John LeCompt
Encyclopedia
John Charles LeCompt is an American
musician who has been part of the Little Rock heavy metal music
scene since the mid-1990s. He has been associated with a great number of bands, ranging from the unknown and unsigned to multi-platinum sellers, most notably the alternative metal
band Evanescence
. One of his main collaborators is long-time friend Rocky Gray
, who is often John's bandmate in various group projects. They both are now members of the rock bands We Are the Fallen
and Machina.
band Mindrage, in which he performed as both lead vocalist and lead guitarist. Enlisted for the project was Nick Williams on bass and Chad Wilburn on drums. Mindrage signed to Bulletproof Records and in June 1998 recorded the studio album Sown In Weakness, Raised In Power, consisting of eleven tracks. Their second album was a split EP with band Nailed Promise featuring four tracks released on Pluto Records
. For this album, Justin Carder replaced Wilburn on drums.
guitarist Rocky Gray
to form what would be known as Kill System, alongside Chad Moore (Soul Embraced) on bass, and Lance Garvin (also of Living Sacrifice) on drums. While the project never obtained an official distribution deal and despite LeCompt's history of a heavier music style, Kill System evolved into something more melodic and became a favorite among fans.
. LeCompt played guitar during many of the band's live shows, and was the featured vocalist on the track "Seems Like Forever".
in 2002, LeCompt was hired by local Little Rock band Evanescence
as guitarist for tour events, along with Rocky Gray as drummer and Will Boyd
on bass. With few exceptions, LeCompt has also filled the duet role for the song "Bring Me to Life
" while on tour. His writing credits for Evanescence includes one track from their 2003 debut album Fallen
titled "Taking Over Me", and another on the album The Open Door
, "All That I'm Living For". LeCompt is also credited with programming for "All That I'm Living For" and "Call Me When You're Sober
" on The Open Door.
Even before becoming a part of Evanescence, LeCompt had some association with the co-founders of the band. He is mentioned in the booklet for their demo release, Origin, where he is thanked as "the sexiest man alive" by Amy Lee
and Ben Moody
.
On May 4, 2007, LeCompt was fired from Evanescence by lead singer Amy Lee
. Reasons for this are yet to be confirmed. He was replaced by Dark New Day
guitarist Troy McLawhorn
, who played with Evanescence on tour until December 2007.
, where he performed guitar and background vocals. Other members include Jack Wiese (Brookroyal) on lead vocals, Rocky Gray on drums, Jeff Bowie (Soul Embraced) on bass and Devin Castle (The Vail) on guitar. They have since played shows in St. Louis, Missouri
as well as in Little Rock, gaining not only a local fanbase, but worldwide through Evanescence. Similar to Kill System, Mourningside has yet to gain an official distribution deal, but has released a seven track EP. Their debut song, entitled "Painting the Eyes", was featured on a multi-band promotional CD distributed at Dirty Elf Fest 2005 in St. Louis.
lead singer Phil Tayler. After reforming the band with Jack Wiese on guitars, Thad Ables on bass and Rocky Gray on drums, Future Leaders of the World changed its name to Machina . Machina released an EP in 2007 and has been touring extensively throughout the U.S. The band plans to release their debut record sometime in 2010.
finalist Carly Smithson
as the lead singer, former Evanescence members Ben Moody
and Rocky Gray
, and Moody's friend Marty O'Brien
. We Are the Fallen made their first public appearance together for a press conference at SIR in Los Angeles, CA, on June 22, 2009. The band performed two tracks which included their first single, "Bury Me Alive", and "Going Under", originally performed by Evanescence. The band's debut album, Tear the World Down, is scheduled to be released on May 11, 2010 in the U.S. and on May 10, 2010 in the UK.
EP/Split
Compilation
Studio albums
models, including the F-300FM, EC-1000, Viper-301, H-301, ESP Grynch
and H-307. His acoustic guitars include the Yamaha CPX900 and LJX6C models. For amplification, he stated that he uses a Mesa
Stiletto Deuce.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician who has been part of the Little Rock heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
scene since the mid-1990s. He has been associated with a great number of bands, ranging from the unknown and unsigned to multi-platinum sellers, most notably the alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
band Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
. One of his main collaborators is long-time friend Rocky Gray
Rocky Gray
William "Rocky" Gray is a drummer and guitarist who has been part of the Arkansas metal scene since the early 1990s. He has an extensive career as a musician and is best known as the lead guitarist for Living Sacrifice and the drummer for We Are the Fallen...
, who is often John's bandmate in various group projects. They both are now members of the rock bands We Are the Fallen
We Are the Fallen
We Are the Fallen is an American gothic metal band consisting of former American Idol contestant Carly Smithson, Marty O'Brien and former Evanescence members Ben Moody, John LeCompt, and Rocky Gray. The band's name is an allusion to Evanescence's 2003 album, Fallen, which has resulted in criticism...
and Machina.
