John-O grew up in Zambia until he was 16. His father Irish, and Scottish  mother is . As a kid, he used to hear nearby villages playing tribal beats on traditional drums at night, which instilled in him an early sense of rhythm and a deep love for music.

His early bands were mostly underground punk, such as Babies with Rabies, Contention, Yuka Kane, and Radio Mongolia. From 2010 onwards, he was mostly nto heavy/desert rock, with bands like Eva's Agenda, Divide of Everything, and Mother Mooch. He also dabbled in blues, gypsy jazz, metal, and ska/reggae. For John-O, it's never been about genre; it has always been about the quality of the music.

I see bass as the missing link between the beat (drums/percussion) and melody. It combines with the beat to provide a rhythmic foundation for the melody and everything else to bounce off of. It also fills out the low end and gives an added dimension.