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Campus Activities Mag. - Featured Artist
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Joe Cameron’s music has a contemporary pop sensibility
that will hook almost any listener. He under...Joe Cameron’s music has a contemporary pop sensibility
that will hook almost any listener. He understands that
he doesn’t have to blaze new and unexplored musical
ground to entertain an audience. And, best of all, he is a
funny and likable guy on and off stage, just ask Ellen.
In the world of entertainment, things are pretty dog-eatdog,
and it can be pretty hard for a regular guy from a
small town in Indiana to get noticed. This is especially
true in the television world. But, don’t tell Joe Cameron’s
mom that. “My mom is a huge Ellen fan. She watches
her all the time, every day. She actually wrote Ellen a letter
one day asking her if I could be on the show. What a
crazy long-shot idea, right?”
Maybe not. As an unsigned artist with no serious clout
in the industry, Joe has always realized a little bit more
ingenuity would be in order for him to make an impact.
“As an independent musician you have to be constantly
thinking of ways to gain exposure for yourself and find a
new audience. My cousin, who is also my web designer,
is a big part of my creative process. I bounce things off
him and we brainstorm together.”
In an unlikely setting, Joe and his cousin
hit upon an idea one day over a burger at
Wendy’s. “I told him about my mom writing
Ellen an email trying to get me on the
show. We were laughing about it and
making fun of the whole idea because we
thought it was really naive that my mom
thought the letter would work or even get
read. All of a sudden, we thought about
running with it. What if we asked our entire
email contact list to do the same thing my
mom did? Would anyone at the Ellen
show actually notice? At least a couple of
hundred letters would have a better
chance of being seen than just one.”
That idea spawned the website,
imgonnabeonellen.com, which almost
immediately scored Joe worldwide
attention. “We decided to take a humorous
approach with the site and make it
seem like we already presume that I
was going to be on the show. We knew
everything had to be really comical and
even the web design itself had to be
really bad, like a seventh grader
designed it in a class project.”
It only took Joe and his cousin about 6
weeks to launch the site and once they did,
things changed forever for Joe. “It got so
many hits and so much attention that three
weeks after it went live we got a call from the
producers of Ellen. People try crazy ideas
all the time, it was just one of those that
actually worked really, really well. We never
thought it would take off like that.” Talk
about one heck of a shock. Joe sums it up
nicely. “It was insane.”
Joe grew up the youngest of six children,
all performers as well. “I kind of
watched them as I was growing up. I
learned to play the piano by watching
my brother, just sort of mimicking what I
saw.” Soon enough Joe saw all of his
siblings scattering across the country
chasing the dream. “They were all moving
to L.A., moving to Nashville, touring
around in vans and trying to make it. I
always thought music, as a profession,
was possible. It never seemed to be a
pipe dream or ‘dreaming big’ to me
because I saw my whole family doing it
and enjoying it. We were from a small
town near the Indianapolis area, but I
never had a small town attitude about
music as a profession.”
Joe qualifies his remarks by explaining
how difficult it can be to break through preconceived
notions among a more rural
and often blue-collar population. “Back
here in the Midwest if someone asks you
what you do and you say, ‘Well, I am a
musician, or a screenwriter, or an actor,’
you can get really funny, entertaining
looks. Most people here are working in the
auto industry or other plants because that
is what a lot of the people here do. As
soon as they turn 18, they head into the
factory and that is where they retire. When
you tell them you are doing something
completely unknown and different than
them for a living, they kind of look at you
like you’re not real anymore. You know
they are laughing inside, thinking ‘Well, six
months from now you’ll be in the factory
with me, so the joke’s on you (laughs). I
still run into it.”
Joe decided the best move for his career
would be a move to L.A. after college, which
he attended while still being completely set
on his passion as his vocation. “I was in a
five-member band in high school and every
one of us moved to go to the same college.”
