My wife Dai and I have been together for 25 years, and everybody knows us as joedai. Since seeing the first Star Wars movie in the mid-70s, I was struck by the light and force of the jedi warriors, thus it just seemed like a logical extension (add an "o" & add an "a") to the "joedai warriors." Peaceful warriors, mind you.

I have yet to see anyone play dead, so yes I guess I do play live, mostly at coffee houses, pubs, open mics and special events in Lafayette and Bloomington, Indiana. I also play live in Hanoi, Vietnam with a bunch of musicians who play Celtic music, the Social Weevils (see them on SoundClick.com!). Michael on the other hand plays live all the time, all over the place (check out his live appearance schedule at www.michaelkelsey.com). I used to join Michael on stage for Tuesdays at T.A. Tom's in West Lafayette before they tore that old pub down to make way for Purdue University. Other than that, our only other appearances together were at the CD release party for "Given Birth" in September 1998, and the recent "Rebirth" CD release party at the Java Roaster in Lafayette, Indiana on December 11, 2004! I like playing live, whether solo, with the Social Weevils in Hanoi, or jamming with others at our community shelterhouse at May Creek Farm near Bloomington. Those jams often take place with friends and fellow musicians-singers-songwriters, Brent Wall and Larry Vesely (see the White River SoundClick.com website for music recorded by the three of us). Any moment with those guys, or Michael, on or off the stage, is special.

Music wants to be free! I am not sure what I can say that others haven't said or couldn't say more eloquently, but as I sit here in Hanoi, Vietnam (where I live part-time with Dai) I can log on to the Internet and find songs and lyrics that previously were unavailable anywhere. MP3, on the other hand, has decreased the digital size of recordings such that now we can up-and-download recordings with ease, and I even have a portable MP3 player now for my frequent travels around the globe. Long live MP3 (and M4A, as I have just discovered itunes) and the Internet!

Fat chance! But why a major label has not yet signed Michael Kelsey to a record contract is one of the great mysteries of the decade.

The collaboration between us began when I first saw Michael perform live, and quickly concluded—like one music critic put it—that Michael is an "extra-terrestrial talent." In turn, Michael was taken by my unique style of song-writing and subjects, so we went to work in Michael's digital studio to produce a thoroughly artful collection of progressive folk-rock songs with a world beat flavor, "Given Birth." After more than five years of going our separate ways, Michael pursuing his amazing musical career across the US and me pursuing my wife Dai in Southeast Asia, we reunited in November 2003 to record "Rebirth." Mixing of the album was concluded in July 2004, the album was mastered at Echo Park in Bloomington and was released on December 11, 2004.

I am a child of the music of the 60s and 70s. Cat Steven's "Tea for the Tillerman" spoke directly to my heart. The Moody Blues struck a deep lost chord as well. Of course, Neil Young was my guitar hero; John Prine was my songwriting guru. Pink Floyd blew me away. And what about Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits!? Those were the early days of turning on to folk and rock, and the influences are too numerous to mention. I didn't get much out of the 80s, except the new fushion of world music with pop, especially Johnny Klegg and Savuka (formerly Jaluka) out of South Africa, well before Paul Simon made that genre popular. In the 90s someone introduced me to the ethereal music of Loreena McKennitt, and Dai already knows I want her "Dante's Prayer" played at my memorial service. Then I stumbled onto Donovan's 1996 release, "Sutras." It has done for me in my later years what "Tillerman" did for me in my earlier years. Then, of course, there's Michael's influence, and that of Brent and Larry. Oh, and I nearly forgot, there's the Irish influence. For the past four years playing with the Social Weevils here in Hanoi has taken me to Ireland twice. Not only have those musicians been a direct influence on my playing, but so has the Celtic music of Solas, John Doyle and Dougie MacLean.

Wherever I am! Actually, thank God I'm a country boy. The silence and solitude of the forest at our community, May Creek Farm, that is my favorite spot...but wherever I can commune with Mother Nature, there I am at peace.

Michael plays Taylor guitars; thus, so do I.

My wife Dai and I support the work of The Human Kindness Foundation. The Human Kindness Foundation (HKF), founded by Bo and Sita Lozoff, is a non-profit organization which stresses a way of life based upon three common principles taught by the great sages of all religions: Simple living, a dedication to service, and a commitment to personal spiritual practice.

"The cause of all our personal problems and nearly all the problems of the world can be summed up in a single sentence: Human life is very deep, and our modern dominant lifestyle is not."

--Bo Lozoff, Human Kindness Foundation