Interview with Joetown frontman Joe

There is something that can be said of groups that allow their music to stand alone. Devoid of gimmicks or Hot Topic garbage, some artists are content to just let the music speak for itself. Enter Joetown, a group hailing from the musical hotbed of Wallingford, CT (sarcasm mode turned off), that has released their debut album Pills And Ammo, an album stripped down to the bare essentials of good songwriting and catchy riffs. The album fits in somewhere between early ’90s hard rock (Stone Temple Pilots, Ugly Kid Joe) and modern day modern rock (Shinedown, Audioslave). PureGrainAudio caught up with frontman Joe Delaney about the group’s new album, his production work and just how the hell this East Coast rocker got the likes of Slash and Ronnie James Dio talking.

You have been producing bands on the East Coast for years. What made you decide to jump full throttle into Joetown?
Joe: I got sick of people telling me how great I am and “why the hell don’t you have a current CD and why aren’t you on tour?!! American Trash featuring Steve Broderick of Trans-Siberian Orchestra has fizzled out and was sick on not being the lead singer… so BOOM! “Pills an Ammo”.

The album kind of shifts in between this ’90s Alt-rock and modern hard rock groove that sounds great. Was there a goal in mind of how you wanted the album to sound?
Joe: I wanted it to be a heavy hard rock record and I wasn’t in the headspace to do anything lyrically that didn’t have direct life experience attached to it in some way. Basically – no bullshit pop or contrived writing…. I really see this as a transition album. Rock n’ Roll Man (my last CD from 2000) and AMERICAN TRASH (2000-2005) were more straight-up rock with less value in the subject matter… Ya’ know; simply about getting fucked up or fucking. This album is personally revealing.

“Lonely Town Blues” has got to be my favorite track on the album, so can you give some insight into that?
Joe: Yeah, mine too and it is really is a blues song and I got the whorin’ X-wife to prove it.

You recently did a video for the track “Crash”, how did that come about and who did the animation?
Joe: My Dad, Keefer and Kerry all love the Sergio Leone Western Trilogy – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Fistful of Dollars, A few Dollars More ect. The animation is a recreation of that and I spent many hours on Mac doing that myself. I have a background in Film.

Tell us a bit about your partnership with Bugera Amps and who you guys endorse?
Joe: I’m the Product Manager for BUGERA… I do everything from help develop the amps to doing clinics on the road. We are signing so many people it’s hard to keep track of. I just got off the phone with Chris Wormer from Charlie Daniels band and he has just started using the Bugera 333XL and my friend Ross Ragusa from the hardcore band Dead By Wednesday just got a pair of half-stacks for their upcoming dates with Insane Clown Posse.

In the bio it lists some huge artists (Dio, Slash, members of WASP) that have given you amazing compliments. How did you meet up with these guys and what was it like hearing them praise your music?
Joe: With WASP I love Chris Holmes and recently jammed with him at Club Vodka. He digs when we cover “Highway Start” by Deep Purple. I also grew up with Mike Duda and Stet Howland is very dear friend. Duda & Stet have been my band on recording (Feelin’ Rock’n’Roll), tour and both are badass players. Slash had me in the running as a singer one of his solo records a few years ago. He’s such a great player and really dug my music. Dio just gave some great career advice and encouragement after hearing me play at the NAMM show. He was an awesome guy.

What are some of your favorite albums right now and why?
Joe: White Stripes, Icky Thump because it’s so raw and simply great music.

What album were you most recently disappointed by and why?
Joe: Metallica… It didn’t fire me up.

Article by: Phil Winslade