John LeCompt

John LeCompt

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John LeCompt (born March 10, 1973 in Little Rock, Arkansas as John Charles LeCompt) was the rhythm guitarist for Evanescence from 2003 to 2007. After Fallen was completed, he was hired to play on the Fallen tour, along with the other tour players Rocky and Will. None of the tour players were part of the making of Fallen. He and Rocky are friends of Ben Moody from Little Rock and were hired by Ben for the tour. John played live on some Evanescence shows before Fallen 's release. He was mentioned by Ben in the booklet for Origin (2000) as "the sexiest man alive". In a 2003 interview, Ben said only Rocky could play on the next Evanescence album and John and Will weren't needed on the next album.

In some live shows, he performed Paul McCoy’s vocal from Bring Me to Life. He has a co-writing credit on the cover song Forever You, the Fallen song Taking Over Me, and The Open Door song All That I'm Living For. He was also given an "additional programming" credit on Call Me When You're Sober and All That I'm Living For. It should be noted that he was falsely credited for guitar on The Open Door, as guitarist Terry Balsamo recorded and composed the guitars on the album.

Band Projects

Mindrage

His first commercial effort was a band called Mindrage. Pulling double duty as lead vocalist and lead guitarist, he enlisted Nick Williams (bass) and Chad Wilburn (drums) to form the Christian Metal trio. In June of 1998, Mindrage recorded the album Sown In Weakness, Raised In Power - a full album consisting of 11 tracks. For their second album, (a collaboration with the band Nailed Promise) Justin Carder (now with Hap Hazard and Chasing The Fall) took over on drums, replacing Chad Wilburn for the four track feature.

Kill System

Later, John joined forces with then-Living Sacrifice guitarist Rocky Gray to form what would be known as Kill System, along with Chad Moore (Soul Embraced) on bass, Allen Robson (Between the Second, Becoming Saints) and former Living Sacrifice drummer Lance Garvin on drums. Unfortunately, the Kill System project never had an official distribution deal despite their commendable effort. Despite John's heavier musical history, Kill System proved to be much more melodic, making the project a big fan favorite.

Soul Embraced

Continuing with their seemingly endless collaborations, John joined Rocky once again for work with Soul Embraced. John features as a vocalist on the track entitled, "Seems Like Forever" on the 2003 album Immune.

Mourningside

During Evanescence's creative hiatus, John (on guitar / background vocals) formulated what would later be known as Mourningside. Members include Jack Wiese (ex-lead of the.5th.element) providing lead vocals, fellow Evanescence member Rocky Gray on drums, Jeff Bowie (Becoming Saints) on bass and Devin Castle (Eva Braun / Ashes of Augustine) on guitar. They have since played shows in St. Louis, Missouri, as well as in Little Rock, Arkansas, gaining not only a strong fanbase in the States, but among Evanescence fans all around the world.

Like Kill System, Mourningside has yet to gain an official distribution deal but has released a collective 7 track EP. Their debut song, "Painting The Eyes," was featured on a multi-band promotional CD distributed at Dirty Elf Fest 2005 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Machina

In 2005, John began collaborating with ex-Future Leaders of the World lead Phil Tayler. They are currently working on new material and plan on touring with hopes of releasing an album in late 2006. As a band, Machina includes Phil Tayler (vocals), John LeCompt (guitars), Jack Wiese (guitars), Thad Ables (bass) and Rocky Gray (drums). With new material and new members, the band decided to change their title from "Future Leaders Of the World" to "Machina" in Spring / Summer 2006.

Contrary to popular belief, this particular "Machina" is pronounced "mah-shee-nah" and not "mah-kee-nah" as generally spoken.

We Are The Fallen

In 2009 it was announced John LeCompt would be joining ex-Evanescence members Ben Moody and Rocky Gray along with former American Idol contestant Carly Smithson (Vocals) and bass player Marty O'Brien to form We Are The Fallen. The group released their debut album, Tear the World Down, in May 2010.

Tools of the Trade

Hardware

John uses ESP/LTD guitars.

He has many different models, including the F-300FM, EC-1000, Viper-301, H-301 and H-307 seven-string.

