John Kennedy

Fiction Facing Facts John Kennedy

John Kennedy the musician, was a five year old in Liverpool the day the President died. In Australia at the age of ten, he took the confirmation name of Francis to complete the famous 'J.F.K.' moniker. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The joke has long since worn off for him, but it still takes some explaining. A young enthusiastic journalist once described John Kennedy as a humble genius. Kennedy is neither a genius nor particularly humble. He is the writer of many fine songs using a collection of pop, country, folk and rock influences to create the hydrid style he calls Urban and Western. Kennedy formed his first band in Brisbane, Australia in ´80. His family had migrated from England in the mid-´6o's and he was raised in the suburban wastelands on a diet of radio pop music. At the beginning of the 80´s, Kennedy brought his pop melodies and ideas to the flourishing post-punk Australian indie music scene. His name alone should have brought him commercial success. It didn´t, but he continued to release a series of successful independent records. The penchant for funny names continued with his first band 'J.F.K. and the Cuban Crisis'. 'The Crisis' and his mid-80's Sydney band 'John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong' became self-fulfilling prophecies. An invitation to perform at the inaugural Berlin Independence Days independent music conference in ´88 provided the incentive to leave Australia. In Berlin in the early '90's, Kennedy tried a more positive approach and formed 'John Kennedy and the Honeymooners'. Despite the optimism, the honeymoon ended and Kennedy went on to perform as a solo act. Since Berlin he has lived and made music in Hong Kong, Holland and London; living by the motto "Have Songs, Will Travel". Kennedy returned to Sydney at the start of the new millenium, has a new band, album and label and lives once again in Sydney's inner-western suburbs. A Typical Interview with John Kennedy Typical question #1: Is John Kennedy your real name? Answer: Yes. Typical question #2: Your middle name doesn't start with an 'F' does it? Answer: Yes. Typical question #3: Where do you come from? Answer: It´s a long story. Typical question #4: Why do you call your music "Urban and Western"? Answer: To give journalists a pigeonhole to put me into. Typical question #5: Are you really the Elvis Costello of Australia? Answer: No. I'm the Elvis Presley of Newtown.