Naturally the guys thought they could continue
their efforts throughout their college
years, but things didn’t quite work out that
way. “Turns out, in the middle of our freshman
year, things completely fell apart and
we disbanded. We were 99% a cover band
at that point, but once everyone quit, I still
had all this studio equipment and so I started
writing songs. That was the turning point
for me. I knew that no matter what, I wanted
to get my degree because it was a longtime
goal I had set, but I never looked at it
as a back-up plan. I wasn’t thinking ‘If I fail
at music, I still have a degree’ but realistically,
that is how it works. I know I will be able
to get a pretty good paying job and have the
support a family if I have one down the road,
but song writing was really the turning point
for me, because that’s when I knew I could
have my own career in this.”
Once Joe focused on that goal, he
began not only writing and performing,
but studying the business end of show
business as well. “I would travel to
Nashville a lot to go to writers nights and
talk to professional writers. The first five
years of my career was really just a
learning process about the ‘craft’’.
This “homework” has paid off for Joe, giving
him thought-provoking song writing skills
and a mainstream sensibility that will
engage listeners of nearly any background.
“My music has always had somewhat of a
mainstream feel because, that is what I
always liked growing up. It is still what like
now. I know lots of people make it a point
to try to be way more indie, much more left
of center, deliberately trying to do something
different. I just always felt comfortable with
the style of the kind of music I write.”
Musically Joe has definite talent, but his
lyrical skills are something that makes
him truly unique. It was also something
that took much longer for him to effectively
develop. “It wasn’t until about two
years ago that I really sat down and tried
to think of different topics that weren’t
being written about. At least that’s what
I ‘ve heard. I know I am not reinventing
the wheel here, but for me personally, it
was the next step in my song writing.”
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WCRD (Muncie, IN) review
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"I've known Joe Cameron for the better part of a decade. For the past few years, I have been fortuna..."I've known Joe Cameron for the better part of a decade. For the past few years, I have been fortunate enough to do several radio shows with him. After every show, we have recieved positive feedback from all across the midwest. Our shows with Joe are always our most popular ones. People love this guy.
Joe Cameron defines professionalism. On the radio, and at live shows, he has proven himself to be both a witty and an engaging performer. His lyrics are very personal and honest. The music, simple and melodic. It would be easy to define his music as adult contemporary, but that would be selling him short. His appeal defies boundaries. Simply put, Joe Cameron has got the goods."
Andrew Martin
Former Music Director and host of "C. U. Next Thursday"
91.3 FM
WCRD/WWHI
Muncie, IN
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WFBQ Q95 Indianapolis review
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Before the guitar was tuned and the mics were hot, Joe Cameron was just another musician in the gues...Before the guitar was tuned and the mics were hot, Joe Cameron was just another musician in the guest seat. Now that his voice and soul has poured through the mics and graced the Midwest airwaves, he has become one of my favoites, and I have added my name to the list of fans who anticipate the next encounter.
Most broadcasters find themselves uneasy when airing a live musician. Egos run rampid and music often suffers without the "magic" of post production. The mark of a true musician is the ability to perform live, especially over the air. Joe Cameron blew my mind, and gave the city's 164,000 ears a refreshing taste of something new.
If I was to pick a word to describe the style of Joe Cameron, it would be "genuine." Joe is an amazing musician and person, and these qualities are manifested through his blend of light soulful rock. I feel grateful to know him both professionally, and personally now. I'm certain Joe's career will see no limits, but if he's ever in the midwest, he's got an open mic at WCRD.
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The next big thing?
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Sporting a blue shirt emblazoned
with “The Muppets Band” and a big
picture of Animal, Joe Cameron ...Sporting a blue shirt emblazoned
with “The Muppets Band” and a big
picture of Animal, Joe Cameron says
there’s three things he can’t live without:
1) His guitar
2) His laptop
3) Lord-Jon’s tacos.
If ever there was a regular
musician from Kokomo, this is
he.
But he’s hoping to show the
world — and especially Ellen
DeGeneres — that being regular
doesn’t make him common.
He and the rest of the Joe
Cameron Band hopes to catch
the attention of DeGeneres and
perform on her show. Why? Lots of
reasons. She’s funny. She’s wellwatched.
