“For The People. By The People.”

I came to the Clash as a fan. I heard the British import of their first self titled album when it first came out … and I was hooked! When I went to the Palladium to see them for the first time in 1980, I went as a fan, who happened to bring his camera. And even as I gained access to get back stage at Bonds (thanks Brenda!) or got guest listed to the three Asbury Park shows in 1982 (thanks Kosmo!) I was still going as a fan … really. A very FORTUNATE fan.

It’s been over thirty years since I took my first live and street photos of The Clash at the Palladium in New York City. And in the following two years I’d have more chances to photograph them live and backstage. Since first publishing my photos on my blog go2jo.com, I have had many people ask me … ‘so Joe … when will you make a book of your photos?’ It’s taken me a while to get here. But here I am. I’m in the process of working on said book.

Here’s the twist. Continue Reading > > >

I’ve lived in the “Emerald City” for over sixteen years now. Even saw the Scooter and the Big Man. Here. Of all places! And maybe Dorothy has always been right … “There’s no place like home.” I’ve clicked my heals together so many times. All I have to show for it? Worn out orthotics and flat-ass feet! But I’m not here to complain. Really! The best thing? I got some new original music out of it all. Woo hoo!

I’ve had occasion to do a lot of soul searching in the past year. Between a relationship of eight years ending, having to sell our current home, my business drying up, little money, more ailments, and toying with the thought of moving back east. An awful lot for one person to deal with.

One of the things that has kept me going? My friends back east. In sixteen years in Seattle I can count my close friends on a few fingers. Sad. Seattle has always been a love-hate relationship … and I want out! This is what’s triggered the search for ‘home” … or what it is. Or what it really means to me.

Part of the rekindling of old friendships has lead me back to my roots in New Jersey. With the advent of Facebook so many relationships have been reborn and with any luck will flourish. And that my friends … is home. I will not mention names … but you know who you are!

It’s these friends, both old and new, and our mutual experiences that inform my future, my past, and always my music.

Continue Reading > > >

It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been preparing for the second coming. Jesus! No … not that one! The second coming of the Hoover Hootenanny. I’ve taken to recording new original music to help me learn lyrics. I figured I could record the songs, then put them on my iPhone & “sing along” in the car, the shower, while making breakfast … you get the idea.

I even bought myself a new/used Alessis MultiMix8 USB 2.0 / 8 channel mixing board. This way I could record up to 8 tacks at once directly into Apple’s Logic Pro. Not that I will be doing that myself, but it was the cheapest way to break the 2 track limit of my current & obsolete FireWire interface. Okay … TMI … I know! End result is I can finally use my AKG Perception 220 microphone I bought last year to mike vocals. Use my Shure to mike my Taylor, and also have  a line in from the Taylor as well. And then it’s one take wonders-ville. After 97 takes. It challenges me too. So it’s all good.

Continue Reading > > >

A self portrait I took while waiting for an elevator in a parking garage at Harborview Sleep Clinic with my iPhone 4.

It was just this great macro image of an eyeball silkscreened onto a huge piece of glass. It sat on top of a pony wall as a divider.

I love how graphic and eye-conic the image is. ; ) Just thought it was a great self portrait opportunity and had to take it.

It took place in a matter of hours. Six to be exact. But each second of this event was a joy to be part of. So much planning. So much work and so much love went into the event, and it went off without a hitch. Okay maybe one visit from the Asbury Park Police … but that was to be expected towards the end of the night. But even that didn’t put a damper on the fun that was had, and the joy that was shared. Friends and family playing music, singing songs, or at least trying to … for each other … at the Hoover Hootenanny.

The idea of this event was actually rather smart. It wasn’t some attempt at a night of bad Karaoke … no pre-made soundtrack to warble over. It was a opportunity for a collision of history, past and present. A chance for all to meet in one place at one time. It was a night of reunions, rusty chops, jitters, and dreams, with both newly minted and seasoned musicians. Where past intersected with present forged future friendships and the seeds of new ideas were planted … waiting to flourish. Continue Reading > > >

Sometimes creative play is the result of having a new toy, or a new tool. In this case it was a new tool. Flash back several years ago. Apple has released the first version of iLife. That suite of apps included a game changer by the name of Garage Band. Before that time a “Garage Band” was a group of “yoots” flailing on guitars and making analog noise in the garage. Apple just made the Garage … digital.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that there had been plenty of MIDI/digital sequencers and other such music creation programs out there. Apple was the first to make it Apple easy. And no … this is not another Apple plug. Though I do do it all the time … it’s my job. I just wanted to share some music I made with Garage Band (and later Logic Pro) and let it speak for itself.

Now those of you who know me, may not know this musical side of me. This music uses the instrument du jour … the digital sample. It’s instrumental. Which is a first for me. It’s funky! Oh … and the kids can dance to it! Continue Reading > > >

When I originally posted this, I was going to dedicate a single page to my original music. I’ve now decided to break up the page into separate posts. This encourages me to post more of my original music … and maybe tell a few more stories about it. 

The “Music” menu will change, for now, to joMusic until I can incorporate multi-level menus for all my original music on { go2jo } . Then it will revert back … eventually.

And now we return you to your regularly scheduled program …

Throughout my life I’ve always been a musician at heart. From piano lessons as a kid to the first Yamaha acoustic guitar I bought in high school … music has always been around me. As a kid I had 4 years of classical piano lessons. But as a youngster, I didn’t want to play Brahms or Mozart … I wanted to learn songs by the Turtles, the Monkeys or the Beatles. But when confronted, my aging piano teacher said NO! No rock and roll Joe! That’s when I said good-bye to her and to lessons. Continue Reading > > >