John C. Moyer, 50, musician-hairdresser

John C. Moyer, 50, of Mount Airy, a piano player and recording engineer who later became a hairdresser, died Thursday, April 4, of liver disease at his home.

After playing in local pop bands in the early 1980s, Mr. Moyer shifted his focus to recording and opened Warehouse/J.E.M. Sound Recording Studios on Delaware Avenue in Northern Liberties.

He worked with such artists as Bon Jovi and DJ Jazzy Jeff, said his brother, Don. He also recorded works for an album, The Simpsons Sing the Blues, featuring the cartoon family.

"He liked the studio because he was more of a background guy," his brother said. "He was a behind-the-scenes kind of person."

A self-taught recording engineer, Mr. Moyer developed his craft at home.

"He had a little home studio, and that's where he wanted to go all along," his brother said of Mr. Moyer's career.

John Charles Moyer was born on Christmas 1962 in Trenton, the son of Donald and Mary Moyer. He was raised in Morrisville.

He graduated from Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills in 1980 and attended Trenton State College.

Mr. Moyer learned to play piano as a child and continued playing throughout his life.

In the early 1980s, Mr. Moyer played in various pop bands throughout the Philadelphia area. He sometimes played in groups that included his brother on bass.

Some of those groups played in casinos and nightclubs in Atlantic City and across the region.

In the mid-1980s, Mr. Moyer decided to focus on the production side of the music business.

He opened the Warehouse recording studios, where he recorded tracks for local artists such as the glam-rock group Britny Fox and the rock band LeCompt, his brother said.

He had a vast and eclectic collection of hundreds of record albums, his brother said.

"He had everything from jazz and Billie Holiday to metal and pop and Broadway musicals," his brother said.

Some of his favorite artists were Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, Elton John, and Billy Joel.

In the 1990s, Mr. Moyer shifted careers, leaving the music business to take up hairdressing, his brother said.

Mr. Moyer went to cosmetology school and worked for the Hair Club for Men and in salons in Philadelphia. He styled hair for men and women, continuing to work until 2011.

"He had artistic leanings, as most musicians do," Don Moyer said. "And even going into hair was an artistic pursuit."

In addition to his parents and brother, Mr. Moyer is survived by a sister, Julie Harrington, and nieces and nephews.

Services are scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at First Presbyterian Church of Morrisville, 771 N. Pennsylvania Ave.