Sly Joe & the Smooth Operators

Artist Information

Biography

Confucius said, “A craftsman, if he wishes to do good work, must first sharpen his tools.” That being said, SLY JOE’s music is honed like an acupuncture needle. It gets in deep under your skin, demands your attention, then leaves you feeling good all over.

Since his musical debut in first grade, Sly Joe’s been sharpening his skills on the international stage for over 20 years, sharing audiences with the likes of TRAIN, T.S. MONK, JACKSON BROWNE, GILLIAN WELCH, EMMYLOU HARRIS, & JOHN PRINE in venues such as HARD ROCK CAFÉ-(Beijing), THE LOTUS-(Koh Tao), LAMBEAU FIELD-(Green Bay), WAMI AWARDS SHOW-(Milwaukee), LEACH AMPITHEATER-(Oshkosh), and numerous festivals, halls, and coffeeshops from coast to coast.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, he discovered a love for music early. He quickly developed into an accomplished performer, and won the highest award for a classical pianist from the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association at age 11. By 17, he was chosen to play guitar for the Wisconsin State Honors Jazz Ensemble.

As a songwriter, childhood influences are still the roots he draws creativity from. The imaginative harmonies of the Beatles, the soulful rhythms of Motown, the way Mozart could write hundreds of clever hooks and always sound fresh. Sly Joe’s songs have earned him musical residencies in Thailand, San Francisco, and throughout the Fox Valley. Hundreds of college and mainstream radio stations, independent films, and Podcasts across the globe have also found his songs to be a perfect fit.

Currently, Sly Joe is promoting his latest album, “Your Lively Love”. Mastered by Michael Hateley (Eric Clapton, Green Day, Aretha Franklin, Spongebob Squarepants) at Warner Bros. Records, “Your Lively Love” features songs about love that can transcend long distances, past failures, and even death. “All around the world I’ve found proof positive…LOVE is still the universal language. MUSIC is the translator. I try to communicate that idea in my songs.”

Instrumentation

Sly Joe & the Smooth Operators

Sly Joe - Vocals/Guitar/Keys
Dave Jerabek - Bass/Vocals
Robin Cardell - Percussion/Vocals
Mike Underwood - Drums/Vocals
Ross Catterton - Sax/Vocals

Discography

Several Songs have been featured on:

RADIO:

KFAI (Minneapolis, MN)
KTUH (Honolulu, HI)
WGTV (Washington, DC)
WHCS (New York, NY)
WPUB (New York, NY)
WSVA (New York, NY)
WRBB (Boston, MA)
WIIT (Chicago, IL)
WXAV (Chicago, IL)
KAMP (Tucson, AZ)
KVDU (Denver, CO)
WLOY (Baltimore, MD)
WPTS (Pittsburgh, PA)
KYMC (St. Louis, MO)
KRUA (Anchorage, AK)
WSND (Notre Dame, IN)
WSUM (Madison, WI)
KZMU (Moab, UT)
WWWX (Oshkosh, WI)
WRST (Oshkosh, WI)
WOCT (Oshkosh, WI)
WAPL (Appleton, WI)
WZOR (Appleton, WI)
KAOS (Olympia, WA)
KAUR (Sioux Falls, SD)
KBHU (Spearfish, SD)
KBVR (Corvallis, OR)
KCCR (Tacoma, WA)
KDWG (Dillon, MT)
KEOL (La Grande, OR)
KGRG (Auburn, WA)
KHNS (Haines, AK)
KISL (Avalon, CA)
KKCR (Hanalei, HI)
KLPI (Ruston, LA)
KMSA (Grand Junction, CO)
KMSC (Sioux City, IA)
KMSU (Mankato, MN)
KNDS (Fargo, ND)
KNSU (Thibodaux, LA)
KOUG (Vancouver, WA)
KQAL (Winona, MN)
KRFP (Moscow, ID)
KRUX (Las Cruses, NM)
KSCL (Shreveport, LA)
KSLU (Hammond, LA)
KSMR (Winona, MN)
KTRM (Kirksville, MO)
KUCO (Edmond, OK)
KULT (Cedar Falls, IA)
KUMM (Morris, MN)
KURA (Ourey, CO)
KURE (Ames, IA)
KVNF (Paonia, CO)
KXUA (Fayetteville, AR)
M3 Radio (New York, NY)
SFR (Boston, MA)
WARG (Summit, IL)
WARY (Valhalla, NY)
WBKE (North Manchester, IN)
WBRS (Waltham, MA)
WBWC (Berea, OH)
WCCH (Holyoke, MA)
WCCM (Randolph, NJ)
WCCS (Norton, MA)
WCLH (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
WCMR (Dallas, PA)
WCWM (Williamsburg, VA)
WDBM (East Lansing, MI)
WDWN (Auburn, NY)
WEOS (Geneva, NY)
WGFR (Queensburg, NY)
WGMU (Fairfax, VA)
WGRE (Greencastle, IN)
WHSN (Bangor, ME)
WICB (Ithaca, NY)
WIDB (Carbondale, IL)
WIDR (Kalamazoo, MI)
106 VIC (Ithaca, NV)
BearCast (Cincinnati, OH)
WIPZ (Kenosha, WI)
WITR (Rochester, NY)
WKKL (West Barnstable, MA)
WLUR (Lexington, VA)
WMHB (Waterville, ME)
WMHD (Terre Haute, IN)
WMPG (Portland, ME)
WMUH (Allentown, PA)
WMUL (Hungtington, WV)
WNCW (Spindale, NC)
WNMC (Traverse City, MI)
WNSU (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
WNTI (Hackettstown, NY)
WOBN (Westerville, OH)
WOSP (Jacksonville, FL)
WOWL (Boca Raton, FL)
WPMD (Norwalk, CA)
WPNR (Utica, NY)
WQFS (Greensboro, NC)
WRFT (Ambler, PA)
WRIR (Richmond, VA)
WRUB (Amheast, NY)
WSIA (Staten Island, NY)
WSKB (Westfield, MA)
WTTU (Cookeville, TN)
WUDR (Dayton, OH)
WUSR (Scranton, PA)
WUTS (Sewanee, TN)
WVFS (Tallahassee, FL)
WVUA (Tuscaloosa, AL)
WVUD (Newark, DE)
WWHR (Bowling Green, KY)
WWSP (Stevens Point, WI)
WXLV (Schneckville, PA)
WYBF (Radnor, PA)
WZLY (Wellesley, MA)

PODSHOWS/STREAMING:

Clickklieak (South Africa)
Sheep Guarding Llama (NY)
Audio Attitude (MI)
The Red Light Zone (UK)
Phedippidations (Netherlands)
Taka No Iyasinbo (Japan)
Daily Breakfast (Netherlands)
RobKast Radio (Netherlands)
NORML Daily Audio Stash (NM)
Clarence Cast (Netherlands)
MvyRadio
Celebrate Radio
Moozikoo Radio
Desert Highway Radio
Radio Fly
Pancake Wednesday Longtown Sound 8
Mothpod
Daily Pod (Germany)
Ziggys Pop
Bernie's World
Binary Source Code
Radio Grafia (Italy)


ALBUMS:

Your Lively Love - (single)
Other Side of the Bridge - (Solo Full Length Album)
Ride On - (JOJA EP)
Organic - (Something Phonic Album)
Winds of Change - (Something Phonic EP)
Trouble no More - (Something Phonic EP)
Sopho King Groovy - (Something Phonic Live Album)
Tales from the Magic Shoppe - (Something Phonic EP)
Color by Numbers - (Something Phonic EP)
Something Phonic - (Something Phonic EP)
Ex Post Facto - (Ex Post Facto Cassette)
Mind Games for the Listener - (Spanky's Wagon Album)

FILM:

The Third Wheel
People Watching

Official Website

http://www.myspace.com/slyjoemusic

Audio

Lyrics

• Only Love
• Melody
• Your Lively Love
• You're Coming Home

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Stevie Wonder filtered through Jamiroquai [+ Show ]
  

