EMPIRE — Music has always been part of John Pundt’s life, although never the money-making part.

The owner of Orcoast Music and Stray Katz Bar, 57-year-old Pundt began playing in bands in his early teens. His early aspirations to earn a living playing music gave way to a regular paycheck.

“When I was young, that was a dream of a lot of us. Then reality set in,” Pundt said.

Those dreams were the strongest when Pundt was about 16 years old.  He was living on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.

“Tahoe was a real good place for bands,” Pundt said. “It was kind of cool being in a small community, not having competition with other kids.”

Pundt started out in music playing drums and by the time he was in Golden Road, his fourth band, he was the bass player and lead vocalist. The band even opened for Santana.

“In fact, the bass player for Santana, his bass broke down and he said, ‘Can I use your bass?’”

Pundt bowed and said, “Absolutely.”

Later he added the guitar and harmonica. It was tough back then, Pundt recalled. He would have to leave friends behind for opportunities to join better bands.

“You have to leave a trail of bodies,” Pundt said. “They’re your musical friends.”

 After high school, Pundt joined the U.S. Navy. He served for six years and was lucky to have been stationed in Philadelphia during the Vietnam War. He returned to Northern California, this time to the Sacramento area and went to college. Soon he was singing and playing guitar in a rock band and then went solo.

“I did coffee house stuff for awhile,” Pundt said. “I kind of got tired of some of the issues that go along with being in bands.”

In the mid-’80s, he started a career in broadcasting, as a newscaster, then a disc jockey.

Pundt, his wife, June, and son, Travis, moved to Coos Bay from Roseburg in March 1997, when Pundt got a job working for a local radio station. Pundt eventually became general manager over eight radio stations, a position he held from 2001-06.

But Pundt didn’t leave his music behind.

A few months after arriving in Coos Bay, the Pundts opened their first music store in the Cape Arago area. Pundt had been a guitar collector and started out with 20 of his own guitars. Eventually, he moved the business to the Empire area of Coos Bay and in August 2006 dropped the store’s antique line and became Orcoast Music.

“That’s when I went into this full-time,” Pundt said.

The Pundts also had purchased Gussie’s Bar and Grill. (It’s now called Stray Katz Bar and the restaurant side is Kool Katz Diner.)  Pundt wanted a business where people could perform.

“We promote others. Give them a place to go out and play, for fun,” he said.

Pundt’s own band performs at Stray Katz just about every weekend (see JPA Band in Scene&Heard). Until a few weeks ago, he was lead singer and guitarist in a rock and blues band, Blues Fuse. When two of the band members, the drummer and bassist, left to pursue other ventures, Pundt quickly put together a new band.

It includes Blues Fuse guitarist-vocalist Pancho Castilla and saxophone player Alex “aka Slo Mo” Metcalf. Pundt changed the band’s name to the JPA Band (John, Pancho, Alex).

He added two musicians who had grown up locally and been playing together since 1972 — bass player George Hoggatt and drummer Phil Banry. The five artists are now incorporating more rock and reggae into their repertoire.

“It was a really exciting thing for us to get two seasoned musicians,” Pundt said.

Pundt, who now has a new job volunteering as a Coos Bay city councilman, said his reasons for wanting to be in government are totally separate from his music and business. He’d like to see it easier for small businesses to get started and work on parks and beautification projects.

“I think I know areas that need improvement,” Pundt said.

Another aspect of Pundt’s life also competes with his playing time.

“In my life, I certainly haven’t made music No. 1,” Pundt said. “Family has to precede that interest.”

But music has always been there for him, even when he’s practicing in his own living room for his own enjoyment.

“Music never stops. It’s just whether I want to get in a band in front of people,” he said.