Remembering John Pfeiffer [1960-2025]
The talented Debra Kate Schafer—of www.theaquarian.com—wrote this heartfelt tribute upon the recent passing of a mainstay of the New Jersey Music Community, John Pfeiffer. Our thanks and appreciation to Debra and Aquarian co-owner Diane Casazza for allowing us to repost it. – Mike Greenblatt, Editor, ‘The Jersey Sound’
If you love the New Jersey music scene or have ever been part of the New Jersey music scene, you have John Pfeiffer to thank.
The writer/rockstar/promoter/friend to all was born on October 3, 1960. In 1988, in the midst of performing with his bands of the eighties (In Between Dreams, Well of Souls), he was a stringer for the East Coast Rocker (AKA he was a freelance writer for us). He later became a staff writer, and in 2006 was a columnist, writing Shoreworld for our inked-up pages every week. Soon after that, in 2007, he became one of our four contributing editors, furthering his mark on this legacy publication that he called “magical” back in a 2013 feature about the loss of our founder, James Resenbrink.
“The fact that I now work for this historic paper that [Resenbrink] launched back in the 1960s is an honor that I’ll never forget,” he wrote. It was clear that being an Aquarianite was something he held close to his heart, which beat to the tune of a million rock-and-roll frequencies.
“At the end of the day, every time I put words such as this to print, I’m living in the world that Rensenbrink created. I couldn’t think of a better job. We have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as of 2012, and under the publication guidance of Chris Farinas and Diane Casazza, along with [then-editor] JJ Koczan, the same ethic still gets applied. Freedom and independence will keep this paper going long after many competitors have headed out of the medium. And that’s the win that Rensenbrink would have wanted.”
Although John stopped writing for us in 2019 (a few months before the coronavirus pandemic halted our print operation), his presence was always felt and his work was frequently referenced. Every time we cover the work of Williams Honor, we think of John and how he put that duo on the map and on our radar early on in their rise to regional and national success. (Gordon Brown, of that very band, wrote this on Instagram last week: “While recording the last Williams Honor album here at the studio, he brought me over a beautiful mandolin to play, that is all over the song, ‘I’ll Be Damned,’ and that mando became the color of the song… there is a breakdown in the song that is nothing but a percussive mando part and vocals… everytime we perform it, I think of him because he helped bring out the essence of the track … and we perform it at every show.”
John’s sister, Allison, wrote a proper obituary and a beautiful, concise tribute to her sibling. She found some time to share that with us, as well as speak to us kindly. “Jonathan Robert Pfeiffer was born on October 3, 1960, and passed away at the age of 64 on February 2, 2025, unexpectedly. He was predeceased by his loving parents, Everett and Barbara Pfeiffer. He is survived by his siblings, Joel Pfeiffer, David Pfeiffer, Allison Spicciatie, Judith Vacchiano, along with their spouses and seven nephews, three nieces, two great nephews, and two great nieces. Jonathan was raised in a loving household filled with lots of adventure. Although our parents had disabilities, they took us all on many trips and camping adventures where Jonathan loved looking for critters, lizards, snakes, and anything he could find. This is where he developed his love for fishing. Jonathan and our brothers were always on adventures, climbing trees, building forts, shooting BB guns, looking through caves. He was an avid collector of vintage toys along with his passion for guitars. His love for guitars and making music was a main stay in his life. We will treasure the memories made together as a family.”
