Jo Caine

- Laurel Canyon (2003) - This is the story of a pot-smoking, free-wheeling Los Angeles record producer (McDormand), with a rock star boyfriend (Nivola), whose straight-laced son (Bale) comes back home after graduation from Harvard Medical School with his rich fiancé (Beckinsale), who's working on a book. Although mother and son are initially at odds, their relationship begins to change when he discovers that his bride-to-be likes his mother's rock-n-roll lifestyle too.


Film Fact
A local Detroit band, Jocaine and 75 North, has some of their music in this movie. They are an up and coming Detroit band. They are excellent!!!
By Heather Johnson
- Cinemax.com

Sonic hopeful JoCaine & 75 North can rock
Southern-style rockers have worked with Uncle Kracker and Brett Michaels, and now look forward to the contest.
By Melody Baetens / The Detroit News
Related links "Under Privileged Baby," by JoCaine & 75 North Play it (.wma) | Download it (.mp3) Contest rules and detailsOther band profiles, music samples: JivaName of band: JoCaine & 75 NorthNames of members: JoCaine, vocals; "Tricky Ricky" Lentz, guitar; "Guitar Rick" Browarski, guitar; Nick Largesse, keyboards; Stephanie Christian, vocals; Pat Saunders, drums.Sound: "It's southern rock mixed with that typical Detroit flavor," JoCaine says.Experience: JoCaine & 75 North has toured with Uncle Kracker, Tantric and Brett Michaels. He also has performed in clubs around Metro Detroit, including the Emerald Theatre and the Hayloft in Mount Clemens.Online: www.jocaine.com
Singer JoCaine and his group, JoCaine & 75 North, have worked hard to gain a large local following. The band has played all over Michigan and toured the country with their friends, Uncle Kracker and rock band Tantric. JoCaine also was recently asked to hop on a few dates with Poison front man Brett Michaels, as he tours Metro Detroit doing solo shows.
The southern-rock group with a hint of hip-hop has sold more than 5,000 CDs independently. Yet, the band can't seem to land a record deal. JoCaine is shopping for a deal for its next release, "Can't You Smell What's Cooking?" The CD features appearances by Uncle Kracker and saxophonist Alto Reed.
JoCaine (Joe Binki), 28, a former Division II All-American football player, is excited about the idea of competing in The Detroit News' Sonic Summer contest and the possible chance to perform at the finals, at the Chrysler Chrysler's Arts, Beats & Eats in Pontiac during Labor Day weekend.
"It's a cool festival. I've been down there almost every year supporting other bands," he says. "It's a good opportunity to play in front of a bunch of people."

- Detroit News

The new kid on the block, JoCaine, but don't get me wrong, Jo has been around a long time and has paid his dues, so make way for the East Side's newest King, "JoCaine", cause he's stepping up to the plate to hit the next home run for the team. JoCaine, known to his family and friends as Joe Binki, didn't start out in Mt. Clemens. In fact he started off when he was a young buck, running the streets of good ole Hazel Tucky. With his country mannerisms, you'd be surprised to catch Jo anywhere near a city. He has a humble approach to the world, and possesses a magnetic personality that draws people in from all walks of life. "I just say it like I see it, no sugar coating here, "Caine says. Jo's original intentions in the world definately weren't to persue a music career. Jo says, "I always wanted to be a pro football player. In fact thats how I got my name JoCaine", he commented. An All-American Tight End in college, "It was like a hurricane when I had the ball in my hands" so a couple guys on the team put the Caine with Jo, and there you go. Growing up, I would come home from school as a little guy, I'd hear mom playing them oldie but goodies, all the Motown greats, like the Supremes, Four Tops, I mean the list goes on........"I would start in singing and dancing the parts along with my mom, that was it, I was hooked on music from there on out. I guess I get my musical back ground from my mom. Don't get me wrong my dad bought me my first guitar when I was like 6, trying to enter me in talent shows and stuff like that. My dad was more into country, George Jones, Conway Twitty, to greats now such as, Travis Tritt, Brooks and Dunn, and we can't forget about Elvis. I began recording my own stuff at a very young age, taking my influences and incorperating them into one; country with rock, blues with oldies, and then worked it in with pop, and cant forget about that good ole southern rock....etc.
JoCaine first had a record deal with a label called Life/Belmark Records, responsible for the success of Tag Team. Tag Team had the hit song "Whoop there it is". Jo found himself opening for greats such as, R. Kelly, Brian McKnight, and Tag Team, all over the South. Daytona Beach Spring Break, the FreakNic, Alt, GA, 250,000+ people. Back then Jo says, I was more into RUN DMC, The Beastie Boys, I mean who wasn't....but with internal dilemmas and family issues, Jo decided to put his dreams on hold, and continuing his dream at a more approriate time. After a three year hiatus from music, he decided to pick up the pen again and start doing what Jo does best, writing music that people love. This time Jo says he wanted a full band, Country/Rock/Pop. He said he was on a mission to find the best musicians in town, and form a band that kicked some major ass. The first link I picked up was a good high school friend of mine, K.D. Jo states, "this guys is one of the best or if not the best bass player in town, and he just so happens to be a good friend of mine" K.D. dropped a few names of other top musicians in the area that may be available, and the search was on. Picking up such greats as, "The Wizzard" on drums, "Gash" on guitar, "Pistol Pete/Peter Keys" on Keys, "Tricky Ricky" on guitar. These last couple links made up a band thats now called, "75 NORTH" (The name "75 North" was chosen because....in our old hometown, you could throw a rock and hit I-75, and now matter where you're from and you get on 75 North, you end up in the good ole RockCity State, Michigan) JoCaine has independently sold over 5,500 units in his time. JoCaine has had several songs on tv shows and movie soundtracks, such as "LoneStar State of Mind", "Laurel Canyon", and songs featured on the newest hit TV show, CSI. (Crime Story Investigation) JoCaine and 75 North now are finishing up on a world class album entitled, "Piggy Back Ride" Jo says, "This album if given the right opportunity, will be a multi-platinum selling album, and another great album and artist out of Detroit. They have already gained national recognition from major labels throughout the country.
- MP3unsigned.com

