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"I want to bring out more romance in R&B," he says.
"I love to write songs with sweet melodies; songs that are going to
be sketched into a person's mind in pure feelings.
"Joe's lyrics reveal a man who's searching for answers to the
most essential romantic questions; particularly one who's trying to
understand a female's point of view. "I love women and appreciate
the role they play in my life," he says. "I'm trying to
broaden the music's perspective on love and relationships, to bring some
idealism and fantasy to it.
"Music has always been a central part of Joe's life. The son of
two preachers, Joe was always singing, playing guitar or directing the
choir in his parents Pentecostal Church in Opelika, Alabama. Gospel
greats like Commission, the Winans, the Clark Sisters and Vanessa Bell
Armstrong, as well as soul legends Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Sam
Cooke provided constant inspiration. However, it wasn't until Joe
discovered Bobby Brown, Guy and Keith Sweat that he recognized his own
calling; as a singer and a songwriter.
"By the time I was 16, I was playing in a 7-piece band in local
clubs from 9p.m. Until 4a.m., covering Johnny Gill, Bobby Brown and
Babyface tunes," he says, "I was like a DJ, a vocal DJ." |
After graduating from high school, Joe moved back and forth between Alabama and Georgia, writing music, singing and doing odd jobs. Then one day, he took a life-altering risk and purchased a one-way bus ticket to New Jersey where he knew some people who knew some people in the music business. Although closer to fulfilling his ambitions, Joe's longed for break was still to come. In the meantime, he worked at a Gospel music store where his encyclopedia knowledge of the genre came in handy and played guitar for a local church. Through the church he met Keith Miller and Noel Gorey who introduced Joe to a record producer, Vincent Herbert, with whom he recorded a three-song demo. Soon after, Tse Williams signed Joe to a publishing deal with Zomba. He made his recording debut with the track "All The Things You Want To Do," on the soundtrack to the movie "Don't Be A Menace." Joe produced his Jive Records album debut, which was recorded at "The Crib" in New Jersey and mixed at Bear Tracks and Battery Studios, with Gerald Levert, Tony Nicholas, Larry Campbell, and Rodney Jerkins. He co-wrote "Good Girls" with Joshua Thompson and Michelle Williams and "No One Else Comes Close" with Gary Baker and Wayne Perry. "There's an abundance of thoughts and feelings on this record. I can never stop thinking what if?" Joe admits, adding, "I don't like too much production or even doing a lot of takes of a song. I want everything to sound fresh and real." Recently, Joe remixed the Tina Turner/Barry White duet "Never In Your Dreams" and Turner's "Something Beautiful Remains," as well as working with LaFace on "Dreamings" for the 1996 Summer Olympic's album. He's also written songs and produced a debut album for Ideal. Bio Courtesy of Kedar Entertainment |