Brother Joel added a nostalgic, poetic reminder of the life lived by John – then and now: “Big grassy hills in a small town called Oddville, Kentucky, is where we lived for five years. Jonathan was 11 years old when we moved there and 16 when we returned to New Jersey. In Kentucky, we operated heavy farm equipment and tractors at the age of 13, we milked the cows, collected the eggs from the chickens. We had rabbits and ducks, horses, and goats, too. Some pigs, which gave us a lot of ham and bacon. Jonathan enjoyed the farm life. At 14 we shot 410’s, 20 gauge, 10 gauge, and even an 8 gauge once – which just about takes your arm off with the kickback of the shotgun. Fun stuff. All those poor birds… we shot ’em down as they flew by, they didn’t have a chance. We explored a large cave on a nearby farmers property. The story is too long to tell you about the cave here. Somewhere in those Kentucky years, Jonathan picked the guitar our father bought him and so began his love for the instrument and music. There was so much adventure every day hot summer days, balmy summer nights, and cold and snowy winters with plenty of sleigh riding on those big rolling hills and just as many crazy stories to go with it. Jonathan loved life and we’re going to miss him terribly, but we will recount his many wonderful adventures and stories to remember the good times.”
“I am the youngest of Jonathan’s siblings,” Judith then shared with us. “We were seven years apart so I would say my earliest memories were when we lived in Kentucky. He lived to go exploring for snakes and all kinds of wildlife. He was very into Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett and had what we called a ‘coon skin cap’ with a tail. He also was somehow crazy over the 76 gas stations. When we would go on trips and we saw one, my Dad was usually stop. When my husband and I were away last year, I actually took a picture of me by the sign to send to him. He became enamored with fishing in his late teens/early twenties, and loved the peace and quiet. He said it was always relaxing to him. He even visited us in Florida and taught my boys some fishing techniques even though they were young. One of my favorite memories was actually in the past few years when I helped him find a home. It was his first and he was very proud. It even had a fishing lake, so it was perfect. We had a lot of fun house hunting and making his dream of home ownership finally come true. I will miss him dearly.”
There is one more sibling of our former writer and friend who effortlessly wrapped up this moment in everyone’s lives. “Jonathan‘s brothers and sisters have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from his friends and fellow musicians,” brother David said. “It’s obvious that he was well loved and respected by so many. His passion for music put him in contact with many who shared his love, some who became lifelong friends.”
Photo by Kristen Driscoll
We also got some stories and memories from loving cousins, more heartfelt family tales like this from John’s cousin Doug: “One time we went fishing together in Towanda. I found this fairly large pond on the map that was located way back in some woods off of a backroad. We had to find a place to park the truck on side of road and walk to this pond. I think it may have been his first cast and John hooked into the biggest crappie we had ever seen. (He was always the guy to catch the first fish.) We later found out that we were trespassing on private land and should not have been there. The fishing was awesome and never went back.”
“I am not at good at writing my thoughts as he was with writing lyrics, but I have so much inside of me about him. So many memories,” Marlene told us of her cousin. “Johnathan, AKA John, my ‘kool’ older cousin. He was a wild child and I thought he was the coolest with the basement bedroom so he could play his guitar and play his music. […] A core memory was when his current band at the time played at the Ocean County Mall for some rock show! A fiercely loyal person to his family and friends; he was 100% rock and roll.”
Marlene adds that John was fiercely loyal no matter what – something we noticed straight away upon taking on more responsibility here at The Aquarian. “He rebelled, but damn he loved his family. I always admired him for that.[…] He and my mom, his Aunt Carol, had a bond. She always said she wished Johnathan was her son. He would go to the mountains with us during the summer, riding in the cab of my dad’s pickup truck. He was the cook for my dad’s hunting club during hunting season. He would stay the week at the hunting club cooking meals for all the hunters. He was just always there. […] Best big cousin ever. Rest easy.”
His nephews had lots to share with us, too, about his music and memory and his adoration for his people, of which is consistent theme in our conversations about John – whether it be with family, friends, co-workers, or bandmates.
“Growing up with Uncle Jonathan in the nineties was always filled with fun! He was the cool uncle with all the guitars and toys we could look at, but not touch… at least until he had to go to work. We memorized where each toy was so we could remember where they all went otherwise we were in big trouble! I remember watching him play guitar and him letting us watch all the ‘scary movies’ my dad didn’t want us watching, usually about aliens and monsters. He alway made time for us and loved showing us cool stuff. In recent years we took a frozen ham I had in the freezer to a shooting range. We kept shooting it and we expected it to explode after about 10 shots, and knowing we were hitting it, we realized they were just going right through, so we changed the angle and he shot it – finally it exploded everywhere! He was like, ‘Wow! That was like an exploding alien head!’ Just some of the fun times with my Uncle, someone whose memories I will hold tight and close to my heart,” Joshua expressed.
