Joe's History

I performed throughout the greater St. Louis area as a ventriloquist when I was 7. We moved to the LA area when I was twelve. Soon I traded my dummy for a guitar and performed all over Southern California with my trio. The New California Trio opened for The Smother's Brothers at The Icehouse in Pasadena and performed on Saturday afternoons in The Hollywood Bowl.

During High School

My high school drama teacher had connections with the Pasadena Playhouse and managed to get me into special classes there. Agnus Moorehead, (Endora from the TV show Bewitched) was my acting coach.

The Hollywood Bowl Battle of The Bands

The Happy Rock Folk Society took first place in The Battle of The Bands competition at The Hollywood Bowl. It was here that I met Karen and Richard Carpenter. The Richard Carpenter Trio took first place in the Jazz Combo division.

Military

From a machine-gun to a guitar. Fortunate circumstances. Vietnam 68-69

Solid Gold

My Band, Solid Gold traveled throughout the US and Canada. We performed on the rising stage at Disneyland, opened for Waylon & Willie at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, and recorded for K-TEL Records - Sound-Alikes '50s on 8-track tapes. We had a Billboard Top 30 with "My Share of The Sidewalk" written by Michael Nesmith of The Monkeys.

American Recording Studio - Denver

After touring with Solid Gold I built the "American Recording Studio" in Denver. I engineered for popular bands such as Firefall, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Air Supply. I caught the voice acting bug from Robert Redford after recording his narration for the mountain climbing documentary "Free Climb".