Back To School With Ocean Grove’s John Taylor: The Class President

Ocean Grove‘s John Taylor wants to get you ready to head back to school! The guitarist is sharing with Buzznet some of his high school memories and revealing how he spent his school days. Also check out these vintage photos of John way back when.

What were your extracurricular activities? (band, drama club, sports?)

John: I was student Government President, but mainly I used a program called learning enrichment as an excuse to listen to as much Led Zeppelin, “chill” and play guitar as possible during school hours.

What was your high school’s mascot?

John: “Little Lion”- I know, pretty intimidating.

Did you ever write down a REALLY ridiculous answer on a test?

John: I wrote the lyrics to “mean Mr. Mustard” for a poetry exam. I got caught.

If you could have gone to any fictional high school, which one would it have been?

John: I would have wanted to go to high school with Pete and Pete. I would have told Mr. Slurm the deal.

Favorite place to hang or hide at your school?

John: Since I was student government President, I actually had an office in a big closet under the stairwell. I would nap in there often.

What did you usually eat for lunch?

John: Chicken sandwiches from the cafeteria, and a lot of jokes directed at me from my buddy Jon Levin.

Were you ever bullied? If so, how did you deal with it?

John: I was never really bullied. My school seemed to be pretty good at not having a lot of that. Maybe I missed it, but I was always a pretty overweight guy in high school and I seemed to have avoided ridicule.

What song, band or album do you most identify with your high school experience?

John: I was big on The Green Album from Weezer for a bit, but I think my junior year I literally listened to nothing but the entire Zeppelin discography.

What was the most trouble you ever got in, and what was it for?

John: My buddy Greg and I had a thing called “diversified occupation” where we got to leave school early to go to a job. Often times instead of going to work we would go to a sports bar in town where I would eat chicken wings and Greg would, astonishingly, order beers and get served. Eventually we got caught, and although I wasn’t partying I was busted. My school called my parents and mayhem ensued.

Which high school from a music video would you want to go to?

John: The one from “Popular” from Nada Surf. I think it would be cool to be in the midst of all of that insanity. I thrive when things get a little “weird”.

Which high school set in a music video would you want to attend?