Greenwich Village native John Sebastian’s contribution to modern music is unparalleled. The multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter graced a wide spectrum of styles throughout his 60 years in music: contemporary folk, jug band, AM pop, contemporary pop/rock, folk-rock, country and psychedelic/garage rock. Sebastian’s performances on records for Bob Dylan (Bringing It All Back Home) and The Doors (harmonica on “Roadhouse Blues”) are the stuff of legend.
John Sebastian was the co-founder of The Lovin’ Spoonful, often referred to as the American Beatles, who scored an incredible seven huge hits from 1965 to 1969, including: “Summer in the City,” “Daydream,” “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind,” “Nashville Cats,” “Do You Believe in Magic,” “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice” and “Rain on the Roof.”
After The Lovin’ Spoonful disbanded in early 1969, Sebastian went solo and, by August of that year, was immortalized for his performance at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in the Warner Bros. movie Woodstock. The film chronicled his impromptu performance before 400,000 fans on Saturday, August 16, 1969 at 3:30 pm EST in Bethel, NY, elevating the soft-spoken artist to rock icon status. In 1975 Sebastian’s self-penned solo hit, “Welcome Back,” became the theme for the perennial sitcom Welcome Back Kotter. The song soared to the top of the charts to again weave his music into the fabric of our popular culture. His songs have been covered by hundreds of artists and he continues to write, tour, record and make significant contributions to modern culture and is long considered the spokesperson for his generation. John Sebastian was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his signature autoharp is currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Jimmy Vivino served as the Music Director on the TBS late night show CONAN. Vivino has been a consistent element in O’Brien’s late night career, starting with the first episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien in September 1993. In June of 2008 Vivino moved from New York to Los Angeles and worked as Music Director/guitarist/arranger on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.
Vivino divides his time between recording sessions and live gigs throughout the country. In addition to his solo work, Vivino plays with The Prisoners of 2nd Avenue, Rumble & Twang with Lee Rocker, The Barn Burners, The Rekooperators, and the successful Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux. Vivino has also recorded and played live with such legends as Johnnie Johnson, Hubert Sumlin, Levon Helm and Al Kooper. Earlier in his career Jimmy got his start producing playing and arranging for such artists as Phoebe Snow, Laura Nyro, John Sebastian and Donald Fagen. Summer 2014, Jimmy headlined the King Biscuit Festival with his other band, Jimmy Vivino & the Black Italians.
A musician all his life, Jimmy also devotes his time to organizations that mean something to him. The Notes for Notes benefit, sponsored by Seymour Duncan pickups provides young people the opportunity to explore, create, and record music for free. Recently, Jimmy has also gotten involved with The Boot Campaign, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to cultivating awareness, promoting patriotism and providing assistance to military personnel and their families.
