 In addition to his collaboration with fellow electric violinist Geoffrey Castle in Castle & Schussler and The Guarneri Underground, John has recorded a solo world jazz album, Minor Arcana, recorded electronic music (techno, breakbeat, drum and bass, ambient) under the name Corvid, and maintains a popular web site devoted to electric violin makers and players, Bowed Electricity. He's co-recorded and produced music for Microsoft Wine Guide, has composed and performed music for theatre sound design projects in Seattle and Los Angeles, and has been a session musician on a variety of projects including those of Mary Lydia Ryan.
He began playing classical violin at age 5, and focused on that instrument alone until he was 25. But tabla (Indian drum) and conga lessons with Tor Dietrichson (a protege of Zakir Hussain and member of Mickey Hart's Diga Rhythm Band) introduced him to some of the deep traditions of world music. It was quite the introduction, as he now plays, in addition to acoustic and Jensen electric violins, tabla, congas, frame drums, udu (clay pot drum), Turkish baglama saz, Irish bouzouki, Turkish oud, guitar, piano (actually, the synthesizer bug bit him in high school), hammered dulcimer, end-blown flute, and a variety of other percussion instruments that are now crowding him out of his house.
jschuss@hotmail.com Web sites: Castle & Schussler The Guarneri Underground Bowed Electricity Corvid
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