Hello Brand X fans,

I’m Kris Sjobring. I played keyboards with Brand X from 1997 to 1999.  I’ve been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember. My mother was a very good piano player, and listening to her play everything from Beethoven to Broadway tunes was an early education through osmosis.  I started playing around on our piano when I was about 6 years old, and started taking it seriously when I was in high school. I studied music at College of the Redwoods in Eureka California, and at California State University Northridge. In the 80’s I bought an 8 track recorder, and started playing regularly in bands and recording songs.

I met and became good friends with John Goodsall during the early 90s when John’s band The Fire Merchants were playing regularly in the Los Angeles area. Around 1995 , accompanied by my friend bass player Jake Feldman( Victor Feldman’s son ) ,  I paid John a visit to ask if he would lay down some guitar tracks on some songs I was working on. Jake and I had this crazy idea of asking John if he wanted to start a band with us playing Brand X songs and perhaps some Steely Dan and Mahavishnu Orchestra covers. Not only did John agree to lay down some tracks for me, but miraculously he also agreed to forming a band with Jake and I. John, Jake, and myself with drummer Darren Ross formed what became known as “John Goodsall’s Transcendental Medication” , performing regularly around the Los Angeles area for a couple of years playing Brand X tunes from all eras at the time, from Unorthodox Behavior to X-Communication, some songs I wrote, some Jake wrote, and a few good covers. Transcendental Medication recorded King Crimson’s “Red” for the album “Schizoid Dimension, A Tribute to King Crimson” . They are identified on the album as “Brand X West” .

Then in early 1997, Brand X started planning a world tour to support the release of their album “Manifest Destiny” .  The band needed a drummer and a keyboardist. Pierre Moerlen was recruited for drums, and I was recruited for keys.  Since John and I had been playing a sizable repertoire of Brand X music, it gave the band some help in hitting the ground running in a very short period of time. The band only rehearsed for 5 days before getting on a plane to Japan for the first leg of the tour. Then it was off to Europe for dates in the UK, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. A recording of a Tokyo live performance can be found on the Brand X album “The X Files, a 20 Year Retrospective” .

After returning from Europe, Pierre was back in France, so unfortunately keeping the band together for a US tour wasn’t logistically possible. John was adamant about keeping the momentum with their new album Manifest Destiny going, so he made the decision to keep the name Brand X active with himself and me playing keys. He recruited bassist Mick Stevens and drummer John Holmes to complete the ensemble, and the band kept the flame alive for another couple of years playing regularly at The Baked Potato in Hollywood, and doing a short California tour with the band Gong which included a date at the Hollywood House of Blues.

Around 2001, John moved to Minnesota with his love, companion, and partner for the last 20 years of his life, artist Jan Keithly. I moved away from Los Angeles as well to Oregon, where I still live today. John and I stayed in touch over the last two decades. I sent him many of my songs over the years in hopes that we could find a way to collaborate remotely. We were never able to get a new project off the ground due to either technical or financial resources not being available, and the long distance between us. John was my biggest fan, mentor, best friend, brother.  I will miss him. I have numerous recordings of songs of mine with John playing guitar that I am working towards finishing production on and sharing with you all.