As for amplification, he has stated he a uses Mesa Stilletto Deuce. [2]

EC-1000

Set mahogany neck with 24-3/4" scale, topped with a rosewood fretboard adorned with abalone flags plus the model name at the 12th fret. TonePros locking bridge and tailpiece keep tuning rock-solid. The black and cherry models feature a pair of EMG-81 pickups, while the amber sunburst model (the particular model used by John) sports a Seymour Duncan JB/59 setup.

Guitar Effects

In an interview John answered:

"The only effects that I use are some delay and reverb... sometimes a little tremolo and wah. I only use it on my clean channel. My metal channel is all metal, all the time. No stinking effects there."

Leaving Evanescence

John was officially "fired" from Evanescence on May 4th, 2007. He posted on a blog his thoughts on the decision:

"...Around 3:30 pm yesterday I recieved a call on my cell from Amy. This call wasn't from a friend who appreciated me but from an enemy who was prepared to hurt me and my family. Without any warning or negotiotiations for my future, I was fired for no good reason. We have not always seen eye to eye on everything, but who does? Our common goal was always the same. To make Evanescence the best rock band it could ever be. I have always given blood, sweat and tears to make that happen but apparently that is not enough. I have now become just another of the people fallen by the wayside on the revolving door of her life. It's funny how many of us there are now...

"...Thank you all for the good years and being the most incredible fans and friends. Maybe I will see you again..."

He later continued in another blog entry in reference to the previous statements:

"Just to let you know, I pulled down the very personal blog about my departure from Evanescence. I felt that I said what I had to say and the response was very much the same among everyone who read it. I feel beyond those very strong feelings now and am ready to move past them. Now I am all about Machina and persuing that without bitterness or hurt in my heart. EV was what it was, a stepping stone. A very large stepping stone that I truly appreciate and will always hold close to my heart. I will never play down the importance of it in my life or the lives of my friends and family. It is a piece of history that I got to be involved in and will remember forever. I choose to remember the good things about it rather than a negative perspective of a disgruntled former member. So, all that is said...let's move on and rock out with our cock out to MACHINA!!! Ready, Set....GO!!!"

On May 18, 2007 Amy explained the reasons why John was fired and his friend Rocky's departure:

Here's the truth, when I said that John and Rocky both made it clear they were ready to move on, I meant it. They were very vocal about the fact that they didn't really care about evanescence at all, and just stayed around for the money. I knowingly let this negative energy grow within my band for a very long time because I was afraid of the appearance of falling apart, when in reality, trying to hold on to these guys is what was holding us back. I treated both john and rocky with nothing but kindness and respect, and I got nothing but jealousy and resentment in return. They were miserable. They are no longer playing with us because I love this band too much to see it driven into the ground. One little false fact that's been bugging me in the press about this — Rocky didn't quit. He never talked to me or our management at all... but he did tell most of the crew and the rest of the band that he planned to quit during the two weeks off after our shows in South Africa (during which I was getting married and would have no time to replace him). Fortunately, many of those people care about this project and came and warned me, so we were able to replace him in time to continue the tour as scheduled. I then told John it was time he did what he obviously wants to be doing — playing in his own band. Because no one should be playing in EVANESCENCE that doesn't appreciate it — that doesn't love it. And especially not someone that is doing it harm. Being a touring member of a band when what you really want is to be a creator can be frustrating — I guess that frustration got the best of John.

She also spoke about it in an October interview.

Personal life

His immediate family includes his wife Sara (John was married to ex-wife Shelly whilst he was in Evanescence), daughter Bethanie and son John Charles LeCompt II (J.C.) with Shelly, and two more sons with Sara. He also has a brother, Jimmy LeCompt, whom he collaborated with in a project called Burnt Offerings. The song they are known for doing together is called Free But Hollow. Jimmy has been known to make appearances on the message boards in the past.

Links

• JohnLeCompt.com - John LeCompt Fan Site
• Mourningside
• Mourningside - Mourningside's MySpace Page
• Machina - Machina's MySpace Page
• John's MySpace
• ESP Guitars