Mindrage
His first commercial endeavor was the Christian metalChristian metal
Christian metal, also known as white metal, is a form of heavy metal music usually defined by its message in a song's lyrics as well as the band's dedication to Christianity...
band Mindrage, in which he performed as both lead vocalist and lead guitarist. Enlisted for the project was Nick Williams on bass and Chad Wilburn on drums. Mindrage signed to Bulletproof Records and in June 1998 recorded the studio album Sown In Weakness, Raised In Power, consisting of eleven tracks. Their second album was a split EP with band Nailed Promise featuring four tracks released on Pluto Records
Pluto Records
Pluto Records is a record label started in 1999 by Eric Shirey and Brian Cobbel. Since 2002, it has been owned and operated by Brian Cobbel and based near Dallas, TX. It is primarily known for punk, metal, and hardcore releases, although not exclusively...
. For this album, Justin Carder replaced Wilburn on drums.
Kill System
LeCompt later joined with then-Living SacrificeLiving Sacrifice
Living Sacrifice is a Christian heavy metal band that formed in September 1989 in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. The band has released seven studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren Johnson as a more thrash metal and death metal...
guitarist Rocky Gray
Rocky Gray
William "Rocky" Gray is a drummer and guitarist who has been part of the Arkansas metal scene since the early 1990s. He has an extensive career as a musician and is best known as the lead guitarist for Living Sacrifice and the drummer for We Are the Fallen...
to form what would be known as Kill System, alongside Chad Moore (Soul Embraced) on bass, and Lance Garvin (also of Living Sacrifice) on drums. While the project never obtained an official distribution deal and despite LeCompt's history of a heavier music style, Kill System evolved into something more melodic and became a favorite among fans.
Soul Embraced
LeCompt eventually joined back up with Rocky Gray to collaborate with Gray's band Soul EmbracedSoul Embraced
Soul Embraced is a Christian Death Metal band from Little Rock, Arkansas, United States.-History:Originally a side project of drummer David Sroczynski and William "Rocky" Gray from Shredded Corpse formed in 1997, the band dissolved after creating one song for a metal compilation in 1998...
. LeCompt played guitar during many of the band's live shows, and was the featured vocalist on the track "Seems Like Forever".
Evanescence
After being signed by label Wind-up RecordsWind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
in 2002, LeCompt was hired by local Little Rock band Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
as guitarist for tour events, along with Rocky Gray as drummer and Will Boyd
William Boyd (musician)
William James "Will" Boyd , is the former bass guitarist of alternative metal band Evanescence.Boyd became a full-time member of Evanescence in June 2003, but had co-written two of their unreleased songs, "October" and "So Close," prior to that...
on bass. With few exceptions, LeCompt has also filled the duet role for the song "Bring Me to Life
Bring Me to Life
"Bring Me to Life" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges and produced by Dave Fortman. It also features guest vocals from Paul McCoy of the band 12 Stones. Wind-up released "Bring Me to Life" in 2003 as the lead single from Evanescence's...
" while on tour. His writing credits for Evanescence includes one track from their 2003 debut album Fallen
Fallen (Evanescence album)
-Critical response:Fallen has received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic scored the album three and a half stars out of five, and named it an AMG Album Pick, saying, "The album does include flashes of the single's PG-rated nu-metal...
titled "Taking Over Me", and another on the album The Open Door
The Open Door
The Open Door is the second studio album by the American rock band Evanescence. It was first released in Poland on September 25, 2006, through Wind-up Records and subsequently in more than 20 other countries worldwide...
, "All That I'm Living For". LeCompt is also credited with programming for "All That I'm Living For" and "Call Me When You're Sober
Call Me When You're Sober
"Call Me When You're Sober" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. The song was written by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo and produced by Dave Fortman and it was included on their second studio album The Open Door. On July 30, 2006 several radio stations played the track before its official...
" on The Open Door.
Even before becoming a part of Evanescence, LeCompt had some association with the co-founders of the band. He is mentioned in the booklet for their demo release, Origin, where he is thanked as "the sexiest man alive" by Amy Lee
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
and Ben Moody
Ben Moody
Benjamin Robert Moody is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He is best known as co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter of Grammy Award-winning rock band Evanescence from 1995 to October 2003...
.
On May 4, 2007, LeCompt was fired from Evanescence by lead singer Amy Lee
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
. Reasons for this are yet to be confirmed. He was replaced by Dark New Day
Dark New Day
Dark New Day is an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot, Troy McLawhorn of DoubleDrive, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, Corey Lowery of Stereomud and Stuck Mojo, and Will Hunt of Skrape...
guitarist Troy McLawhorn
Troy McLawhorn
William Troy McLawhorn is an American musician who is a guitarist of the band Evanescence.-Early carrer:He was formerly of the bands Seether, Dark New Day, doubleDrive and Still Rain. After the demise of his first band, Still Rain, McLawhorn helped form Dark New Day in 1995, although they were...
, who played with Evanescence on tour until December 2007.
Mourningside
During part of Evanescence's creative hiatus after Fallen, LeCompt created what would later be known as MourningsideMourningside
Mourningside is a side project of John LeCompt and Jack Wiese featuring Rocky Gray , Devin Castle, and Jeff Bowie...
