John Stano

Singer/songwriter, John Stano plays six and twelve string guitar, national steel guitar and harmonica. The trademark of his individual sound is the sophisticated interplay between rootsy guitar, bluesy harmonica and warm vocals that he has developed over many years of performance and study. Initially self-taught, learning songs by ear from recordings, John eventually went on to study American finger style guitar at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and harmonica with Milwaukee blues great, Jim Liban.

Sing Out compared John's music to early Bob Dylan while Dirty Linen was reminded of Country Joe McDonald. His style could be described as acoustic folk-blues but that is a somewhat narrow definition since John's influences also include bluegrass, old-time country, rock, and contemporary acoustic music.

John's song writing also tackles subjects not strictly associated with the blues, such as the dinosaur bones that sewer workers dug up under the street by his home when he was a boy. There is a poetic sensibility to his song writing and a playful love of words that is evident in his serious and humorous compositions. Besides his own compositions, John performs renditions of urban and country blues classics, instrumentals and arrangements of contemporary songs, covering music by artists such as; Little Walter, Mississippi John Hurt, John Prine, Bob Dylan, Greg Brown, John Fahey, Leo Kottke and Jimmy Reed. John is a flexible and engaging performer who works regularly in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues.

John performs regularly at many regional clubs including: The Yardarm, The Cafe Carpe, The Sawmill and The New Moon. He has entertained audiences at Milwaukee's Summerfest, the Wisconsin Singer-Songwriters Series in Cedarburg, the Grafton Area Live Arts Series, and Beaver Dam's Performers Entertainment Series, among others. His poetry has been published in the Cream City Review (where he was awarded 1st prize for poetry in 1999), the Wisconsin Poet's Calendar, and the Shepherd Express. His song writing skills have been awarded by the Milwaukee Musician's Cooperative. He has been a featured guest on several radio programs including Wisconsin Public Radio's Hotel Milwaukee and Simply Folk programs. He has opened for Bill Morrissey, Barbara Kessler, Ed Hall and other national acts. He has performed for the Milwaukee Public Schools, given concerts benefiting adults with disabilities, public radio, Earth Day and the Hunger Task Force, among others.

John released a CD of his songs entitled, Playing In Deep Water. His song "Dinosaur Bones" was included on a recent CD compilation called, A Celebration of Music/Volume 2. Series contributors include Les Paul, The Bo Deans and Bill Camplin. His song "Be All You Can Be" was released May, 2002 as part of a compilation called One Ball of Clay. Contributors include Larry Penn and Pamela Means. His music has received strong reviews in a variety of national and local publications including: Sing Out, Dirty Linen, and the Shepherd Express. Most recently, his music was chosen to be included for sale on the popular iTunes digital music service.