  Sly Joe has a thing for love. Two of the songs on this three-song EP (plus bonus track) have love in...Sly Joe has a thing for love. Two of the songs on this three-song EP (plus bonus track) have love in the title. A press release accompanying the new disc says it gfeatures songs about love that can transcend long distances, past failures, and even death.h Does that mean the band title is Sly Joefs code for gI want to be the male SadeŒh? But Smooth Operators is a good name for these young veterans of the area music scene, including former Copper Box tubaist/bassist Dave Jerabek, tasteful drummer Mike Underwood (Jazz Orgy & Andyfs Automatics), and Sly Joe (Something Phonic). (Sorry, just donft hear enough of percussionist Robin Cardell in the mixcas a former percussionist, I know the feeling, Robin.) They do sound like one smooth unit on the original tunes, which feature Sly Joefs engaging voice and guitars. He sometimes sounds like Stevie Wonder filtered through J.K. of Jamiroquai. The CD sounds great. I look forward to hearing more.
  
  Jim Lundstrom
  Editor

• Oozing Talent [+ Show ]
  

  "Some of the most creative work I've seen on vocals...Overall just a stellar job! Super creative and..."Some of the most creative work I've seen on vocals...Overall just a stellar job! Super creative and just oozing talent!"
  

• Lovely Tune [+ Show ]
  

  "A lovely tune with well-performed vocals. The lyrics make this song interesting to listen all the w..."A lovely tune with well-performed vocals. The lyrics make this song interesting to listen all the way through."

• Perfect Melody
  

  "Nice song, nice arrangement and i liked the vocals very much. Perfect melody line."

• Acoustic Heaven
  

  "Acoustic heaven. Really fresh sound, cool groove, and I like the vocalist. Great Song."

• Best stuff on this site [+ Show ]
  

  "Cool instrumentation and excellent harmonies. This is some of the best stuff on this site. I love t..."Cool instrumentation and excellent harmonies. This is some of the best stuff on this site. I love this!"
  

• Bien!! [+ Show ]
  

  "Vocals so good. Bien por la introducción, llama la atención y atrapa el ritmo bien logrado con la v..."Vocals so good. Bien por la introducción, llama la atención y atrapa el ritmo bien logrado con la vocalización. Bien!!"
  

• Penchant for a Good Time [+ Show ]
  

  "A musical gumbo stew that includes generous chunks of funk-laced Americana, jazzified rock ‘n’ roll..."A musical gumbo stew that includes generous chunks of funk-laced Americana, jazzified rock ‘n’ roll, and R&B...
  
  
  Fans of fresh indie pop-rock with a splash of rebellion and a penchant for a good time will dig it."
  
  
  

Setlist

Set list varies, but always grooves. The music inspires dancers of all ages, every time. There are subtle instrumentation changes to keep the show interesting and exciting (Guitar switches to Uke, Bass switches to tuba, a bicycle horn solo is followed by a kazoo melody, a piano accents a stripped down acoustic set, etc...)

Here is a recent set list:
(songs written by Sly Joe unless otherwise noted)

Late in the Evening (Paul Simon)
Mellow Mood (Bob Marley)
Sooner than Later
Someone who's looking out for you
Only Love
Your Lively Love
Reach Across the Light Years
You can make it if you try (Sly & the Family Stone)
Melody
Boogie on Reggae Woman (Stevie Wonder)
Private I
When Doves Cry (Prince)
Voodoo Lady (Ween)
Get Ready (Smokey Robinson)
Winds of Change
Rapid Transit
Our Reality
Sweet
Bubble Toes (Jack Johnson)
Steal my Kisses (Ben Harper)
I'll do Anything (Jason Mraz)
Waste (Phish)
Angel (Jimi Hendrix)
Brand New Walking Shoes
Come by Me (Harry Connick Jr.)
Hot Sauce

Encores/Audibles:
Stay with You - (John Legend)
Ants Marching - (Dave Matthews)
Don't Worry be Happy - (Bobby McFerrin)
Scarlet Begonias - (Grateful Dead)
Crazy - (Gnarls Barkley)
Can't Buy me Love - (Beatles)

Basic Requirements

Calendar