But she’s one of the few talk
show hosts who would take a chance
on an unknown band, he said.
“If I get on the (Ellen DeGeneres)
show, then a lot of things could happen,”
Cameron said this week, from
the booth of a Lord-Jon’s restaurant.
It all started with a single e-mail
from Cameron’s mom a few months
ago, implor ing her to feature
Cameron on the show. Cameron was
skeptical at first, to say the least.
“I was like, ‘Really, Mom? Really?
You think that’s going to work? An email
to Ellen? You think you’re the
only proud mom?’”
But it was that first step that got
the ball rolling into what has become
a Cameron fan campaign to get one
of K-town’s favorite musicians on TV.
Cameron talked to a friend who
suggested making a site with a video
that presumed he was going to be on
the show.
“From that point on, I was in. I
thought it was hilarious,” he said,
taking a bite of taco and washing it
down with a sip of soda.
It’s been an expensive endeavor so
far, Cameron said. Sixteen bucks — $9
for the domain name and $7 for a
pizza that appears in his video.
In it, you see a bit of Cameron’s
quirky humor as he tells you — and
hopefully Ellen herself — why he
needs to be on the show.
I’d summarize, but you should just
click on www.imgonnabeonellen.
com and check it out for yourself. It’s
funny. The site also includes updates
on the Ellen situation and anecdotes
about Cameron’s sometimes-absurd
life.
“Everything I wrote on that site is
true, no matter how ridiculous,” he
said, with a laugh.
Stories of lost luggage, car repossessions
and deadly assaults by bedroom
furniture await at the site, includes
links to e-mail the show’s producers
in support of the band. At this
point, Cameron hopes a grassroots
campaign of fans who write in may
help him make it to the show, although
he’s hesitant about talking
about how things are going.
Cameron throws around terms like
“we’re getting close” and “we’re officially
making progress” but doesn’t
elaborate more than that.
This reporter is fairly convinced
The Joe Cameron Band is in the
mafia and/or is hiding from the IRS.
But whatever.
But, while he remains an unknown
to many and is working
hard to be discovered, Cameron has
been out there making music and
attracting the attention of some of
the music industry’s key players for
some time.
Recently, he spent a
month in Vancouver,
British Columbia,
recording
with Bill Bell,
former Jason Mraz
guitarist.
The result is “Van City,” his latest
EP, which features six songs of
Cameron’s classic mix of pop and
rock. It’s hard not to tap your toes to
the music, which falls somewhere between
Mraz and Rob Thomas, with a
touch of Barenaked Ladies quirkiness
and fun but the intelligence and
subtlety of The Weakerthans.
Like most struggling, young musicians,
it’s been a long road for
Cameron.
“Officially, I was in a crappy high
school band like everyone else,” he
said, laughing.
It was called — wait for it — The
Sweaty Bagels.
From the ages of 15 and 19,
Cameron and friends played a whole
lot of cover songs, but along the way
he found that songwriting was his
passion.
“It’s the reason I’m into music,”
Cameron said. “If I could never perform
again — if, say, I lost both arms
tomorrow — I’d be OK, because I
could still write songs.”
The best part is his songs are
clever. He doesn’t write about the
stars in the sky being yellow (Sorry,
Coldplay fans) or the facial features
of any angels (Yes, I’m making fun of
you, Hinder fans).
But he does write about scenarios
he can envision and ones he knows
all too well.
Take “I’m Stuck with Me,” the song
that’s part of his Ellen video, for example:
“I’m a jack***,” he said, of the song,
with a chuckle. “I don’t feel sorry for
anyone who has to deal with me because
they can leave. I’m stuck with
myself.”
Pursuing music has taken him to
California and back, and everywhere
in between. Currently, he and the rest
of the band — rounded out by Zach
Harris on guitar, Cary Robertson on
bass and Adam Fitch on percussion —
are touring the Midwest, just trying
to be heard.
