About John Larson
Who Am I?
I was born in Anchorage, AK to two wonderful parents. The first part of my life i lived in Peters Creek where I was homeschooled and went to church. My parents owned an RV so we would chase my dad around the state wherever he ended up paving during the summer. For a few years during the winter we traveled the US and Mexico. It was wonderful getting to explore all the beautiful corners of the world.
During this time I also joined my church's youth group worship team as a singer and got to perform every Friday night for all of my church friends.
Things changed a lot when I got to highschool. I didn't think choir was cool anymore so I didn't join the Chugiak High School Choir. My friend group changed dramatically so I never felt like I belonged. I quit the worship team. I quit going to church. I started dealing with depression pretty heavily and kept getting in trouble at school.
When I turned 16 I dropped out of school and joined the Alaska Military Youth Academy so I could get my GED. Six months later I had my diploma and started working in Eagle River. After a few months of washing dishes I wanted something different so when I turned 17 I joined the Army.
I really didn't know what to do with my life. I didn't know how to explore opportunities I could find in town and I knew I didn't want to keep washing dishes so I just thought I would do what my Dad did and join the Infantry.
During this time I didn't get to make a lot of music. I still had my guitar and at one point I bought my first drum set but I was always too busy to ever create anything.
After basic training and Airborne School I got stationed at Fort Bragg and spent the next four years there. I ended up deploying to Baghdad Iraq in 2007 as soon as I turned 18. I would describe the tour as a series of long boring patrols interspersed with a smattering of intense situations just to break up the monotony. I ate a lot of muffins, and drank a lot of Rip-Its and then went home.
My second and final deployment was to Haiti for Earthquake relief in 2010. Got to do a lot of good humanitarian work while I was there. Feeding people and handing out shelters, clearing rubble, even saved a few people who were buried.
When we were back home we would go to church every Sunday and my favorite part was always the worship music. It always felt so good. When it was at its most impactful it really felt like standing in the sublime presence of God. An overwhelming feeling of awe would wash over me when I was singing. It felt like the universe would open up and pour in all of its compassion, wisdom, and love.
My parents decided for me and my brothers to go to public school when I hit 6th grade. I had recently gotten a guitar and wanted to study music but since we were joining school half way through the year I was only able to take
choir instead of band like I wanted. I spent 2.5 years in that class and learned
a lot about how to use my voice and collaborate with other vocalists.
I really didn't know what to do with my life. I didn't know how to explore opportunities I could find in town and I knew I didn't want to keep washing dishes so I just thought I would do what my Dad did and join the Infantry.
During this time I didn't get to make a lot of music. I still had my guitar and at one point I bought my first drum set but I was always too busy to ever create anything.
After basic training and Airborne School I got stationed at Fort Bragg and spent the next four years there. I ended up deploying to Baghdad Iraq in 2007 as soon as I turned 18. I would describe the tour as a series of long boring patrols interspersed with a smattering of intense situations just to break up the monotony. I ate a lot of muffins, and drank a lot of Rip-Its and then went home.
My second and final deployment was to Haiti for Earthquake relief in 2010. Got to do a lot of good humanitarian work while I was there. Feeding people and handing out shelters, clearing rubble, even saved a few people who were buried.