Quick Facts
Biography
John M. Borack is a music critic and musician from the U.S. state of California.
Writer
Borack's reviews, columns and feature articles have appeared in periodicals such as Goldmine, Amplifier, The Garden Grove Journal, Audities and Popsided. He has also contributed to the book and website The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock, and has written liner notes for CDs by such diverse artists as Tommy Keene, Raspberries, The Rooks, Starbuck ("Moonlight Feels Right"), The Rembrandts, The Lolas, The Toms, sparkle*jets uk and The Scruffs, among others.
He also penned the extensive notes for Rhino Records' Poptopia! Power Pop Classics of the '80's and has served as executive producer for the CD compilations Right to Chews: Bubblegum Classics Revisited (Not Lame Recordings, 2002) and Shoe Fetish: A Tribute to Shoes (Parasol Records, 2001), a tribute disc spotlighting the work of the DIY power pop pioneers.
In 2008, Not Lame Recordings published John's first book, Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide, which quickly sold out four small pressings. He is currently at work on a follow up, Power Pop 360, which will celebrate the genre's finest tunes. 2010 will also see publication of his book John Lennon: Life Is What Happens.
John will also celebrate his 25th year as a freelance writer for Goldmine in 2010 and continues to write his popular "Rave On" column for the magazine. His Goldmine features have included extensive interviews with Cheap Trick and Graham Parker, as well as in-depth looks at the bubblegum and power pop genres and the tongue-in-cheek list "25 Songs That Brought Shame to the '70s."
Musician
Borack played drums with pop-rocker Kenny Howes for several years, and for the Barry Holdship Four (2005–09), Receiver (2001–03) and The Dons (2002–03), in addition to a brief stint with sparkle*jets uk (early 2000s).
John also currently drums with his band The Popdudes (named by sparkle*jets uk singer/songwriter Mike Simmons after Borack's e-mail address), an "almost anything goes" cover band whose unofficial motto is "Maximum Rock Stupidity." The core of the Popdudes' rotating lineup is Borack, Simmons, bassist Jamie Knight and, occasionally, vocalist/guitarist Kenny Howes, with other musicians showing up for live gigs and recording sessions often spontaneously. A Popdudes full-length release (collecting their recordings from various compilations) is tentatively scheduled.
A version of the Popdudes that included Borack, keyboardist Brian Curtis (The Oohs) and guitarist/vocalist Mike Jarvis (The Blow Pops, The Lackloves) performed at the International Pop Overthrow festival in Chicago in 2003, while Borack, vocalist/guitarist Ed James, bassist Severo Jornacion (The Smithereens) and vocalist/guitarist Mike Giblin (Cherry Twister/Parallax Project) appeared as the Popdudes at the Charlotte Pop Festival in September 2009.
Other "Popdudes for a Day or Two" have included Robin Wills (of The Barracudas), Robbie Rist, Walter Clevenger, the late Jeff Glenn, Wayne Resnick, Don Mogill (The Dons), Bobby Bognar (Piper Downs), Todd Simmons, Lisa Mychols (Masticators, Nushu), Susan West (sparkle*jets uk), Jeremy Morris, Steve Bancroft (Walter Clevenger and the Dairy Kings), Ken West (Receiver), Kerry Chicoine (Receiver), John Perry (Adam Marsland's Chaos Band), and Anthony Grisham (An up-and-coming teenage guitarist).