, where he performed guitar and background vocals. Other members include Jack Wiese (Brookroyal) on lead vocals, Rocky Gray on drums, Jeff Bowie (Soul Embraced) on bass and Devin Castle (The Vail) on guitar. They have since played shows in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
as well as in Little Rock, gaining not only a local fanbase, but worldwide through Evanescence. Similar to Kill System, Mourningside has yet to gain an official distribution deal, but has released a seven track EP. Their debut song, entitled "Painting the Eyes", was featured on a multi-band promotional CD distributed at Dirty Elf Fest 2005 in St. Louis.
Machina
In 2005, LeCompt began collaborating with Future Leaders of the WorldFuture Leaders of the World
Machina is the successor project to Future Leaders of the World, founded by vocalist Phil Taylor, which features former members of Evanescence...
lead singer Phil Tayler. After reforming the band with Jack Wiese on guitars, Thad Ables on bass and Rocky Gray on drums, Future Leaders of the World changed its name to Machina . Machina released an EP in 2007 and has been touring extensively throughout the U.S. The band plans to release their debut record sometime in 2010.
We Are the Fallen
John LeCompt is now a member, co-creator, co-writer of a new rock band called We Are the Fallen. All of the members have come together as one unit to create and write music for the band. The members of the band include American Idol 7American Idol (season 7)
The seventh season of American Idol, the annual reality show and singing competition, began on January 15, 2008 and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returning as judges...
finalist Carly Smithson
Carly Smithson
Carly Smithson is an Irish soul/pop rock singer-songwriter and actress from San Diego, California who was the sixth place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. In 2001, Smithson released her first studio album for MCA Records called Ultimate High. Smithson was dropped from the record...
as the lead singer, former Evanescence members Ben Moody
Ben Moody
Benjamin Robert Moody is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He is best known as co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter of Grammy Award-winning rock band Evanescence from 1995 to October 2003...
and Rocky Gray
Rocky Gray
William "Rocky" Gray is a drummer and guitarist who has been part of the Arkansas metal scene since the early 1990s. He has an extensive career as a musician and is best known as the lead guitarist for Living Sacrifice and the drummer for We Are the Fallen...
, and Moody's friend Marty O'Brien
Marty O'Brien
Marty O'Brien is a professional bass player and member of the band We Are the Fallen. His live credits include playing bass on tour for such acts as Disturbed, Tommy Lee, Static-X, Methods of Mayhem and many others. He has performed on three different Ozzfest tours, each time with a different band...
. We Are the Fallen made their first public appearance together for a press conference at SIR in Los Angeles, CA, on June 22, 2009. The band performed two tracks which included their first single, "Bury Me Alive", and "Going Under", originally performed by Evanescence. The band's debut album, Tear the World Down, is scheduled to be released on May 11, 2010 in the U.S. and on May 10, 2010 in the UK.
Mindrage
Studio album- Sown in Weakness, Raised in Power (June 1998)
EP/Split
- Mindrage & Nailed Promise (January 16, 2001)
Compilation
- Haven of Blasphemy cover song on tribute CD A Tribute to Living Sacrifice (2001)
Soul Embrace
Featured Vocalist- Seems Like Forever on *Immune (2003)
Evanescence
- FallenFallen (Evanescence album)-Critical response:Fallen has received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic scored the album three and a half stars out of five, and named it an AMG Album Pick, saying, "The album does include flashes of the single's PG-rated nu-metal...
(March 4, 2003) - Anywhere but HomeAnywhere but HomeAnywhere but Home is the first live album and DVD by the rock band Evanescence, released in 2004. It includes all four of their Fallen music videos, an hour of behind the scenes features, and a recording of a concert at Le Zénith in Paris...
(November 23, 2004) - The Open DoorThe Open DoorThe Open Door is the second studio album by the American rock band Evanescence. It was first released in Poland on September 25, 2006, through Wind-up Records and subsequently in more than 20 other countries worldwide...
(October 3, 2006)
Machina
EP- Machina EP (2007)
Studio albums
- To Live And Die In The Garden OF Eden (2010)
Hardware
LeCompt uses a variety of guitars, both electric and acoustic. For electric, he uses a number of ESPESP Guitars
, located in North Hollywood, California, is an American-based, Japanese-owned manufacturer of electric guitars and basses.- History :In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened a shop called Electric Sound Products in Tokyo. It provided custom replacement parts for guitars. In 1976, ESP gained a reputation...
models, including the F-300FM, EC-1000, Viper-301, H-301, ESP Grynch
ESP Grynch
ESP Grynch is a guitar model distributed by ESP.It originally came up when Hetfield would buy a regular ESP LTD VB-400 BARITONE and ask a friend to paint green flames on it.This model is now discontinued....
and H-307. His acoustic guitars include the Yamaha CPX900 and LJX6C models. For amplification, he stated that he uses a Mesa
Mesa Boogie
Mesa/Boogie is a company in Petaluma, California that makes amplifiers for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969....
Stiletto Deuce.
External links
- JohnLeCompt.com - Semi-official site
- machinaboard.com - Machina's official message board
- NailedPromise.com - NP official site