Jocaine is a band (technically the lead singer is Jocaine and the band is 75 North) from the Detroit area that plays a kind of classic southern rock. I’m not sure how to classify it beyond that. It’s reminiscent of the newer works by Kracker and Kid Rock. If you like that type of music, you’ll like these guys.

We saw these guys play live back in October when they opened for Kracker. They were really good live. They had a cool intro where they had Jo driving a truck and getting chased by some cops. Jo knows how to play the crowd and it’s fun to watch these guys. On the other hand, I was right in front of the stage so the band was like 3 feet from me, so maybe I’m biased.

Their newest album is called Piggy Back Ride (I’d thought before that they had another album before this one but I’m not so sure now). Pop this baby in and first thing you’re assailed by my favorite song, You Don’t Know Me. It has a lot of energy and it’s one a few songs that I might think could get some decent radio playtime. Other songs in that category are Fantasyland and Do What I Wanna Do. Another song on the album, Home, is a tribute to the D.

I’m impressed with the sound quality. For the most part, all of the instruments ring through clearly and the tone of everything is correct. I say I’m impressed because I’ve heard smaller band’s recordings before that had poor sound quality. These guys sound good.

I tend to look at music from different views. You can appreciate each instrument individually and you can appreciate the song as a whole, taking into account sounds produced by everything at once. Jo has a pretty good voice and he manages to put out some catchy sounds. To me the most notable song is So Beautiful, but he sounds great throughout. Taken as a whole, the music is good. There are quite a few catchy tunes. I think in the end that’s primarily what matters.

People familiar with Kid Rock and Uncle Kracker will think Jocaine sounds more or less like them. We were talking to Jo after the concert and I think he even mentioned as much. In truth though, something that I think is often overlooked is that there’s nothing wrong with sounding like someone else if you’re good at it. Jocaine is good at it.

If you like that southern rock kind of sound then you’ll like Jocaine. Go to their site and it will play some of their music. There’s a control in the upper left hand corner. If you tell it to stop it will load a new song. Check it out and pick up their CD if you like what you hear.

- Geek On The Mountain

Jo Caine, a Detroit artist since 1988, recently put together a rock band to join him onstage called 75 North. They have an EP out on Imperial Records called Welcome to My Playground and the band has been flown out to RCA, Dreamworks and Capitol. There also has been interest from Interscope and Universal, the band says - MetroTimes, Detroit

On February 13, a thousand people rocked to the rhythm of Jocaine at the "Piggyback Ride EP Release Party". Jason Krause of Kid Rock's band Twisted Brown Trucker and Uncle Kracker jumped on stage and performed with Jo and the boys. It was an amazing night. Veteran Creem Magazine photographer Bob Alford said "I haven't been in a crowd that entertained since J. Geils in '81. I felt like a pinball. It was great!".

As good as that night was, the triumphant return home of the "Piggyback Ride Tour" will blow your minds! With an all new stage show and new songs from the forthcoming full Jocaine release never before heard in public, Jocaine is fired up to close this tour with a bang you won't soon forget. Never has there been an unsigned act with this much staging and few national acts bring the passion and performance you'll witness at a Jocaine show!

Appearing on soundtracks of major Hollywood films and on CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigations, the nations #1 rated television show, Jocaine is Detroit's hottest unsigned act. His crowds best national artists and his songs have inspired collaboration with Rap legend MC Breed on Breed's upcoming release and invitations to tour in support of some of today's hottest national acts. MC Breed will also be making a surprise guest appearance on stage.

