John Joseph McGowan (born October 3, 1962) is a musician and author, most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the

Cro-Mags Cro-Mags are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band, which has a strong cult following, has released six studio albums, with the first two considered the most influential. With a Hare Krishna background, they were among th ...

. He is currently the vocalist of Bloodclot. He is a

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

competitor, he writes about his "positive mental attitude" and

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

lifestyle, and he is known for his anti-vaccine stance against mandatory

vaccine policy A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by State or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or s ...

requirements.

Early life

McGowan was raised in

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...

, and grew up on the streets of New York City.

Career

McGowan joined the New York City

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band

as the lead singer in 1981 for six months until the band broke up, and again from 1984 until 1987, taking over on vocals from Eric Casanova. He sang on a demo and wrote lyrics on the band's first, third, and fourth albums (''

The Age of Quarrel ''The Age of Quarrel'' is the first album by the New York hardcore band Cro-Mags. It was released on then-independent Profile Records in September 1986. It was subsequently re-released by Another Planet in 1994, along with the band's second alb ...

'', '' Alpha Omega'', and ''

Near Death Experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...

''). He also sings lead on the ''Before the Quarrel'' CD, essentially a reissue of the demo. Before, during, and after his time in the Cro-Mags, McGowan served as a

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

for

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

, and he sang background vocals on Antidote's ''Thou Shalt Not Kill'' EP. He returned to the Cro-Mags briefly in the 1990s. He also worked as a

bicycle messenger Bicycle messengers (also known as bike or cycle couriers) are people who work for courier companies (also known as messenger companies) carrying and delivering items by bicycle. Bicycle messengers are most often found in the central business di ...

in New York City from 1981 to 1991, and continues to cycle around the city today, often recording it for his

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

in his Bad Brains onesie. McGowan has also sung for the bands Both Worlds and Bloodclot. His autobiography, ''The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon'', published in 2007, details the major events in his life, including his extensive involvement with the

hare krishnas The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktived ...

, as well his experiences with the Cro-Mags and Bad Brains. Interviews with McGowan were featured in the 1999 documentary ''N.Y.H.C.'' as well as the 2006 documentary ''American Hardcore''. He has also done some voice acting, playing the Bad Brains loving hippo in the cartoon ''Three Thug Mice''. Since 2010, McGowan started competing in Ironman competitions.

Published works

McGowan authored "Evolution of a Cro-Magnon" in 2007 which details his upbringing in an abusive foster home, early days on "The Deuce" in NYC, meeting Bad Brains and his misadventures with the Cro-Mags. McGowan is also the author of the book ''Meat Is for Pussies'' (2010), which covers

vegan nutrition Vegan nutrition refers to the nutritional and human health aspects of vegan diets. A well-planned, balanced vegan diet is suitable to meet all recommendations for nutrients in every stage of human life. Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary f ...

, training, Bad Brains and a healthy lifestyle. In 2018 he released a book titled ''The P.M.A. Effect'' on the idea of

positive mental attitude Positive mental attitude (PMA) is a concept first introduced in 1937 by Napoleon Hill in the book ''Think and Grow Rich''. The book never actually uses the term, but discusses about the importance of positive thinking as a contributing factor of s ...

made popular by the punk band Bad Brains.

Personal life

McGowan follows a plant-based diet. He was a

prior to becoming plant-based. He lives a

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...

lifestyle, but does not identify with its subculture. McGowan was criticized in 2021 for his anti-vaccine stance on COVID-19 after he played a Bloodclot gig in April 2021 with no safety protocols in place against the spread of the virus. He said that the US vaccine program was "government overreach". He lashed out against

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

for scheduling shows in July 2021 intended only for audience members with proof of vaccination. Later that year, he caught the

Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...

without having been vaccinated at all, and he said he got through it without a problem because of his healthy lifestyle.

References

External links

Bloodclot!
on Myspace (Official Bloodclot! MySpace page)
John Joseph
on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

HARD TRUTH
John Joseph's vegan cooking channel on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, John American punk rock singers 1962 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American Hare Krishnas Singers from New York City 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers American male triathletes Cro-Mags members