John Picciuto - California's Own John Entwistle

As far as really good bass players go, they aren't that easy to find. All too many folks pick up the bass at a young age, thinking that it will be easier to play versus that 6 string devil of an instrument, the guitar.
On January 3rd 2010, the world lost one of the great bass players and probably the nicest musician who ever trod the boards, John Picciuto.
John was born in 1952 in New Jersey, where as a teenager, he started mastering the bass in the styles of The Who's John Entwistle, Cream's Jack Bruce and Paul McCartney. He saw many shows in New York including The Beatles' last tour and the Who's first Stateside performances. Of all of his influences, Entwistle was his primary inspiration, and John soon found himself to be a natural player as his fingers sped up and down the neck of his Fender P's and Rickenbackers.
After playing in New Jersey bands including Trigger, The Monks and the beautifully named William and The Conquerors (it was the late 60's/early 70's after all!), he was approached to join Looking Glass, who had just had a hit with Brandy (You're a Fine Girl). He toured with Looking Glass in the 70's, headlining shows, as well as opening for The Kinks, The Beach Boys, The Pretenders and many more. Looking Glass eventually broke up and several of the members went on to form the amazing and underrated guitar rock band, Starz. John decided to take time out from his music and focus on his family and career.
He played periodically through the 80's and 90's, but it was not until 2000, that he reignited his complete passion and focus for performing. By that time his three daughters had grown up and John needed to fill a void in his life.
It was also at that time that John responded to an ad I'd placed in L.A's Recycler. It read "Bass player needed to play Who, Beatles, Zep. Must like classic rock and enjoy a good pint of ale and a chat". Within about 5 hours of the posting John responded and joined The Stoats. He blew the rest of us away with his playing, personality and constant enthusiasm. We played together for 10 years, performing all over California from San Diego to Sonoma. I also had the chance to take John on his only visit to England in 2006, where we saw The Who at the Isle of Wight.
During this time, John had various undiagnosed health issues. By the time it was discovered that he had a rare form of cancer, it was too late to provide treatment.
His friends and bandmates supported him until the very end. I had the honor, along with Vince and Aggy, to sit with him watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show DVD, 4 days before his passing. Even then, you could see the passion he had in his eyes for music, and the true friendship and love he provided to his friends and family.
John's memorial will take place on Saturday 16th at the Unitarian Church in Pasadena. He will be missed by many but his energy will continue to radiate and make us all better musicians and nicer people.
John Picciuto - we will always love you.