John Custer

John Custer (born October 30, 1962) is an American record producer and musician. He produced the Grammy-nominated "Drowning in a Daydream" by Corrosion of Conformity and their fourth album, Deliverance, which is a gold album. Additionally, he has produced #1 songs on the Billboard charts and The Album Network charts as well as Hall of Fame inducted albums in national and world-wide music press. In 2014, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Carolina Music Awards. He has been called the "Indestructible Godfather of the NC Music Industry". Early life Custer is from Cary, North Carolina, the son of Janine and Donald Custer—who worked for the United States Secret Service and CIA respectively—and moved to Cary to work for the military-industrial complex part of IBM in the Research Triangle Park. Custer describes his parents as "more than cosmopolitan folk", exposing him to a wide range of musical styles. He had an early passion for music and would play his father's "forbidden guitar" every chance he could." His early musical influences include Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, Marvin Gaye, Ricki Lee Jones, Queen, Sex Pistols, and The Clash. The North Carolina band Nantucket was also an inspiration to Custer. In 2017, he told writer David Manconi, "I remember being at a party, seeing their records, and my jaw dropping. They were real albums on a real record label with real artwork and all that—and from here! It made you think that things were possible…." Custer graduated from Cary High School in 1981. After high school, he joined the Theatrics, a band that played the Southeastern Circuit, (Maryland down to Florida), playing covers so they could slide–in original material. He also met his first music mentor, drummer Kenny Soule from the bands PKM and Nantucket.