In Plain Sight $1.54

About In Plain Sight

JP Corwyn is:

JP Corwyn - Vox, Guitar
Karlin “Hunab Ku” McNeill – Electric Bass
Brian "The Creeper" Highsmith - Drums

Legally blind since birth, singer/songwriter JP Corwyn began perusing the local zines in Fort Myers, Florida at the age of twelve, hoping to audition for bands seeking a lead vocalist. Even at that age, Corwyn knew his lot in life was to be a performer, even though the bar bands he was cold-calling didn’t agree at the time because of his youth. So Corwyn worked on his craft by learning guitar, keyboards, bass and drums, and eventually began to use his own life experiences to write music.

Now, as a recording artist based in the Washington, DC-area, Corwyn’s influences are all over the map—from the pure vocal power of Angie Aparo to the grunge of Layne Staley and Eddie Vedder to the R&B flavor of Stevie Wonder to the vocal theatrics of Jeff Buckley. And with songwriting influences that also include the likes of Bob Dylan, Rachel Boland and Marcus Miller, Corwyn’s music can aptly be described as original. And above all, he is inspired by the potential connection between songwriter and audience. “There’s no electricity to match the feeling when people are singing back your lyrics to you,” he says. “In the end, that’s why I fight/hunt/sing/play/write/am.”

Karlin "Hunab Ku" McNeill's musical tastes are rather open -- with a severe aversion to polka and/or Dancehall reggae. His musical inspiration begins with Prince’s Purple Rain in 1984, runs into the Beatles, bumps into Country of the 40's, 50's and 60's, trips over The Police, slides into bebop, runs into fusion (Miles Davis/Stanley Clarke) and Afro-Cuban jazz, lands on Parliament- Funkadelic, Rush and Fishbone, and ends ups somewhere near Yes and in between Mudvayne, Tool and Meshell Ndegeocello. Karlin started on guitar at age 15, but switched to bass at age 23 (everybody plays guitar) and has held the bottom line for about 8 rock bands since 1995, including Brother Hayseed, Noise T’ Lee and Toaken.

Brian Highsmith was raised a poor black child. No wait, that was Steve Martin. His first experience with the drums was in the 7th Grade Band. Yes, please insert Band Camp jokes here. Let's just say he didn't look good in a green dickie! The outfits in High School weren't much better. He has too many influences to list. Basically, he is very impressionable, and can't come up with an original idea to save his life. His first paying gig was on the mean streets of DC, kicking go-go on the buckets for $20 during a bathroom break at a Bar Crawl. After many stints in various bands, who's albums went Frankensense, Myrrh, and even Double Myrrh, and touring many key Stratego countries (they know who they are), he decided to get back to his DC roots. He answered what he thought to be a Personal Ad on Craig's List, but ended up with a band audition instead. The rest is history. Only 4 months worth of history so far, but it's a start. To sum up Brian's musical style and on-stage presence in one word, it would have to be: Gay (adj) merry; full of light-heartedness and merriment [13th century. Old French gai "happy"].