John Fornaszewski is drummer and long-time owner of a music shop in Granite City. He has also been teaching private drum lessons.



Before John Fornaszewski opened his music store in January 1963, he was playing jobs: "I played a lot. I was lucky to get into local bands that were good and popular. I was a swing player. This is when swing was still the thing."



At one time John Fornaszewski was the musical contractor at the HuKeLau in Fairview Heights. It was the hottest dinner theater that would bring in big stars and John supplied all of the bands for about two and a half years.



In the '60s, John Fornaszewski played with local dance clubs and he played in the popular night clubs in St. Louis. For about a year-and-a-half, John Fornaszewski was at the Bulls and Bears in downtown St. Louis at the corner of Broadway and Market. A lot of big-name people in town would come in. John was also the house drummer at the Missouri Athletic Club, a private club for four-and-half years: "I would close my music store and run over there and play my gig and then get back home and go to bed so I could get up for work the next morning."