JACK STAPLETON
acoustic and electric guitars

Jack Stapleton started playing the guitar in the 60s, learning folk music from his sister Susan, a member of a mean folk trio. He graduated to garage band rock and roll in secondary school with the typical influences of Hendrix, Beatles, and Led Zeppelin. After hearing Segovia and the Mahavishnu orchestra, he began studying classical guitar and obsessing about John McLaughlin. In college he played in both a big band and a free improvisation band, and continued playing classical music. Family and job took over about 1980, and Jack played only occasionally, usually in conjunction with his children's music events. The opportunity to play with Lazy Boys happened in 1999, and brought him back to playing music regularly. He likes the eclectic repertoire of The Recliners. He still loves the fusion and rock guitarists (McLaughlin, Scofield, Metheny, Martino, Jeff Beck, Hendrix, Clapton) but in large part due to the Lazy Boys, he has grown to enjoy folk, Appalachian, and blue grass music—listening to Richard Thompson, Chris Thiele, Sam Bush, Edgar Myer, Mark O'Conner, and others. For his day gig, Jack is an infectious disease specialist and is involved in AIDS and hepatitis research.