John Torres is an American singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and sometimes actor, native to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. He is best known for his original songs, and live performances, as well as for his roles in popular musical theatre productions.

Early life

Torres is the youngest of three children born to Raymond and Carmela Torres.
His father, Raymond (a first generation Mexican-American) is a banker, and
his mother, Carmela (an Italian Immigrant) is a retired bank teller and
homemaker.

Born into a very large Italian and Mexican family (with 40+ first cousins
alone), extroversion and hyperactivity were apparent traits from an early
age. John attended Catholic school from first grade through the end of high
school, and was very active throughout. During elementary school he began
acting in commercials as well as television. From age 11 to 13 he was a
sponsored skateboarder, and from 15-18 he played hockey (appearing as a
stunt double in movies such as The Mighty Ducks 2 and eventually played for
the Junior Ducks Hockey Organization.)

Music

From an early age, John had a love of music. Around the end of high school, he joined his first band (a Ska band called “the Casuals”), and began writing music. The group played local gigs in and around California’s San Gabriel Valley. Shortly after the band separated, John teamed up with Max Henderson to form “The B-Team,” a group that (in various manifestations) would include many other members (such as Ben Hall of the group “Elevaters,” and Korean Pop Singer, Camilla Ghedini.)

John attended the University of California at Los Angeles, and graduated with a degree in English Literature. While at UCLA, his songwriting flourished, and he continued to perform, both with the B-Team and eventually as a solo artist.
Additionally, he joined “Awaken A Cappella,” an award-winning vocal ensemble. Members from the years John was in the group have gone on to achieve much success in the music industry (most notably Grammy nominated Sara Bareilles). The group won the annual “Spring Sing” talent competition twice while Torres was a member. In addition he also won two separate “UCLA Spring Sing

UCLA Spring Sing

Spring Sing is UCLA's oldest and greatest musical tradition, an annual music competition held in May at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. The competition brings together UCLA students to perform as solo artists, duets, bands, and a cappella groups in front of an audience of over 7,000 UCLA students, alumni,...

” awards performing as a solo act as well as with the B-Team.

In 2001-2 Torres recorded the single “Wrong” (written by Damon Intrabartolo) for the movie “Urban Legends: Final Cut

Urban Legends: Final Cut

Urban Legends: Final Cut is a 2000 slasher film and sequel to the 1998 film Urban Legend. It stars Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis, Loretta Devine, Anthony Anderson, Hart Bochner, Rebecca Gayheart, Regina Hall, Yani Gellman, and Eva Mendes...

,” which is included on the soundtrack.

In 2005 the song “Yes Be Yes” (written by Torres, Tim Kobza, and Stephanie Carlisi) was featured in Scott Edmund Lane’s film “Angels With Angles” starring Rodney Dangerfield

Rodney Dangerfield

Rodney Dangerfield , was an American comedian, and actor, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologues on that theme...

 and Frank Gorshin.

From 2005-2006, Torres worked as a vocalist for a host of different songwriters, producers and organizations including Disney, Grammy Award winner, Steve Porcaro

Steve Porcaro

Steven Maxwell "Steve" Porcaro is an American keyboardist and composer, who was an original member of the rock/pop band Toto....

, and Grammy nominee Guy Roche

Guy Roche

Guy Roche is a record producer and songwriter who is best known for the hit singles he has co-written/co-produced for Christina Aguilera, which include but are not limited to "What a Girl Wants", "I Turn to You", and "Come on Over Baby . He also co-wrote Brandy's Never Say Never single "Almost...

.

In late 2007, Torres very clearly decided to return to his original goal of pursuing a career as a singer/songwriter. On January 1, 2009 he independently released his first official album, “Music After All”

Acting

By the time Torres graduated from UCLA in 2001 he was very much set on entertainment as a career. During this time (from roughly 2001-2007), John performed in numerous musical theatre productions, short films, television shows, and stage acting productions.

As a musical theatre actor, John co-starred as “Peter” in the Los Angeles production of “Bare: A Pop Opera,” which was nominated for 18 Ovation awards

Ovation Awards

The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the Los Angeles Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. They have been called the "...highest-profile contest for local theatre..." by the Los...

 in 2001 (Torres also received a Robbie Award nomination for Best Actor). Later, in 2005 John also originated the role of “Drew” in the first Los Angeles cast of “Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages (musical)

Rock of Ages is a rock/jukebox musical, with a book by Chris D'Arienzo, built around classic rock hits from the 1980s, especially from the famous glam metal bands of the decade. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Asia, among...

” (alongside Laura Bell Bundy

Laura Bell Bundy

Laura Ashley Bell Bundy is an American actress and singer who has performed in a number of Broadway roles, both starring and supporting, as well as in television and film. Her best known Broadway roles are the original Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray and the original Elle Woods in the musical...

, Chris Hardwick

Chris Hardwick

Christopher Ryan "Chris" Hardwick is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, musician, podcaster, television personality, and voice artist...

 and Kyle Gas).

In 2004-5 John toured as an actor in the 2-man sketch comedy team (ironically called “The Awaken Drama Team”) with partner Joby Harris for the Men’s organization, Promise Keepers

Promise Keepers

Promise Keepers is an international conservative Christian organization for men. While it originated in the United States, it is now world-wide...

. The team toured for 2 years and performed in major arenas in 40 cities.

Around 2005 Torres performed on the Comedy Central

Comedy Central

Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....

 Con (TV series)

Con (TV series)

Con was a television series on Comedy Central in which con artist Skyler Stone revealed the secrets of his profession by performing confidence tricks, scams, and hoaxes of various degrees of complexity on camera. These could range from simply claiming that an order for food was botched, to claiming...

 with host and comedian Skyler Stone

Skyler Stone

Skyler Stone is an American actor who starred in Con which ran on Comedy Central for two months in the spring of 2005....

. Torres was part of a test episode in which Stone convinced the Dodgers Baseball organization that Torres was a failed “American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

” contestant named Mickey Streets. Using this Con, Stone convinced the ball club to allow Torres to sing the national anthem at the Dodgers v. Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

 game. The pilot episode used the same premise, only with Stone performing at a San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 game.

Personal life

Torres is still a resident of Southern California, where he lives with his
wife (married 2006), Joanna and currently have no children.

Albums

• The Brown EP (2003) [21]
• There There Album (2006) [22] [23] [27] [25]
• Music After All (2009)

External links

• John Torres' page on Myspace
  Myspace
  Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
  
  
• Official Website