Supporting Jocaine on this show will be the Twin Pigs, a hard-charging modern rock band whose songs and stage performance have gained them a large and loyal following in a few short months. Their shows at the House of Shamrocks in Hazel Park are legendary.

Also supporting Jocaine is Flint's own Minister of Funkology, Pastor of Partying, Deacon of Disco, Imam of Invigoration, Guru of Go Go, the Reverend Right Time! You may recall the Rev. from his sellout shows, opening for the likes of George Clinton, and as a guest performer on the Jenny Jones Show.

He's played in the Red Wings. victory parades, and is in production now on a disk with legendary producer Nile Rogers.

Jocaine will be the featured guest on "Local Riffs: with your host, O.D on WRIF 101.1 FM. July 27, at 10 PM - Michiganbands.com

Whoa Crap! Jo Caine Traded Football for a White Trash Sound
Rick Coates

Jo Caine’s music is CRap!
I don’t care that the 6’5’’, 250 lbs. one time college football All-American threatened to kick the crap out of me if I wrote anything that wasn’t complimentary about his music.
“When I come north I will be reading what you’ll be writing about me,” said Jo Caine. “You better write something good or I will hunt you down and we will go a few rounds.”
Caine and 75 North will be coming to town as part of a triple bill that features Uncle Kracker and The Brian Schram Band October 29 at Streeters’ Ground Zero Nightclub.
Now back to this Jo Caine and my potential ass whooping. Bring it on because CRap is a good thing musically; it is what is happening and the way things are looking Caine is going to be the next hot thing to come out of Detroit musically since his pals Kid Rock and Uncle Kracker hit it big.

WHITE TRASH LIFESTYLE
CRap is country-rap music. Yet it is more than music: it’s about living the white trash lifestyle. It is about wearing John Deere hats, drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon and having your jeans hanging off your ass to proudly bear the crack.
There ain’t South Beach Diets in Crapville and proper English is a second language. It is about eating at White Castle for breakfast, wearing wife-beater shirts, smoking a little weed and drinking moonshine without the Red Bull chaser. It is about girls wearing Von Dutch jeans and just a bikini top, sometimes minus the top. Who needs the NHL, because when in CRapville it is all about NASCAR and Orange County Choppers, oops I meant Tribal Motors.
John Deere hats and Pabst Blue Ribbon will only take you so far; you need tunes to complete the scene and CRap artists like Kid Rock and Uncle Kracker rule the park. Now, along comes Jo Caine and just who does he think he is, kicking down the doors of the double wide and grabbing the wheel of the 69 orange Dodge Charger while heading down 75 in overdrive?
Caine, born Joe Binki in Kentucky, grew up in Hazel Park listening to his dad blaring Conway Twitty and George Jones while mom was dancing in the kitchen to Motown. His height and strength gave him visions of a pro football career; his vocal abilities in high school led him to a recording studio at 7 Mile and Van Dyke where another high school age rapper was hanging out by the name of Kid Rock.

CAINE HURRICANE
As for his name, well, that came from his high school buddies:
“The name Jo Caine is from my football days because the Miami Hurricanes were recruiting me and people kept saying ‘Jo is going to be a Hurricane and lets call him Jo Caine.’ My grades kept me from going to Miami and I ended up at Wayne State.”
While at Wayne State University, Caine continued his musical pursuits. When things started to happen for Kid Rock he thought it would be a door opener.
“I quit football and thought, man, my opportunity is here (with the music),” said Caine. “Rock beat me to the punch by about six months and when I was offered a deal and did some early touring I was getting dogged for trying to rip Rock off. It wasn’t that way at all-we just came from the same place and had the same influences.”
Caine started and quit his music career several times over a six-year period before he decided to re-commit to it. He has support coming from all over including both the Kid Rock and Uncle Kracker camps. Kracker has taken Caine out on the road with him and Kid Rock showed up a few weeks back at the Magic Bag in Detroit and jammed all night with Caine.
“Uncle Kracker is my friend and a good guy. We look after each other,” said Caine. “He taught me some things and I might have taught him some things.”
As for Kid Rock’s support:
“He called me a couple weeks back and said he was coming to my show and wanted to get up on stage and jam with me and the band,” said Caine. “Well he did, and Kracker showed as well, so did some others from Detroit music royalty.”

