John McDermott plays lead guitar and sings background vocals for Stroke 9. Born and raised in the San Francisco suburb of Marin County, John was surrounded by music at a very young age. "I've been in bands and playing music for as long as I can remember," he says. "I went to schools that were kind of hippi-ish, where they forced you to play an instrument at all times...all my friends played music, it seemed like everyone I knew was a musician."
Except for a few stints in some not-worth-mentioning high school and college bands, John has been with Stroke 9 since its inception in high school. After graduating from the University of Denver and realizing nothing out there was quite as exciting as music, John devoted all his time and energy to the band. Although the band has been through a lot over the years, he believes what has set them apart is the strong friendship and camaraderie among the members. "We're together all day, every day for long periods of time and still we're best friends," he says. "People tell us all the time that it really comes across when we're playing live."
Stroke 9 has been together for ten years now, and John believes they will stay together for at least another ten. "We are not selfish musicians. We write music that people can identify with and above all else we like to entertain. I think there will always be an audience for us."
