1. Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you?
JS: Yeah, a guy named Ron Volz. He’s a lifetime musician and played for a couple bands back in the 50’s and 60’s who got some real traction - the Swingin’ Lads and the Rockin’ R’s. They played on American Bandstand with Dick Clark and the Ed Sullivan show and had a top 20 hit. Later in his career he managed his brother, Greg X. Volz, who was the original lead singer for the Christian rock band Petra. Anyways, Ron and I never shared a whole lot of musical taste when it comes to our genres and styles, but he really took me under his wing when I was just kinda starting in music. Taught me a lot about the music business and a ton about how to perform in a studio. Plus, he’s just a great friend who loves to talk music and is always interested in what I’ve got going on. Anytime I’ve reached a burn-out point, or just needed someone to bitch to, he’s been there. Perhaps most importantly, when I first started contemplating quitting my (very good) job to play music fulltime, he’s one of two people I met with for advice. He basically said, “Do it.” And I’ve never regretted that decision.
2. What’s the story behind your album’s title?
JS: Well, I reckon the story behind the album’s title is really just the story behind the title track, “The Good & the Crooked (& the High & the Horny).” I don’t really remember writing it to be honest - I was either asleep, too drunk to remember, or it was a gift from Jesus. I just found it in the voice memos on my phone one day. But hell, it’s about growing up in America and the characters who mark that landscape. If ya think about it, who doesn’t fall into at least one (or several) of those categories - good, crooked, high and/or horny? This record is about all of us and all our stories. So that title really captures it all for me.
3. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?
JS: Just everyday people and everyday stories. My favorite songwriter is Chris Knight and he is a master at drawing out interesting stories and perspectives from folks the world might not otherwise consider interesting. I can’t do it like Chris does, but I still look for those stories and draw inspiration from the ones I find.
4. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
JS: All of the above. I always tell folks, songwriting takes place where imagination and experience meet. Different songs exist on different points of that spectrum - some might be mostly imagination with just a little experience informing the margins, and vice versa; but they’re both essential ingredients to any good song.
5. What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out?
JS: There’s actually two pieces of advice that I think are important for anyone pursuing any dream to consider: Use the resources you have now to the best of your ability. In other words, don’t wait around to start doing until you have more money, connections, etc. Work your ass off with what you’ve got and build it from there. Secondly, don’t listen to the people who tell you that you suck and don’t listen to the people who say you’re great. Listen to the folks who support your desire to always get better.
6. How do you kill the long hours in the van?
JS: Listening to our bass player, Bruce Moser, talk. You’d be amazed how much space that dude can fill with random facts, Family Guy quotes, and bullshit.
7. What do you love most about being on the road?
JS: Once you’re in the van and on the road, it’s about being with the band, playing music, and surviving. Emails don’t get answered, big decisions are not made or considered, and the business part of my job is more or less put aside. And ya don’t really have to worry about that second coat of paint that the front porch needs, either.
8. Have you met any of your heroes? If so, how did it go?
JS: Ha, yeah. I always end up mentioning Chris Knight a hundred times in these interviews, but his music has had such a huge influence on me that it’s hard to avoid. Anyways, I met Chris back in 2006 or 2007 at a music festival up in St. Charles, IL, where I was living at the time. I had just started learning how to play guitar and write songs and perform, so I had these business cards made up. He was sitting in his van behind this little stage with his door open and I walked up and handed him my card like a pretentious douchebag. He just kind of threw it on his dash and mumbled some reply.
JS: Yeah, a guy named Ron Volz. He’s a lifetime musician and played for a couple bands back in the 50’s and 60’s who got some real traction - the Swingin’ Lads and the Rockin’ R’s. They played on American Bandstand with Dick Clark and the Ed Sullivan show and had a top 20 hit. Later in his career he managed his brother, Greg X. Volz, who was the original lead singer for the Christian rock band Petra. Anyways, Ron and I never shared a whole lot of musical taste when it comes to our genres and styles, but he really took me under his wing when I was just kinda starting in music. Taught me a lot about the music business and a ton about how to perform in a studio. Plus, he’s just a great friend who loves to talk music and is always interested in what I’ve got going on. Anytime I’ve reached a burn-out point, or just needed someone to bitch to, he’s been there. Perhaps most importantly, when I first started contemplating quitting my (very good) job to play music fulltime, he’s one of two people I met with for advice. He basically said, “Do it.” And I’ve never regretted that decision.
2. What’s the story behind your album’s title?
JS: Well, I reckon the story behind the album’s title is really just the story behind the title track, “The Good & the Crooked (& the High & the Horny).” I don’t really remember writing it to be honest - I was either asleep, too drunk to remember, or it was a gift from Jesus. I just found it in the voice memos on my phone one day. But hell, it’s about growing up in America and the characters who mark that landscape. If ya think about it, who doesn’t fall into at least one (or several) of those categories - good, crooked, high and/or horny? This record is about all of us and all our stories. So that title really captures it all for me.
3. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?
JS: Just everyday people and everyday stories. My favorite songwriter is Chris Knight and he is a master at drawing out interesting stories and perspectives from folks the world might not otherwise consider interesting. I can’t do it like Chris does, but I still look for those stories and draw inspiration from the ones I find.
4. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
JS: All of the above. I always tell folks, songwriting takes place where imagination and experience meet. Different songs exist on different points of that spectrum - some might be mostly imagination with just a little experience informing the margins, and vice versa; but they’re both essential ingredients to any good song.
5. What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out?
JS: There’s actually two pieces of advice that I think are important for anyone pursuing any dream to consider: Use the resources you have now to the best of your ability. In other words, don’t wait around to start doing until you have more money, connections, etc. Work your ass off with what you’ve got and build it from there. Secondly, don’t listen to the people who tell you that you suck and don’t listen to the people who say you’re great. Listen to the folks who support your desire to always get better.
6. How do you kill the long hours in the van?
JS: Listening to our bass player, Bruce Moser, talk. You’d be amazed how much space that dude can fill with random facts, Family Guy quotes, and bullshit.
7. What do you love most about being on the road?
JS: Once you’re in the van and on the road, it’s about being with the band, playing music, and surviving. Emails don’t get answered, big decisions are not made or considered, and the business part of my job is more or less put aside. And ya don’t really have to worry about that second coat of paint that the front porch needs, either.
8. Have you met any of your heroes? If so, how did it go?
JS: Ha, yeah. I always end up mentioning Chris Knight a hundred times in these interviews, but his music has had such a huge influence on me that it’s hard to avoid. Anyways, I met Chris back in 2006 or 2007 at a music festival up in St. Charles, IL, where I was living at the time. I had just started learning how to play guitar and write songs and perform, so I had these business cards made up. He was sitting in his van behind this little stage with his door open and I walked up and handed him my card like a pretentious douchebag. He just kind of threw it on his dash and mumbled some reply.
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With his debut studio LP, The Good & The Crooked (& The High & The Horny), Stamm begins building his own legacy, leading his band of road warriors through an album rooted in all-American storytelling and guitar-driven swagger. The Joe Stamm Band is a countrified roots-rock with an emphasis on the roots, drawing on Stamm's small-town upbringing in rural Illinois for a sound that blends heartland hooks with Nashville twang. It's a sound that's taken the songwriter from the college apartment where he strummed his first chords to venues beyond the Midwest, sharing shows with personal heroes like Kris Kristofferson and Chris Knight along the way....
The Good & The Crooked (& The High & The Horny) out Fall, September 25th. |