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Biography John Spence, who was a close friend to Eric Stefani, originally planned the beginnings of the band with Eric. He was already a charismatic young man who had an amazing stage presence when he met Eric while working at a local Dairy Queen. After transfering from Katella High School after the 1985-86 school year they would also be classmates at Loara High School.
When Eric discovered the reggae-derived sound of ska he learned that John was a fan as well. In the summer of 1986 they began to put a band together with John friend Jerry Mc Mahon, who could play guitar. By the end of the summer they recriuted an entire 8 piece band lead by John as singer and Eric controlling keyboards; an essential instrument to create the ska rhythms. Eric recruited his younger sister Gwen to sing back up to John. One name that John and Eric kicked around when coming up with a band name was "Apple Core" which was a catch phrase from an old Warner Bros. cartoon. But they finally decided on "No Doubt" instead because that was the catch phrase that John Spence always used.
John was very animated on stage and would bring the house down with his signature back flips on stage. He also wore a hat affectionately referred to as his "fuzzy furry"(see pictures below), a friend remembers, "I think they were really bicycle seat covers that had not been sewn shut on the top, he got them at his work." He molded his style, in part, after HR of the punk rockers "Bad Brains" and he more or less scream his lyrics in the punk rock fashion.
On December 31, 1986 the band played a party as their very first show. A few months later they opened at Fender's in Long Beach, California as part of a fourteen band show that was headlined by "The Untouchables". Tony Kanal attended the show and a few weeks later joined the band after an audition.
The band became known in the underground music scene of Southern California as a great show and they were scheduled to play the Roxy shortly after Christmas of 1987. As the band prepared for the show Eric's best friend John contemplated suicide. Unknowingly John was not very happy. "I wish I could have done something." Eric told VH-1's Behind the Music. "I think a lot of it might have had to do with the pressure," he added.
Tragically, on December 21, 1987, No Doubt's world was turned upside down when they learned John killed himself with a gun at a parking lot located in Anaheim. Getting the news was really hard for Gwen, Eric and the rest of the band.
The band almost broke up because of John's death, but when some time had gone by, and the dust finally settled, they decided that No Doubt should continue ahead because that's what John would have wanted. It was then that the name "No Doubt" was cemented as the band's name as a tribute to their fallen leader.
John is survived by his mother and two older brothers. One brother was in the service when John died. After John's death, his mother moved east to Ohio. John's memory will endure with the help of his friends; he was a great performer and a dear friend. In the artwork below are the original members of No Doubt including John in the middle; it was drawn by Eric Stefani. The cartoon on the bottom row was drawn by one of John's friends, Anthony Atkinson, shortly after John's death.
| Pictures of one of No Doubt's co-founders, John Spence | |||
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