John Lee is a fan and supporter of the Bay Area creative music scene. He built the bayimproviser.com site in late 1998 to help promote the scene, and also to help him remember what shows were happening, since he constantly found that he'd forgotten about a show that he wanted to see.

For 3 years, he directed the SF Alt Festival which featured a wide variety of performances of non-commercial music. The festival is currently on hiatus due to increased pressure from the day job, but may be revived in the future.

He plays guitar, but not well enough that he wants anyone to hear him.