John Christ
Template:Use American English Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist
John Christ (born John Wolfgang Knoll on February 19, 1965) is an American musician best known as the original guitarist for the metal band Danzig. He has been known for his bluesy hard rock sound and frequent use of the pinch harmonic. Christ was ranked 63rd in Guitar World's list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists'.<ref name="Ultimate Guitar">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Early lifeEdit
Christ was born the youngest of five children, with four older sisters.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Christ first started playing acoustic guitar when he was in grade school and began playing electric guitar at age 13.<ref name="GFTPM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He had previously taken piano lessons.<ref name="TV Casualty">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His first electric guitar was a Univox Les Paul copy.<ref name="GFTPM" /> Christ grew up in Catonsville, Maryland and attended Catonsville High School.<ref name="98 Rock">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He later studied classical guitar at the Peabody Institute<ref name="Circus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and attended Towson University studying Jazz, theory and composition.<ref name="Guitar World">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Samhain and DanzigEdit
In 1987, Christ dropped out of college and moved to New Jersey to join Glenn Danzig's band Samhain, which became the band Danzig later that same year.<ref name="TV Casualty" /> Upon his arrival in New Jersey, Christ would share an apartment with Samhain drummer London May, for whom Christ had performed his first band audition.<ref name="TV Casualty" /> Christ auditioned well, but it wasn't until leaving countless guitar solos on Glenn Danzig's answering machine that he was finally invited to join the band.<ref name="Circus" /> When May left the band, Christ shared an apartment with new drummer Chuck Biscuits, where they came up with Christ's original stage name "John Von Christ", before it was shortened to avoid it clashing with bassist Eerie Von.<ref name="TV Casualty" /> Christ played guitar with Danzig from 1987 to July 1995, appearing on the albums Danzig, Lucifuge, How the Gods Kill and 4, and also the Thrall-Demonsweatlive EP. In 1990, Christ recorded guitar for the Samhain album Final Descent. Christ officially left Danzig on July 5, 1995, citing a breakdown in communication within the band as the reason behind his departure.<ref name="440music">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Metal Sludge">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During his time with Danzig, Christ's main guitar was a 1983 BC Rich Bich strung with custom D'Aquisto strings and fit with PRS pickups.<ref name="Musician">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The guitar was customized with the Danzig skull symbol, and is currently on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando.<ref name="Hard Rock Memorabilia">Template:Cite news</ref>
Solo careerEdit
In 1997, Christ was part of the short lived band Juice 13, which also included Randy Castillo, former drummer for Ozzy Osbourne.<ref name="Music Might">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Christ's guitar work has been used by TV stations ABC and Nine Network.<ref name="440music" /><ref name="Misfits Central">Template:Cite news</ref> During his time with Nine Network, he provided backing guitar for performances by artists including Tom Jones and Lou Rawls.<ref name="98 Rock" /> In 1999, Christ released his debut solo album Flesh Caffeine.<ref name="Misfits Central" /> In 2003, Christ was involved in a serious crash and suffered injuries to his fretting hand.<ref name="Bravewords" /> As a result of his injuries, he underwent lengthy rehabilitation.<ref name="Bravewords">Template:Cite magazine</ref> On November 27, 2009, Christ returned to the live stage for the first time in ten years with a solo performance in Essex, Maryland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DiscographyEdit
DanzigEdit
- 1988 – Danzig
- 1990 – Danzig II: Lucifuge
- 1992 – Danzig III: How the Gods Kill
- 1993 – Thrall-Demonsweatlive
- 1994 – Danzig 4
- 2001 – Live on the Black Hand Side
- 2007 – The Lost Tracks of Danzig
SamhainEdit
- 1990 – Final Descent
SoloEdit
- 1999 – Flesh Caffeine
OthersEdit
- 1987 – Less than Zero soundtrack album by Various Artists (contributed the track "You and Me (Less than Zero)" with Glenn Danzig & the Power and Fury Orchestra)
- 1994 – Guitar Practicing Musicians 3 by Various Artists (Contributed the track "For Christ's Sake", also featuring Chuck Biscuits)
- 1996 – Guitars That Rule the World, Vol. 2: Smell the Fuzz: The Superstar Guitar Album by Various Artists (Contributed the track "One Song")
- 1999 – Black Glue by Mike Hartman
- 2001 – Metallic Assault: A Tribute to Metallica by Various Artists (Contributed the track "Enter Sandman", also featuring Robert Trujillo, Burton C. Bell and Tommy Aldridge)
- 2012 – Ex Lives by Every Time I Die (Contributed guitar on the track "Revival Mode")