“Songs For Agnostics And The People Who Love Them” is the debut recording from Artists w/ Issues. Artists w/ Issues is the nom de guerre of visual artist John Feodorov. Though also heavily influenced by the music of Kurt Weill, European medieval music and various world and experimental music (as well as the music from his own Navajo heritage), John chooses to keep his own songs within the arena of Rock or “Art Pop” as he likes to refer to it. John played and programmed all instruments, performed all vocals, wrote all the songs and even designed the CD jacket. “Its not so much that I have a big ego”, he declares, “its mostly that I have a small budget.” The CD is released on Feodorov’s own Ambiguous label. Recognized internationally by art museums, PBS and numerous other institutions for his conceptual and at times political artwork, John has also written and performed with a plethora of bands over the years. His interest in rock music as an art form initially led him to co-found several “Insta-bands” which blended quirky songs with avant-garde theatrics ala DADA for one-night-only hastily conceived performances for unsuspecting party-goers. Feodorov was playing in Rock bands long before he showed any aptitude for visual art. After being given an album of Jimmy Rodgers songs by his mother, John caught the music-making bug at the age of ten. In high school he was inspired by artists such as The Kinks, The Who, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, The Sex Pistols, and even The Residents—leading him to begin writing his own songs at the age of 16. Coming from a family life chock-full of contradictions (such as being raised Jehovah’s Witness by his full-blood Navajo mother in the suburbs of Southern California) it was inevitable that his songs would gravitate towards the eclectic, philosophical and absurd. Like his artwork, his lyrics touch upon issues of identity, spirituality and alienation with a sardonic wit and sense of humor. © 2011 Ambiguous Music