John Larkin brings more than 30 years of musical knowledge and experience to Nailspine. He began his musical career as a classically trained woodwindist in the Los Angeles suburb of Long Beach, CA, where he played semi-professionally with many local orchestras and theater ensembles before turning to the Bass Guitar as his main vehicle.  His first influences on the instrument were the greatest rock bassists of the time: Geddy Lee, Steve Harris, and John Paul Jones.  Music from bands like Rush, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Beatles, Van Halen, King’s X, Galactic Cowboys, Triumph, Metallica, Pantera, Motley Crue, and Y&T all contributed to his style of playing and writing.  From the early 1980s and through the mid-90s, John played with several L.A. area bands, hitting the Hollywood club circuit with the hard rock of Mammon and the dark, frenetic music of Plunger. 

          Throughout this time, John’s love for and involvement with the classical and jazz genres continued.  Even before he began listening to rock bands, John was a student of classical composers such as Stravinsky, Bartok, Mozart, Barber, Debussy, Mahler, and Poulenc, as well as jazz artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Stan Getz, and John Patitucci.  In the mid-1990s, John put aside his bass and focused on composing works for orchestra and smaller instrumental ensembles, utilizing the rapidly expanding computer and sampling technologies.

In 2002, John made a work-related move from Southern California to Salt Lake City, where he decided to pick up his long-neglected bass and begin a new drive toward success as a rock bassist.  After many months of discouraging auditions and false starts, his search ended when he met up with Rob and Curt of newly formed Nailspine, a band whose dark, heavy, and complex musical ideas brought to the surface John’s latent “evil” tendencies, as well as causing him to spontaneously grow a cloven hoof on his left foot.

Additionally, John has lately gotten  into building and playing his own instruments, combining exotic woods with unique and striking original designs.  See John's MySpace page HERE.

With the apparent demise of Nailspine, John is currently working to assemble a new project.  Check back for updates as they become available!