SOUTHERN TWIST
So what is it about Jo Caine’s music that is attracting fans and stars to his shows?
“My music is everything you flat out like about rock and roll,” said Caine. “Add a Southern twist to it and it is on that vibe of that hillbilly-white trash- foot-stomping-hand-clapping stuff. Plus my whole band is great and every guy in this band is a showman; our shows are a party.”
Caine released his first CD, “Piggy Back Ride,” last year. To date he has sold close to 10,000 copies, catching the eye of some in the industry.
“Yeah, there is a lot happening on the record front right now and we are looking at several options,” said Caine. We’re just going to keep playing our cards and doing what we do and when something breaks and the paper gets thrown on the table and we like what we read, will sign it. We are doing great with our independent release and are moving product, and sometimes that is better than signing some schmuck record deal and getting peanuts.”
So is a new album in the works?
“We are in the studio right now recording the baddest album ever. I think if you make good music you can’t be denied. People will buy it, even if you are not on a big label, people will find it and it will circulate on its own,” said Caine. “So this album-if it isn’t picked up by the big boys, my fans are going to buy it and pass it on to their friends who are going to say this is kick ass and pass it on to their friends. We expect the album to be picked up by a major but I have to keep quiet for now. Look for it early next year.”

MUSIC MAP
Caine is happy to see his hometown of Detroit on the music map again. It seems when Detroit is building cars like the Citation, things musically are not happening; bring out the Vipers and The Hummers and the music seems to happen again.
“Yeah you’re right: when they are making cool cars the music comes rolling out. There is so much talent in Detroit and most will never get a shot,” said Caine. “That guy that is playing at a small club might be just as good as the guy making millions playing to large crowds. The difference is the one guy caught the break and the other didn’t. It is the way it works in life in general.”
It is the way it has worked for Caine as well.
“The music industry in general sucks right now. Eight years ago had I been doing what I am doing now, I would have a million dollar record deal. I would be living in a fat ass house, deer hunting every single day with no worries. Now you can have the best album around and it doesn’t matter. It is about breaks and today you have to make your own. Mike Bradford, Kracker’s producer who has worked with Madonna and others, told me that I have four hits out of my 10 songs, so we will see.”
Bradford isn’t the only one who thinks so. Producers of the hit TV show “CSI” (Crime Scene Investigations) have been using Jo Caine songs for the past two years and his music will appear on six shows this year. His songs also appeared on the movie soundtracks for “Lone Star State Of Mind,” and “Laurel Canyon.”

NO-BRAINER
As for naming his band 75 North, it was a trailer park no-brainer.
“Anywhere you go in Detroit you eventually hit 75 and if you are in the south and hit I-75 northbound, you are coming to my hometown,” said Caine. “The main core of my band is from Hazel Park -- or as we say, Hazel Tucky -- and 75 goes right through the heart of our town.”
Hazel Tucky?
“Yeah that town is full of hillbillies,” laughs Caine.
So Jo Caine will head north on the highway he named his band after to perform for the Traverse Tucky side of town. He is excited about the bill and thinks Brian Schram is the “baddest, kick-ass guitar player” out there right now.
Speaking of Schram, Randy Holtcamp- Schram’s business manager-reports Brian has been asked by Virgin Records to come to LA next week to record, and they are close to making that elusive label deal finally happen.
As for Uncle Kracker, he looks forward to making what is becoming an annual fall pilgrimage to Streeters. He just came off a successful summer tour with country star Kenny Cheasney and the tour has been nominated for a Country Music Award. Kracker and Cheasney will perform their number one hit, “When The Sun Goes Down” at the November 9 awards ceremony. Kracker also recently released his third solo album since leaving as Kid Rock’s DJ. The Album “Seventy-Two and Sunny” is making waves on both the pop and country charts.
Rumors, Pabst Blue Ribbon, chicks in Von Dutch jeans and three guys that can throw down on stage is what Friday, October 29 at Streeters’ Ground Zero Nightclub will be about. Tickets are moving quickly and may be purchased in advance by visiting
www.streetersonline.com or calling the box office at (231) 932-1300. For more on Jo Caine visit www.jocaine.com. A message for Jo Caine: I’ll be at the show and if you are looking for me, I am the guy inbetween my two good buddies, Thomas ‘Hitman’ Hearns and Ben Wallace, so bring it on.



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• Jocaine’s recent show at the Emerald was "the club’s biggest local show ever (on a Thursday and with temperatures in the low teens!) with over 900 people. Attendance beat most of their nationals too. Arista, Warner Brothers, Shady Records, and Interscope were there for sure and they have an ongoing soundtrack arrangement with Universal. Jason Krause (Kid Rock) sat in for a few songs and Kracker contributed a performance of his big hit ‘Follow Me.’ This was the first time Jason Krause or Uncle Kracker have appeared on stage with any local act (since they went national). Jocaine now heads out on the Piggyback Ride Tour of the Midwest, with 75 North. They have a new single on the upcoming LAUREL CANYON soundtrack and a new EP was released on Feb. 13. Commenting on why his shows are the talk of the town and his music getting such national attention, Jocaine says "we put all we have into our music and our stage show. We play it from the heart and that’s all we know. In truth, our success is due to our amazing fans. They’re our inspiration." www.jocaine.com

- JAM Magazine