Photo by Kristen Driscoll
“Uncle Jonathan always had time for us kids, I spent a lot of time with him growing up, it was very easy to be yourself and enjoy the time spent together. One of my most fond memories was when he came to see me in California and we went to a Bebe Buell show in Hollywood and toured Southern California. We stayed in touch after I moved away from home. He will be greatly missed,” Joel added.
From these very anecdotes and many more conversations, we learned more about John Pfeiffer than we ever thought. It has been special. He was special – a total rockstar with a cool lineage and cooler story.
In a 2012 interview with our friends over at New Jersey Stage, Well of Souls frontman Tom Kanach said this of the “ahead of their time” band that John joined in 1990 and stuck with until 1995: “I think we were a really good band. […] It was just a fun period of time and I don’t know if it will ever happen again around here. It seemed liked everything happened – the radio station and the club – at the right time.” By 1996, Tom and John would play in another band together: Lustre, whose song “Isn’t She Pretty” was a finalist on the first season of the David Letterman-produced show Ed. Cool, right? That’s what everyone has been saying about him, and it’s true!
In 2021, Kanach also told us this: “I am still close with John Pfeiffer from Well of Souls and I am very happy to report that he is writing a bunch of new music.” We hope that finds its way to the right ears one day, but until then, we continue pay our tribute.
Gordon Gunn, a bandmate and friend of the legendary Pfeiffer, had some heartfelt, historical input to share, as well – a self portrait, too. The actual picture is below, but the metaphorical picture is that John Pfeiffer was a local legend from the very instant you met him, knew him, or worked with him.
“I met John at the Brighton Bar in Long Branch sometime around 1984,” Gordon started. “He was playing guitar and singing with an original pop/synth band called Tete Ovale. His guitar playing was melodic, and I liked his chorus/echo textured sound. (I was a U2 fan.) I learned from a local music journalist – Kat Waverly – that John might be interested in a new project, so I asked him if he was interested in doing something together. He gave me a Tete Ovale recording so I could learn a few of their songs. I played one show with them. They broke up soon after. We went to Long Branch/Asbury Park shows together, seeking out like-minded musicians for a ‘pop band,’ (enunciated with a Beatle accent). Drinking too much was often a part of the search. There was a bouncer at the Brighton Bar that had a bass guitar. Al Spector was in! We wrote some songs, practiced some we had already written. John had written ‘Welfare Kids’ a couple of years earlier, and we ended up releasing that as a single after we finally found a drummer. Aquarian writer Chris Barry developed a relationship with the group (especially John), and Chris knew of a drummer with local prog rockers Itchy ‘K. Jon Hoenge was in. The band name became In Between Dreams after a recording by The Residents. John was the unspoken leader of the group. He had a biting sense of humor that offended some, but we couldn’t help but laugh and go along for the ride! His song lyrics included social commentary (‘Welfare Kids’), self loathing (‘My Mother Hates Me Too’), psychological turmoil (‘Under a Strain’), spy stories (‘Man Who Never Was’), reminiscing for better times (‘Lexington, KY’), and skeletons in the closet (‘Haunted Mansions’). We had fun playing rock star for a couple of years. We were humbled by the business, substances, and life. In Between Dreams broke up and John went on to his next adventure. We got together to perform publicly once more in 2009 for a project DJ Jeff Raspe organized. After that we would occasionally play music, get together to have a drink or more, and talk about the old days. Thing will Chang!”
John Pfeiffer was always in this world, will forever be known as having an impact on this community, and is going to continue to felt – through, music, grief, and memory.
