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John D Seymour Songwriter, Singer

John Seymour has been writing songs since. He

He formed The Fire Apes. John's feel of the music is most commonly considered to be reminiscent of such bands as The Beatles, Green Day, Oasis, The Kinks, and The Pretenders. John Seymour understands what the British pop invasion was about and yet transcend the past and merge it with the future. John Seymour and The Fire Apes have been attracting great reviews from the media, including airplay on local Charleston radio stations 98X – WYBB-FM, 96 WAVE – WAVF-FM, and College of Charleston Radio. John Seymour and The Fire Apes were named the winner of the 5th Annual College of Charleston’s Battle of the Bands and 96 Wave’s Locals Only Live Competition. John Seymour's songs are currently featured in two independent films: Back Soon from Guest House Films and The CT Poop from Road Dog Pictures. In January 2007 we were named the winner of the Net Music Maker’s Live Band competition and will be flown out to Sacramento for an all expense paid 5-day recording session at House of Hansen Productions. In addition to airplay, the first track on our current EP (Hey Kate!) has been receiving attention on such podcasts as Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code, was featured on MyCoke.com in April 2007, and was included as a cd-insert in the June 2007 issue of Guitar World Magazine. Songs from our latest EP have been licensed by MTV, and will be featured in upcoming programing on the network.

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Personal For many years John Seymour was a victim, confined in an illusory prison not of his own making. It wouldn’t be until years later he would learn that his father had lived with the same debilitating symptoms, untreated throughout his life. Shortly after experiencing early musical success, life unexpectedly surrounded John, and he was reduced to a small and detached world. Unable to leave his room for weeks or months, he suffered in solitary, isolated from the world and loved ones around him. He eventually discovered he was suffering from an affliction similar to the one that had famously crippled Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys’ genius, 40 years prior. Agoraphobia and acute panic disorder had become a part of John Seymour's life. Once a record setting state champion track star, he had been reduced to a mere fraction of the man he was. However, despite everything, in times of difficulty and desperation, John Seymour found quiet solace in his collection of old 60’s vinyl he’d treasured since childhood. This music became the cathartic release that soothed his soul, a constant and steady redeemer. Listening to, writing, and playing music created a refuge from a world that constantly seemed just out of reach. It was through his fixation with this most creative period of pop and rock music that John Seymour began experimenting with writing his own brand of observant lyrics, and mastering multiple instruments, in order to express his frustrations and begin a gradual emergence from his inherited affliction. As a man deeply influenced by the honesty and simplicity of the musical time period he’d embraced, John Seymour wears this deep connection to the heartbeat of a bygone era like a badge of honor. By transposing exposed lyrics of pain and loss onto deceptively simple and happy go lucky melodies, the complexities of a tender, reflective soul are revealed. With his troubles currently behind him, John Seymour is unshaken, possessing a quiet gentle strength, and exuding constant optimism that defies the challenges of a previous life.