Joe Fournier
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Joe Fournier

| INDIE | AFM

| INDIE | AFM
Band Americana Country

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


""down and dirty""

" This rootsy album doesn’t smooth over any uneven edges. On “Resinator Hit Parader Blues,” Fournier sounds like a pair of bluesy, down-and-dirty guitar greats: Bo Ramsey and Gurf Morlix. And “Big Mistake” reminded me of a track left off of Elvis Costello’s ahead of its time country album, Almost Blue. Fournier’s a Canadian who proves that some of Americana’s best talents aren’t even American." 
  - Tony Peyser, Santa Monica Mirror - Santa Monica Mirror


""think of Haggard or Kristofferson...""

" ... sounds like it was thrown down in a four day drinking binge with minimum overdubs. The title track is one of the best songs I have ever heard. It’s pile-driving rhythm reminds me of how I felt on first hearing Springsteen's 'The Promised Land' or Uncle Tupelo's 'Chickamauga' ... it is that good. Think of Haggard or Kristofferson & you are almost there. This is hard living, hard drinking blue collar America. "
 - Peter Gow, AmericanaUK - AmericanaUK


""catchy as hell hooks...""

" Joe Fournier offers up a second effort, Whiskey Stars, that just may outshine his great debut, Raw Sugar Shed. "I Like Junk", a swampy, ramshackle ode to treasures in the trash, leads an album packed with robust songwriting and enthusiastic performances. His vocals, tinged with Dave Edmonds, Tom Petty and Elvis Costello, belt out over everything from straight-ahead, energetic roots rock to crisp Americana ballads and rollicking country-folk. Fournier crafts some catchy as hell hooks and puts his own indelible stamp on the package."
- Miles of Music.com - Miles of Music


Discography

Raw Sugar Shed - July 2002
Whiskey Stars - September 2003
Three Chord MacGyver - October 2005

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Joe’s musical education came from stealing songs and stories from the many road-worn acts that, week after week, rolled through the local beer joint his family ran in northern Ontario. Every night he'd fall asleep to the sound of country music filtering up through the floorboards and every morning a new Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash or Creedence Clearwater Revival tune would be stuck in his head. It's bound to have an effect on a kid!

  His first appearance was at his parent's hotel, at age 12, filling in for the hired act who was too drunk to play. The people ate it up - plus it paid 25 bucks and all the soda he could handle. Joe was hooked. He soon found himself making good money playing traditional and current (late 70's) country in local bands every weekend and the next 20 years were spent off and on the road. Punk, pop, rockabilly, polka, blues, new country, old country, whatever... Joe played it all. Sometimes it was guitar, sometimes it was bass or drums. He met his first wife while playing the part of Ringo in a Beatles tribute band! All the while Joe was learning about songs. How to write 'em and to record 'em. 

 A move in the early part of 2001 to Nova Scotia was, in many ways, the start of Joe Fournier's current career. After having exhausted his creativity and enthusiasm in Ontario, Joe decided that the east coast was where to recharge. Together with his girlfriend, they bought a little shack by the ocean and proceeded to rebuild it into a living/studio space. The idea was to open a cafe and forget about music for a while. 

 It was while bangin' and sawin' that he started getting ideas for the kind of songs he'd never written before. Songs that drew on his country roots, personal experiences and crazy characters met while gigging and traveling all those years. In no time there was enough material to fill two albums. By January 2002, at age 41, Joe had recorded his first CD and sent it out into the world. In no time flat he was fielding calls from publishers and managers from Sweden to Nashville. 

 Joe received rave reviews for Raw Sugar Shed, released in the summer of 2002, and his follow up Whiskey Stars (2003). He's toured around Canada, England and Sweden to enthusiastic crowds, showcased on three stages at the 2003 East Coast Music Awards and received MIANS nominations for best songwriter, best male vocalist and best country/roots album. Joe has also appeared with the likes of Fred Eaglesmith, Tom Russell, Robbie Fulks and Sarah Harmer ... just to name a few. 

 Joe still plays the first real acoustic his folks bought him in 1972 - a 30+ year old beat up Yamaha with many stories scratched and worn into it's surfaces. You can hear it all over his next CD - Three Chord MacGyver.