Luttrell began his musical journey playing piano when his family moved from the US to Tripoli, Libya. After a few disappointing lessons, self-inspired, John played by ear, teaching himself piano and mandolin. In the 70s the influence of Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, and finally Led Zeppelin fueled John's desire to get his first guitar. His family relocated to Lagos, Nigeria where he was influenced by the Afrobeat rhythms of musicians like King Sunny Ade. At 14, he attended The American School in Switzerland which became his opportunity test his wings. During the years there he jammed with roommate and future bandmate, Dave Veirs (Helios) and became immersed in the music of progressive rock groups such as Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd, Genesis, The Moody Blues, and Mike Oldfield. At the height of the 70s British rock explosion John moved to London and joined a band called Chillum, playing both guitar and organ. Luttrell went from London to Phoenix, Arizona where he studied electronics engineering, to explore his interest in synthesizers and electronic music. In the 80s John played guitar and sang in the Los Angeles-based prog rock trio Helios with boarding school friend Dave Veirs on keyboard and guitar, and Tony Betino on drums, playing numerous gigs in the LA area. John established his own indie label "OtterSong Records" and production company “BasisMedia Communication” in Southern California in the 90's while playing numerous gigs around LA. John was a regular on KSBR’s Morning Breeze Cruise on the Ocean Institute’s Sea Explorer in Dana Point, California, playing his music live on the open sea to dolphins, whales, enthralling the lucky listeners aboard. During this time, he performed at other venues in Southern California, often collaborating with artists such as Dov, Kori Linae Carothers, Jeff Oster and others. Although often pronounced with an emphasis on the last syllable, the pronunciation of Luttrell is LUTtrell (British) rather than lutTRELL (French). The accent is on LUT, which rhymes with "NUT" and ends the same as "electrical".