Biography
Joe Gould's Secret began in the frozen tundra of southern Wisconsin. Barry Vail (Midwest kid) and Ian Grunfeld (Brooklyn bred) met at college and began playing tunes in 1996 as an acoustic duo; performing a combination of old folk, alt-country, rock n' roll, and blues injected hip-hop (or folk-hop if you will).
After college, the duo left for the Left Coast and steadily played the coffee houses, acoustic venues and bars all around Seattle. JGS expanded their sound in 2007 with the addition of Rick Hoag (bass) and Brian Anderson (drums). Ian and Rick met working at Experience Music Project during EMP’s first years. Brian, a childhood friend of Rick’s, then joined in for some projects until JGS became the musical focus of these four friends.
JGS’s sound is planted in the roots-rock/alt-country soil, incorporating the classic influences of Woody Guthrie, The Band, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young; along with nods to Wilco, Billy Bragg and The Gourds, but JGS is also known to jump into acoustic funk reminiscent of Spearhead and G. Love.
JGS has opened for a variety of established Northwest acts and headlined at The Tractor, Sunset, Skylark, Nectar, High Dive, and The Mars Bar. Highlights include sharing the stage with Widower, The Stevedore, Little Pieces, and The Capillaries. A recent high point was performing at Nadamucho.com’s “The Neil and The Damage Done”; a hugely successful Neil Young Tribute at The Sunset with a line-up that included At The Spine and Spanish 4 100.
Joe Gould’s Secret is working hard on their debut album; diy recorded and produced, set to drop in the spring of 2009. Along with the album and slew of new tunes, JGS plans to tackle the Pacific Northwest and West Coast with their infectious, fun-loving live performances.
Instrumentation
Barrybob Vail - guitar, bass, vocal
Ian James Grunfeld - guitar, bass, vocal
Rick Hoag - bass, drums, guitar, vocal
Brian Anderson - drums, bass, guitar, vocal
Discography
Always Rising - 4 song demo available heard here on sonicbids, also available via myspace, last.fm and on facebook. Debut LP coming fall 09.
Links
| http://www.myspace.com/joegouldssecret |
| JGS on Facebook |