Originating from Baltimore, Maryland, John Patti has performed for crowds up and down the east coast. At age 3, he began banging on chairs, couches, tables and whatever made the most noise until he found his father’s old drum set which he used to teach himself to play drums throughout elementary and middle school.

Being a fan of many genres of music, John was quickly inspired by the musical styles of Jimmy Buffett and the island sound of the steel drums. At age 11, he was able to get his hands on an old set of steel drums lying around a family friend’s house. Within 30 minutes, John had taught himself two island classics and never looked back.

Within two years of picking up the pans, John formed his first band with a group of high school friends. Wasting Daylight would be the band that would introduce John to the entertainment world and music industry. Since then he has been a part of many local bands such as Key Lime Pie, Light Street Groove and Feedback.

In 1998 John was asked to make a special guest appearance at the Meeting of the Minds convention in Key West, Florida. There he had an opportunity to perform with members of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer band, including his primary influence Robert Greenidge. That event inspired John to pursue his musical passion and he lobbied to incorporate steel drums into the music programs at his local high school and into college.

He attended West Virginia University under a full scholarship for music where he was able to study the steel drums with Dr. Ellie Mannette, the creator of the modern day steel drum. He later transferred to University of Maryland College Park to study business and is scheduled to graduate in May 2005 with a double degree in Marketing and Logistics from the nationally ranked Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Shortly after transferring to University of Maryland, John joined Captain Quint, which has given him the chance to open up for Jimmy Buffett five times, tour many parts of the country and perform for crowds in excess of 15,000. Touring with Captain Quint has also allowed John to experience the many musical flavors and styles from cities like New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Orlando and Miami. So far, playing with Quint has provided some of the biggest thrills of his life and he can only imagine what is in store ahead.

Some of John’s influences include: Robert Greenidge, Andy Narrell, Larry Carlton, Diana Krall, Chicago and Jimmy Buffett.