John Kastner is a music industry lifer. He’s uniquely positioned to understand its ins and outs, having worked at it from every angle: from programming international festivals to playing them, and every job in between.
Fronting such iconic bands as Asexuals, Doughboys, and All Systems Go!, he went on to write and record ten records and tour the world more than a dozen times; building from meager audiences in tiny clubs to tens of thousands of people at festivals and arenas. John continues to work with acts as varied as Dandy Warhols, Evan Dando and The Lemonheads, The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Replacements to name a few.
Concurrently, he has expanded his role on the business side of the music industry: programming Toronto’s NxNE festival until moving to the prestigious Canadian Music Week in the summer of 2013; as well as C2SV and Music In The Park in San Jose. Kastner also co-founded Cobraside Distribution – one of the largest vinyl distributors in North America.
John still tours the world, now primarily focused on scouting new acts – though he does sneak in the occasional performance. Between his travels, he scores for film and television, and continues to manage, produce, and write in Los Angeles, where he makes his home.