John Flower practices the "amateur ideal" when it comes to music. He loves to pick with his friends, he loves to listen, and he will say his main contribution on such occasions is his enthusiasm.

John plays standup bass and washtub bass (for which he has a special gift); he sings occasional leads and mostly  harmony vocals. He has a great memory for songs, and sings in both English and Chinese. He is not afraid to write (sic) songs either. When time affords, John plays with David Via and Corn Tornado.   The band has released two CDs.  When John lived in Virginia, John was a member of Magraw Gap (from 1994 to 1996). He was with Magraw Gap when they won the band contest at Telluride Music Festival in 1995, when they opened the festival the following year, and when they recorded their self-titled CD recording. He has also recorded with Keller Williams and with Furnace Mountain. In the winter of 1998-99, John took a group of his friends to China where they performed acoustic American music to Chinese audiences.  John  loves to travel the backroads of North Carolina and Virginia, riding in the "Bluegrass Nightmare on Wheels" in order to pick with and listen to old and new friends. He has also made the study of folk music in Asia a part of his academic work, initiating a project, "Preserving Living Traditions" which brought together Tibetan and Appalachian musicians and scholars.

---Pam

other links:

Corn Tornado Photos added June 02 temp offline
Harvestfest 01 Sunday morning pictures temp offline

David Via and Corn Tornado live at leatherwoods

This page last updated  12/15/05

web pages by John and Pam: pjleonar@email.uncc.edu or jmflower@email.uncc.edu