John Mann (musician)

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John Mann
File:John Mann.png
Mann playing with Spirit of the West in 2010
Born (1962-09-18) September 18, 1962 (age 61)[citation needed]
Calgary, Alberta
Residence Vancouver, British Columbia
Occupation Musician, songwriter, actor
Years active 1980s–present
Known for Spirit of the West
Style Folk rock
Spouse(s) Jill Daum
Website johnmann.ca

John Mann (born September 18, 1962)[citation needed] is a Canadian rock musician and actor. He is best known as the frontman of the folk rock band Spirit of the West.[1][2]

Early career

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Mann relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia to study theatre at Studio 58.[3][4] He left Studio 58 in 1983 and co-founded the band Spirit of the West.[3][5] The band released its first independent album the following year.[2]

Music

Mann is the lead vocalist of the folk rock band Spirit of the West and is the band's co-founder and co-songwriter along with bandmate Geoffrey Kelly.[6][7]

Spirit of the West's music is a mixture folk, alt-rock and pop with a Celtic-influenced sound.[2][5] The band gained wider popularity with their 1990 major label release Save This House. The album included the single "Home for a Rest" which became their most recognized song[5] Co-written by Mann, "Home for a Rest" is a popular drinking song in Canada; it has been called "legendary" and the "ultimate Canadian frosh-week/wedding-reception anthem" by Marsha Lederman of The Globe and Mail,[2][8] an "iconic drinking song" by Alex Cooper of the Revelstoke Times Review,[9] and "Canada’s unofficial national anthem" by Patricia D'Cunha of CityNews.[5] In 2010 the song was also listed by Mike Devlin of the Canwest News Service as one of the "Ten best drinking songs of all time"[10] and was ranked #89 on the National Post's list of "The Top 100 Canadian Singles".[11]

Mann also played lead guitar for Spirit of the West until 2013, subsequent to his diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's disease.[2] Musician Matthew Harder subsequently joined the band as a replacement guitarist.[2] Spirit of the West is planning a retrospective tour in the fall of 2015.[12] Weeks after the announcement, Mann performed a concert featuring both his solo material and Spirit of the West, which was broadcast by CBC Television's Absolutely Canadian in July 2015 as "John Mann Here and Now".[13]

Mann has also released three solo albums: Acoustic Kitty, December Looms and The Waiting Room.[14][15][16] The Waiting Room deals with the topic of Mann's battle with colorectal cancer and is being turned into a theatrical work in commissioned by Arts Club Theatre Company, set to debut during the Arts Club’s 2015-16 season.[12][16][17] During his solo shows, Mann continues to play guitar, but also employs an accompanist.[1][2]

Acting

Mann studied theatre at Studio 58 in Vancouver, but he put his acting career on hold when he joined Spirit of the West in 1983.[3][5] Mann returned to acting in the 1998 when a high school friend, who was working as a talent agent, asked if he wanted to audition for the TV series Millennium;[18] he appeared in the episode Millennium episode "Via Dolorosa" that aired in May 1999.[19]

Mann went on to appear on several television shows as a guest actor, including Cold Squad, Dark Angel, Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville and Da Vinci's Inquest.[19][20] He has also played recurring characters in the series Whistler, Haunted, Blood Ties and Intelligence.[15][19]

Mann played dual roles in the 2001 film Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal.[21] In the film he portrayed the character Slade Craven—a goth rocker reminiscent of Marilyn Manson who stages a concert in a 747—and Simon Flanders—a passenger of the flight who is a Satanic fan planning to crash the plane in Eastern Kansas while disguised as Craven.[21] Mann also had minor roles in such films as The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Underworld: Evolution (2006) and The Tall Man (2012).[19]

His theatre credits include Of Mice and Men at The Vancouver Playhouse, The Three Penny Opera with The Vancouver Opera, Miss Saigon at The Arts Club Stanley Theatre (in the role of The Engineer—a role that earned him a Jessie Award nomination for Best Actor) and Joni Mitchell: The River at The Vancouver Playhouse.[18][22] In 2010 he starred in the rock musical Beyond Eden, which was mounted by both the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company and Theatre Calgary.[23]

Personal life

Mann is married to actress and playwright Jill Daum.[2][3][12] The couple have two children, son Harlan and daughter Hattie.[2][3] Their children use the combined surname Daumann.[citation needed] Harlan Daumann is also a musician, whose song "By Tomorrow" was recorded by Mann on his solo album December Looms.[citation needed]

Prior to marrying Daum, he was romantically linked with Jean Smith of the band Mecca Normal, who was revealed in the 2001 book Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995 as the inspiration behind one of Spirit of the West's best-known hit singles, "Political".[24]

In 2009 Mann was diagnosed with colorectal cancer which he overcame in 2010, and by 2011 he had made a full recovery.[5][6][15]

In September 2014, Mann announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.[1][2][3][25] Mann said he had noted memory issues during his acting performances as far back as 2001 and he later experienced issues with remembering lyrics and guitar chords during his musical performances.[12] He had noted also his issues with dementia while being treated for cancer, but his doctors considered the problems to be related to the stress and strain of battling cancer.[12] In an official statement posted to Spirit of the West's official website, Daum stated: "Although we may never know what triggered John's condition, it seems safe to conclude that his battle with cancer in 2010 was a contributor."[12][25]

Mann plans to continue touring and performing with Spirit of the West as long as he remains able to do so.[1][2][25] The band has announced that it will perform its final concert in April 2016.[26]

John Mann is planning to undergo a stem cell procedure in hopes of helping his Alzheimer's.[27] An online fundraiser in December 2015 quickly amassed more than $55,000, for the procedure. The procedure will take place at a clinic in Mexico because the therapy has not been approved in Canada.[27]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ "Spirit of the West's John Mann debuts special concert film". CBC News, July 4, 2015.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 John Mann at the Internet Movie Database
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-992-9.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Beloved Vancouver group Spirit of the West announces final shows, CBC Music website, December 1, 2015.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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