Hoboken resident John Allen III, who goes by J3, knows there can be ups and downs in the music industry. J3 has spent the last 20 years perfecting his craft and has built a solid reputation as a phenomenal guitarist.
J3 continues to work, not just because of his skill on guitar, but because of his talent in other facets of the music industry, including producing.
Then there is his recent tour work with national acts Tommy Lee and Sevendust.
For J3, it’s all part of the business, and he takes it all in stride.
The early years
Although J3 has the most experience on guitar, it wasn’t the first instrument he tried. At the age of 6 in Park Ridge, N.J., he attempted to play the trumpet, but his teacher told him he didn’t have enough breath. According to J3, he used to run around the living room with a tennis racquet “making a racket,” and his mom decided that he should have a guitar.
First he took lessons with a neighbor, and by the age of 10, he was studying at The Guitar Study Center in Manhattan. He stopped taking lessons there at 12 when his instructor, Jeff Dedrick, told him it was time for him to move on.
In 1984, he continued lessons while at Ridgewood High School, where he practiced for five to six hours a day. At 14, J3 began playing the clubs. He graduated early in 1987 at 16 by taking summer school classes, which cleared up time for music.
“From the time I was 12, I decided I wasn’t playing hockey and said I wanted to be a professional musician,” said J3. “That is pretty much what I got.”
Early gigs
One of the first bands J3 played in was an original band called Nice. The band was fronted by another Hudson County resident, John LoPresto of Yo Cuz. They made a demo and played at well known venues like Studio One and The China Club, only to break up in 1988 when singer LoPresto lost his voice.
After the split, J3 started writing his own songs while working a few gigs with various bands. Then in 1992, J3 teamed up again with LoPresto for Yo Cuz, a rock cover band. This was J3’s first time playing Bass guitar. The band had a local following and played many local hot spots including: Texas Arizona, The Cadillac Bar, Boo Boo’s, The Planet, Traps, and more.
It was through LoPresto that he was able to train with Mario Lisanti, a well-known opera teacher. According to J3, he learned a lot from Lisanti.
“I mostly learned not to take anything for granted,” said J3. “When you are studying with a master you pretty much just shut up. Every aspect of my creative life was changed by him.”
After Yo Cuz, he played with another cover band called 3 Peace, which was a three-piece band that included Hoboken residents James McGill and T. Bodnar. 3 Peace was the house band at Boo Boo’s from 1995 to 2000.
Industry attention
In the early nineties, J3 met Ted Poley, the former singer of Danger, Danger. When Poley started a new band, Bone Machine, he asked J3 to play guitar. The band made three albums together including, Dogs and Disappearing Inc. The albums were released in Europe where they also had a several city tour.
While he was playing with Bone Machine, J3 also started his own original band, Sect. 8, which Poley managed for a year. This was J3’s first time as singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Sect. 8 (included McGill and Bodnar, who were also in 3 Peace) started to get industry attention particularly after they beat out thousands of bands and won the Bullet Award in New York in 2000. Both Epic Records and RCA were interested in signing the band.
“But nothing came of it to our grave disappointment,” said J3. “After seven years of Sect. 8, I figured we were never going to pull it off. So I disbanded it.”
J3 figured he would focus on solo work for awhile and for a year began working toward an album.
“Right at the moment I had gotten all the material together and was ready to pull it together I got the phone call about Tommy Lee,” said J3.
So in December of 2001, J3 put his solo project on hold and agreed to audition for Tommy Lee’s band.
The tours
Before J3 auditioned live for Tommy Lee, he sent a CD featuring three Methods of Mayhem songs which J3 played all the parts on including, guitar, drums and vocals. Lee was very impressed by the work that went into it, and J3 was called in for a live audition.
J3 got the gig and worked with Lee on tour for several years.
After the tour, the band took a break so Lee could work on his book project and reality TV series.
Then in Dec. 2004, Sevendust called J3 to be a last minute replacement for Clint Lowery so they could finish their tour. J3 met Sevendust while on tour with Tommy Lee. J3 agreed and finished the tour with Sevendust.
Initially, there was some discussion about keeping him as the permanent guitar player, but J3 went on to other projects. This past summer in August, Tommy Lee’s band reunited to play on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Comedy Central’s Pamela Anderson Roast.
Even though J3 has played with industry professionals and has had many television appearances including MTV and VH1, he is still really grounded and approachable.
When asked how he felt about fame he said, “Most people who are really great at what they do are really approachable because they are confident about what they do.”
“I’m not a huge fan of fame. I never wanted it,” He added.
What concerns J3 more is reputation in the business.
“It’s the only thing you have. I just try to work really hard. My head is always in it,” said J3.
Other projects
Majorette is another band that was interested in J3 and hired him to play guitar on the album Flirting with Forever. That album gained industry attention so they wanted him to play in showcases.
Last year, the record was redone by a producer John Agnello from Jersey City. A few weeks ago, the band performed at the Knitting Factory in New York. The show had many industry people there and there is major buzz about the band.
All of that might seem like more than enough for most people but J3 also produces other artists on the side. He has produced for Phoebe Snow, Danny Weltman, Scott DeCarlo, Simon Dwyer, and more.
Because of all his experience in the music industry, producing comes naturally, but it is only one of the many projects that J3 has planned for the future.
“If I ever find extra time I’d like to put out a body of work on Sect. 8,” said J3. “At the very least to re-record because the stuff just isn’t out there. And then there is that solo career I talked about.”
For information, please visit: www.J-3.biz or: www.majorettemusic.com. See J3 live in Hoboken at the reunion show for 3 Peace Thursday, March 2 at The Whiskey Bar.