John Karkosiak received his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Guitar Performance from the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, Connecticut. He also attended Cuyahoga Community College, studying extensively with Dan Wilson and Ernie Krivda. 

John often performs in the Northeastern Ohio region at venues such as Mahall’s, The Bop Stop, Brothers Lounge, and Lock 3. He has played frequently with composer Buck McDaniel and Jacob Kirkwood, especially of note at Cleveland’s new music festival: NFOsonic Fest. He previously performed with the Akron-based funk/fusion band Acid Cats which performed locally and across the East coast. In 2019, he led his own band and performed a set of original compositions at the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival. He recently worked as the mastering engineer on trumpeter/composer Tommy Lehman’s new album as part of John's  music production project “Landfish.” He played in Trinity Cathedral's "Mostly Jazz Mass" this past year, and currently gigs with Gateway Band.