The story begins in the early-80's with a weird but talented kid with perfect pitch splitting time as a guitarist/vocalist with 2 bands at Willowridge High School in Missouri City, TX, the hard rock-inspired Infinity, which featured the talents of guitarist Gary Rogerson and future Moses Guest drummer John Chupin, and the R&B-inspired 7th Wave, which featured future Soular Slide bassist Mike Meade. A diverse group of influences were gathered along the way, everyone from Rush to King Crimson to Prince. Well, better make that 3 bands because it's also worth mentioning that during his time at WHS, the kid was a gifted classically-trained percussionist, an All-State Symphony Orchestra timpanist in 1986.
The story then shifts to the late-80's, where the kid is now sitting in with a couple of cover bands around town. If he never played another bar of "Taking Care of Business" or "Shooting Star", it would be too soon. With a creative drive bordering on insatiable, the kid sought out his first "all-originals" band, the neo-psychedelic group Warm Electrics in 1989, featuring former Hates member James Laurance Baker, former Lips & the Trips bassist "The Pope", and drummer Jaye Isham. It was during this time that the kid would learn the art of songwriting. As a guitarist, he learned the invaluable principle of texture and tone over technique. The kid has now become a man. Shortly thereafter, they split up. Now the story takes us to the spring of 1990, and Joey's former bandmate Jaye Isham has officially 86'ed his Simmons electronic drum kit from the Warm Electrics days in favor of a Pearl acoustic drum kit. Enter the kid's childhood friend, bassist Gary Rogerson, and Daisy Chains are officially born. The sound is markedly heavier than Think Tank, but the atmospheric sonic textures are still at the forefront. Despite predating grunge by over a year, Daisy Chains' following remained rather small although dedicated. A year later, they were no more.
Disillusioned by the Houston music scene, Joey eventually retreated back to classical music and spent several seasons with the Houston Civic Symphony as a timpanist/percussionist from 1994 - 1998 as well as a brief stint years later with the Fort Bend Symphony in 2005 - 2006. However, the creative fire to produce original works could not be extinguished. In 1999, with the help of his longtime friend and former bandmate Gary Rogerson, Joey recorded an early demo version of "Open Door", and the rest as they say is history. Since then, Joey has been at work producing and doing session guitar work. His music has a sound that is the culmination of all of his years of musical experiences and influences, feeling equally at home with rock and jam bands as well as soul and acid jazz groups. The visceral and cerebral appeal are equal. The rhythms, textures, and lyrics all tell sonic tales of the view of the world through the eyes of a one weird but talented kid who has grown into one weird but talented man .
I am not playing live these days, but I still enjoy jamming every now and then.
My music is influenced by the following: Santana, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Parliament/ Funkadelic, Rare Earth, Traffic, Mike Oldfiield, Supertramp, King Crimson, Genesis, Level 42, Incognito, King's X, Global Village, Beat Temple, Sprawl, and many more...
Many guitarists have influenced me over the years, but the ones have truly inspired me to reach high are Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Chet Atkins, Allan Holdsworth, Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin, Elliott Randall, Larry Carlton, Duane Allman, Eddie Hazel, Bill Nelson, and Steve Hackett.
Silverburst RM Olson Les Paul Custom with 3 Entwistle HM58 humbuckers, Dakota Red Fender Custom Stratocaster with 2 Tex Mex single coils and one DiMarzio DP218 Super Distortion humbucker, Behringer VAmp 3, 1982 Boss SD-1 overdrive, Electro Harmonix Soul Food overdrive, Vox V848 Clyde McCoy wah, DOD FX20-B phaser, GarageTone Axle Grease delay, 1987 KMD analog delay, Reaper 64bit, Waves Mercury plugin suite
