a music major from Murray State University, plays the piano and organ for the church, accompanies vocalists for other events including high school choirs, has been a high school conductor, and has taught music to all ages- from pre-school to high school. His father has always been an extremely avid music fan, and his vast record collection- consisting of everything from Willie Nelson to the Moody Blues to Andrew Lloyd Webber (and many, many more)- were artists that have helped contribute to and tailor John’s own musical style and tastes.

Along with his sister, Brianne, and his brother, Mark, he began receiving classical piano training at the age of four. He took classical lessons from the age of five until seventeen. Following high school graduation, John spent a semester as vocal/piano performance double major at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. It was during this time that he decided classical was not the route he wanted to go and he left the school the following year to try his hand at different things.

John has been in several bands previous to his current “solo” status. While in high school, he played the bodhran and lap dulcimer in a celtic/Irish band Strings and Things- it was during this time that he developed an almost obsessive fascination with Celtic music. Influenced by such bands/artists as Solas, Silly Wizard, the Battlefield Band, Kevin Burke, Relativity, Loreena McKennitt, and Old Blind Dogs- he began to draw from Celtic music’s unapologetically wild melodies and gripping chord progressions that are unmistakably unique to Celtic/Anglo-Saxon/Breton music and reticulate these sounds into his own already folk/alternative style. When he was twenty-one, he became lead singer for the local Annapolis, MD band Shillelagh- another strictly Celtic band that only confirmed that Celtic music and that it encompassed- from its driving rhythms, to its nostalgic lyrical ballads, to the intense spiritual hymns that have been sung since pre-medieval world- is something that will always have deep influential roots in the creative aspects of John’s life.

While in Maryland, John also played keyboards for the rock band Oversized Load¬- a “get loud or go home” type band that hosted what he felt was an amazing amount of talent. The lead guitarist for the band, Matt Esposito, also played lead guitar for Shillelagh, and played a major role in helping John develop and hone his own guitar talent and skills.

John currently is the final mixing and mastering phases of his first solo album, Sinners, Saints, and Satellites. He currently resides in Atsugi, Japan.