John LeCompt

John LeCompt

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John LeCompt (born March 10, 1973 in Little Rock, Arkansas as John Charles LeCompt) was the tour rhythm guitarist for Evanescence from 2003 to 2007. After Fallen was completed, he was hired as a tour player to perform rhythm guitar on the Fallen tour, along with the other tour players Rocky (on drums) and Will (on bass). 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. In a 2003 interview, Ben said only Rocky could play on the next Evanescence album and John and Will weren't needed on the album.

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

John has played for and been a member of many bands since the 1990s, including Mindrage, Kill System (2002), Soul Embraced (2003), Mourningside (2004), Machina (2005), and We Are the Fallen (2009).

Band Projects

Mindrage

His first commercial effort was a Christian band called Mindrage. He played guitar and sang in the band, which consisted of Nick Williams (bass) and Chad Wilburn (drums). In June of 1998, Mindrage recorded the album Sown In Weakness, Raised In Power. For their second album, (a collaboration with the band Nailed Promise), Justin Carder took over on drums, replacing Chad Wilburn.

Kill System

In 2002, John joined the band Kill System, which included then-Living Sacrifice guitarist Rocky Gray, Chad Moore on bass, Allen Robson, and former Living Sacrifice drummer Lance Garvin on drums. Kill System never had an official distribution deal.

Soul Embraced

John joined Rocky once again to work with Soul Embraced. He featured as a vocalist on the track "Seems Like Forever" from the 2003 album Immune.

Mourningside

In 2004, while Evanescence was working on The Open Door, John joined the band Mourningside on guitar and background vocals, with Rocky on drums, Jack Wiese on lead vocals, Jeff Bowie on bass and Devin Castle on guitar. Mourningside released a 7 track EP.

Machina

In 2005, John began collaborating with Future Leaders of the World vocalist and guitarist Phil Tayler, joining his renamed band Machina. Machina includes Phil Tayler (vocals), Jack Wiese (guitars), Thad Ables (bass) and Rocky Gray (drums). "Machina" is pronounced "mah-shee-nah" and not "mah-kee-nah" as generally spoken.

We Are The Fallen

In 2009, John joined Ben Moody, Rocky Gray, 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. Ben said We Are the Fallen began forming in 2003.

Gear

John uses ESP/LTD guitars. He has different models, including the F-300FM, EC-1000, Viper-301, H-301 and H-307 seven-string.

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 Evanescence.com, Amy Lee posted this statement on May 6, 2007:

Evanescence is alive and well. John and Rocky were in Evanescence for four years and we shared some great times together playing live, but they were ready to move on and so we have parted ways. Evanescence is something I have loved and nurtured since I was fourteen, and I will continue to protect and fight for it as I always have. Terry, Tim and I are very excited to play live with some amazing new musicians and we will rock harder than ever. Stay tuned for more news on that front. And don't worry about the tour, guys. Nothing will be cancelled and we will see you soon!

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. They did a song together called Free But Hollow.

Links

• Mourningside - Mourningside's MySpace Page