Meet John Argent, a maintenance supervisor at Pavilion Apartments in West St. Louis County and the fifth stop on our Mills Associate Spotlight journey. By day John is an important asset to our team providing us with 7+ years of experience. By night, he is a talented, passionate musician with 20+ years of experience.

In our growing journey to extend our praise to our awesomely talented and passionate team members and to give you the opportunity to learn a little bit more about each one of them, here’s what John had to tell us about what has been his passion since he was 6 years old: Music.

1. What instruments do you play and how long have you been playing them?

I play all string guitars: 12, 6, 7 string. Over the years I had the opportunity to experiment with bass, mandolin, and steel guitars. I began playing when I was about 6. My brother Mark always played drums and he and I would spend hours, days and even whole summers playing in our basement. As I started, my older sister Barb would let me “play” her huge jumbo acoustic guitar. I couldn’t do much but soon I started figuring out chords and built up the calluses on my fingers, then my parents could afford lessons (they were of the classical variety)…cool, but by the time I was 10 I was begging for electric guitars and big amps.

2. I heard you play in 4 bands, is that true? How did you find all of these bands?

At times in my life I have been in 4 bands at once…but my 3 children under 10, The Pavilion, and the 2 bands I am in keep me busy currently. Total, I have been in 9 bands in my life, 2 of them (The  AnarchAngels & CircleView) for 20+ years. When playing music with other cool musicians, you can see a different side to people, different musicians have a different effect on an audience…it’s fun to watch magic happen like that. I have been blessed to have played with and learned from some awesome musicians. So meeting musicians is how the bands formed.

3. Describe your vibe.

Cool confidence…playing for audiences is what it is all about for me. When they see that your band is cool and confident, they will be feeling that themselves while listening and watching. It is also an energized, relaxed vibe. The music should flow and be original. No regrets.

4. What’s your favorite venue to play around St. Louis and why?

I have played some fun places but my favorite is hard to pick…Pops for sound and Way Out Club for mood.

5. Everyone has an embarrassing stage moment. What’s yours?…C’mon, spill it.

My curse has always been either me or a band mate stepping on a cord and disengaging my guitar hook up…then your like WHAT THE $%^&! right in  the middle of a song! The bands I am in are all trained to NEVER STOP PLAYING!!!EVER!!! If someone is having a technical issue on stage during a performance, they must fix their equipment as quickly as possible, which can be a real nightmare.

6. If you were given the chance to play a dream show with any band, who would it be?

Clutch. The end.

7. What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to and why?

Pink Floyd ’89 “Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour.” It was the first time I had ever seen big time laser generators. The effect of the fog and lasers made it look like we were all under water. I’ll never forget it.

8. Who is your favorite band of all time (dead or alive)?

Alice in Chains – with Lane…now that was a cool band. Rage against the Machine is a close second.

9. Any recommendations for an up-and-coming band you’d like to give a shout out to?

My nephew Adam is in a band called “Thirteen Across.” Check them out!

10. What’s something you want to conquer in your lifetime?

I am blessed to have a studio in my home and have all types of equipment to experiment with, but to always be able to play my music and have a studio to share with friends and other musicians is the hope I have for the future.

11. So where can you hear John’s music?

You can hear songs from John’s band CircleView on Reverb Nation. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.