A self-portrait by John Pfeiffer / Photo courtesy of Gordon Gunn
Our mutual friend Bebe Buell shared some earnest and lovely thoughts about the great writer we all knew, but also the humble musician he always was. “John became like a family member to me over the years,” Bebe told us the morning after his death was announced. “His support of my music and live shows never wavered. He took the time when he interviewed you to really dig deep and he never once misquoted me. He was a masterful journalist. He cared about where the music came from in one’s heart. He once traveled to LA for a performance I did at The Roxy in 2010 to cover it for The Aquarian. Just having him there felt like home! I will miss him. After I moved to Nashville from NJ in 2013 our phone calls would sometimes last for more than an hour! He was my brother – a lover of guitars and music. A loyal friend.”
Bebe also let us know that one of her favorite interviews and cover stories written about her was John’s for us back in 2011 (Revisit that here.)
Photographer and friend Kristen Driscoll was kind enough to write to us and take part in the memorial and grief, but also the illuminating memories of a cool guy. “I met John Pfeiffer around 2010 while he was writing for The Aquarian Weekly and I was photographing local bands in Asbury Park very often. I was always honored when this great, talented writer would ask to use my images for an article he was working on. John was a good man – always kind and friendly to me – and most importantly, we always had a good laugh and a fun time together when we would see each other. I will never forget his voice or smile, which I loved to capture while he was playing guitar. I will miss my friend and I only wish that we could hang out and exchange a hug and laughs at a show together one more time.”
These weren’t the only artists and music lovers with a relationship with John that was as friendly and musical as it was supportive and maternal. With Mr. Pfeiffer, you got an open-minded and open-hearted creative in your corner.
“Somehow a trans woman got to be an honorary member in his/their APM boys club. IYKYK. Many times that led to him onstage with Geena and Dragster,” the lead singer of the trans American rock group told us, sharing the below video of him joining the band on lead guitar as a special guest for a performance at The Saint (one of John’s homes away from home). “He was one of a kind. His strong opinions might’ve led us apart over the past few years but I never stopped loving him for just who he was. RIP Pfeiffer.”
Mike Montrey, another iconic local musician and down-to-earth friend, talked to us, too, quickly emphasizing how vital his work was to the acts of the Garden State and beyond. “I’ve been a professional musician for over 25 years, and I’ve dealt with many, many journalists in this business. Very few, if any, were as authentic as John Pfeiffer. In a business marred with BS, and everybody doing everybody a favor while clinging to the coattails of ascending stars, John was just a guy who loved music, and told you exactly how he felt about it. He wrote about at least five of my releases, and when I look back on them, they still make sense, the good and the bad. The music world will be at a loss without him.”
John, the musician’s music journalist and true Jersey Shore icon of the late 20th century and early 21st century, was not just a columnist during his 13-year run as the Man Behind Shoreworld. He also conducted interviews for features, buzz pieces, and cover stories. During that time he spoke to NYC legend Willie Nile a few times, rock photographer extraordinaire Mark Weiss for a memorable Light of Day spread, Bebe Buell (of course), fellow New Jerseyan and Misfits alum Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, the beyond legendary Darlene Love, even actor and Garden State native Val Emmich, hit-makers Maroon 5, The Grip Weeds, Ben Folds, O.A.R., Band of Horses, our friends in The Gaslight Anthem, and more.
Simultaneously, he was collecting all things vintage, garnering guitars from a variety of influential time periods, and was also working for and frequenting all your favorite Central and South Jersey clubs, bars, and venues. He knew what he loved and he stuck to it. Loyal, and cool, like everyone says.
John Pfeiffer will forever be known as a genuine and adventurous man, a writer of ours and a friend to all, and a true pioneer for the greats of New Jersey and beyond. What a tragic closing note for a rockstar of the stage, of the page, and of this lifetime. We will all miss him. Rest in peace, John.
This is the first edition of John’s column, Shoreworld, which ran on May 24. 2006, and also saw John’s name in our masthead for the first time. Less Than Jake was on the cover.
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