This weekend and next, the foursome
will return home for two shows
— one Saturday night at Tom Thumb
Tavern and another on Oct. 5 and the
Sycamore Market Place.
“The last show at the Market Place
was packed, so that was really cool.
And Tom Thumb is a completely differentvibe,” he said. “It’s going to be cool.”
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Singer-songwriter shoots for ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’
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IU alumnus Joe Cameron is a singer-songwriter hoping to perform on “The Ellen DeGeneres” show. He ... IU alumnus Joe Cameron is a singer-songwriter hoping to perform on “The Ellen DeGeneres” show. He has created a Web site, www.imgonnabeonellen.com, in an effort to attract attention from the producers of the comedienne’s talk show. Cameron graduated in 2001.• Courtesy photo
Joe Cameron is going to be on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” – he’s sure of it. He even has a Web site to prove it.Cameron is a pop/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist out of Kokomo, Ind., who graduated from IU in 2001. A few months ago, Cameron’s mother was so convinced of her son’s talent that she sent “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” a letter urging them to have her son perform. Cameron decided to take things a step further and created a Web site, www.imgonnabeonellen.com. He frequently updates his blog, letting his fans know how much progress he is making in getting onto the show, and he also posts videos of himself performing. The videos show Cameron singing comedic songs or talking to fans about how much he wants to be on the show.So, why Ellen DeGeneres and not Jay Leno or David Letterman, for example?“The practical answer is that there’s no way I could get on Leno or Letterman without a recording contract,” Cameron said. “She’s the only one accessible to the public. A big part of one of her goals is the average Joe’s involvement in her show.”Cameron said he has given up all other job responsibilities and now dedicates himself completely to his music. He joined the music world in his teens and has had no problem getting some great playing opportunities thus far.“In ’99, I sang in the Indy 500 parade. There (were) 300,000 people in the stands,” he said. “It was awesome.”Cameron described his music as barbeque-picnic-beach rock that “has a very positive overtone” and is “very mainstream, Top-40 pop-rock,” he said.But don’t be fooled by the broad label Cameron applies to his own music. His voice, catchy melodies and stick-in-your-head lyrics weave together to create a style of music all his own. Cameron said he draws influences from all across the musical spectrum, citing Sting, Sarah McLachlan, Jason Mraz and Rob Thomas.So far, Cameron is making a lot of headway with his goal of getting on Ellen’s show. His Web site has been visited so many times that the show’s producers contacted Cameron asking what the site was all about.“They would’ve never contacted me if my site hadn’t gotten so many hits,” Cameron said. “So many people were e-mailing (the Ellen show) from my site that they couldn’t ignore it anymore.”Cameron says that fans can help by going to his Web site and sending an e-mail to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in support of him performing on the show.
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JCB - Groove Magazine Review
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Joe Cameron: Indiana, USA. Instrumentation Joe Cameron: vocals, guitar, piano, Josh Kirk: bass, voca...Joe Cameron: Indiana, USA. Instrumentation Joe Cameron: vocals, guitar, piano, Josh Kirk: bass, vocals, Jason Dick: keyboards, vocals, Billy Cox: percussion, Ben Hanssens: sax, guitar The first unsigned artist to perform live on the ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW, Joe recorded his new CD with producer Bill Bell (Jason Mraz, Tom Cochrane, Shaye). The new 6-song VanCity EP is Joe's 3rd independent release. Joe is gearing up for his 2008 tour. Recently, one independent A&R rep characterized Joe's music as "a new beachy, Jason Mraz/Jack Johnson sound. An exuberant and energetic sound that will last. "Ungrounded" is the college listening hit and it should be. How many of us are ungrounded; and Joe is right on top of it, keeping you grounded. This music hits mainly on the SKA of the early 80's that I remember from my home and native land down at the Town Pump with head of the booking dept. Joey "Shithead" Keithly(DOA). You can listen to this band all night and be happy and get happier. Great vein to exploit, great feel to express. Joe Cameron Band, all that you have not done is stay on the road for 25 years.
supersonic
