All musicians remember their first big break, for 23 year old Melbourne drummer John Caputo this is certainly no different. Recently John was called on by Australian rock legends, The Choirboys to perform with them in a series of concerts for the Australian troops and coalition forces throughout the Middle East.
John stepped in without hesitation to fill in for Choirboys regular and one of Sydney’s top session drummers, Paul Wheeler (Icehouse, Spy V Spy and LoTel) who couldn’t attend due to prior commitments - leaving some mighty big shoes to be filled.
“John’s impressive performance with a support band at a recent concert in the Solomon Islands, made him our first choice for the job.” said Choirboys vocalist and lead guitarist Mark Gable. “John’s skills, timing, stage presence and professional attitude set him apart for his peers and made our decision to bring him onboard easy.”
With less than a week to learn the material for the tour John started working his way through the set – traveling to Sydney to rehearse with the boy’s only twice before departing on the tour.
During a whirlwind two week tour of the Middle East John performed a massive twelve shows in front of thousands of Australian and coalition troops in each location. “The experience was surreal” said John, “it was hard to believe I was performing with The Choirboys, having played many of their songs in cover bands for years I would never have thought I would be up on stage actually performing with the band them-selves.”
John added his own style to the Choirboys music as well as blowing the audience away with a spectacular drum solo. “The opportunity to work with one of Australia’s top live rock bands is enough for most, but joining them as the headline act for an overseas tour is an experience that stays with you forever.” said John.
Watch out for the name John Caputo, I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot more of this talent in the future.
Simon Lucas – Headline Artists October 2004
"All Musician's Remember Their First Break"
