photograph of Joesph by Devyn Glista (St Blanc Studios)
Joey Joesph
MUSICIAN / ARTIST / AWESOME HUMAN BEING
Joey is a gem. There's really no other way to put it. He's a guy whose talent is matched only by his sincerity and sense of humor. I first met Joey back in 2007 when Lujo took on his band, Pomegranates. The music was love at first listen. Joey's voice has this vintage, timeless, otherworldly quality to it. You can't not like it. You really can't. He's gone on to do a lot post-Pomegranates, releasing music under the name of Joesph, starting up indie record label The Eyebrow Palace, and creating really wonderful art. Joey is just one of these people who is full of life and enthusiasm and whose heart is evident in everything he does.
What's new?
Hi! I’m busy! Setting up a new studio space, as of summer 2018. Working on a new record… a double album, which won’t be the next Joesph album, but will come after the next one. About halfway done as of now! Just recorded a new song for The Yugos that turned out pretty cool, hopefully taking on more recording projects!
What have you been working on?
Well, I’m pretty much always working on an album… I kind of feel like I don’t really write songs, so much as I make records. I’m always thinking about the pieces and their context as part of the whole... This newest Joesph record is called I Dreamed You Were My Lover. For a few months I was having all these really vivid dreams, with all this imagery that kept sticking with me. In one of these dreams I was wearing nothing but a kimono, flying over a field of flowers, and my then girlfriend, now wife was sitting down in the field, so I flew down and we visited with each other… the rest is dream history.
What are you excited about?
I’m excited to be working! I’m excited about making records! I’m excited about working with great artists and creating stuff! Experiences! Life! I’m excited to maybe feel a little less manic sometimes haha
What are you listening to?
Chris Cohen has made my two favorite albums in the last 5 or 6 years. My friend Ben Burroughs made 4 albums at home that are all totally amazing, and his new one (hopefully coming 2019?) will surely be my favorite album of its year. A lot of Roxy Music. The new Kevin Krauter album, Toss Up, is sooo good. That last Nicholas Krgovich record, In An Open Field, is amazing. Everything he does is gold. Those early Eno rock records, a lot. A lot of weird-ish glam music lately. And kind of starting to get into the Stones for the first time really… I’ve always been late to whatever party.
What else?
Well… I’m excited to see some change in the recording industry. Touring is hard and expensive, and I feel like I’ve done enough of it, at least for the first third of my life. And I know a lot of amazing artists who aren’t really in a position to tour, or can’t even really get a band together, for one reason or another. It’s a huge bummer to think of great music going largely unheard just because someone isn’t in a position to tour. I’m looking forward to some change in this area, I’m not sure yet what it’s going to look like, but I want to figure out what I can do to fight against the current state of things. I think this current system is failing a lot of really talented people. We’ll see…
