John Gorka received his first guitar as a Christmas gift, though he alleges that his older brother stole it from him shortly thereafter. He eventually learned, instead, to play the banjo, and began performing in a folk music group at his church. He attended Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and joined the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band which also included Richard Shindell. He later began performing solo at the Godfrey Daniels coffee house as the opening act for various musicians who toured there. These included Nanci Griffith, Bill Morrissey, Claudia Schmidt and Jack Hardy.