Hailed by many as the world's greatest harmonica player, John Popper has
redefined the instrument. As the lead singer and principal songwriter of
Blues Traveler, Popper has performed for more than 30 million people
over 2,000 live dates and composed such radio staples as Hook, But
Anyway, and Run-Around, the longest-charting single in Billboard
history. He has appeared with Eric Clapton and B. B. King at the White
House, welcomed the Hungarian ambassador to the stage, and inducted
Carlos Santana into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In Suck and Blow, Popper shares a candid, spirited account of his life
and career. A straight-F student at Princeton High School, Popper's life
changed with one serendipitous harmonica solo that captured the
attention of his mercurial band teacher (the same teacher whose life was
later fictionalized in the Academy Award-winning film Whiplash). After
befriending three fellow musicians with whom he would form Blues
Traveler, Popper's academic career nearly ended in twelfth grade, until
a meeting with the Dean of the New School for Social Research in which
Popper pulled out his trusty harp and played his way into college.
Popper and Blues Traveler soon became enmeshed in the lower Manhattan
music scene of the late 1980s, eventually becoming the house band at the
fabled Wetlands Preserve and embarking on a journey that would one day
land the group at Madison Square Garden on New Year's Eve. Along the
way, Popper and his cohorts commanded the attention of fans and bands
alike, through inspired performances and riotous debauchery.
Popper's unique perspective on the music business began under the
tutelage of Blues Traveler's mentor and manager Bill Graham. After the
rock impresario's untimely passing, Popper applied many of Graham's
lessons to the formation of the H.O.R.D.E. tour, which John co-owned and
hosted over eight years, welcoming such artists as Neil Young, the
Allman Brothers Band, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Ziggy Marley, and his
longtime friends the Spin Doctors.
Popper also shares a forthright assessment of his longstanding battle
with obesity. Plagued by weight problems since childhood, a motorcycle
accident a few years into his career confined him to a wheelchair for
two years while his weight ballooned to 436 pounds. Angioplasty, gastric
bypass surgery, and a tattoo on his chest that reads I Want to Be Brave
when viewed in the mirror are products of Popper's struggle, compounded
by codependency issues and the untimely death of founding Blues Traveler
bassist Bobby Sheehan.
Popper's personal identity is entwined with his political passions. A
staunch supporter of gun rights, he has performed at the National
Republican Convention, yet he also maintains liberal positions on social
issues. He will reconcile these views and share his encounters with the
Bush family, the Clintons, the Gores, and other politicos.
The iconoclastic, self-described Johnny Appleharp also dishes on cutting
contests, Twitter trolls, party fouls, and prostitutes.
In Suck and Blow, John Popper does it all with his signature honesty,
humility, and humor.
