Joe Griffin
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Joe Griffin

Band Rock Singer/Songwriter

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This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Illinois Entertainer Review 1"

"It was a pleasant surprise when the music turned out to be the best produced stuff of anything else reviewed this month. Griffin has a strong, smooth tenor, and...a truly talented band (there don't seem to be that many of them sometimes)!" - Illinois Entertainer


"Schizopolis!"

Joe Griffin's "Rough Cut Love" is loaded with infectious pop hooks, impeccable classic rock sensibilities, and seasoned with a dash of alt-rock spiciness. A departure from his previous work with the experimental garage-band Donny Who Loved Bowling, the songwriting here is more mature, the musicianship experienced, and the lyrical craftsmanship poetic. "Rough Cut Love" marks the impressive emergence of Joe Griffin as a creative force to be reckoned with, and one that should easily win the hearts and ears of all who take the time to listen. -- Vince Font, "Schizopolis" Internet Radio Show - The Dividing Line


"Illinois Entertainer Review 1"

"It was a pleasant surprise when the music turned out to be the best produced stuff of anything else reviewed this month. Griffin has a strong, smooth tenor, and...a truly talented band (there don't seem to be that many of them sometimes)!" - Illinois Entertainer


Discography

--"Rough Cut Love," full-length CD, 2006. Tracks from "Rough Cut Love" have been played on the Creot Radio podcast (creotradio.net) and the Progopolis! internet radio show(http://www.thedividingline.com/p.html). mp3s are available from the Joe Griffin website and myspace page (myspace.com/joegriffinband).

--"Just For the Record," track on Marillion tribute CD "Hope For The Future," 2000.

--3 tracks on "Rock Out HIV," a benefit CD for AIDS research, 1999.

--"The Only One/Day For Dancing" 7" single, 1994.

--"Graphic Novel" full-length cassette release, 1994.

Photos

Bio

Joe Griffin writes hooky, odd guitar pop/rock inspired by and recalling the work of such giants as The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty and Ziggy-era David Bowie. Praise from the Illinois Entertainer spanning the last decade includes such laudatory phrases as "truly talented" and "rich, strong vocals," as well as slightly puzzling ones like "intelligent guitars."

Joe Griffin has been playing guitar and performing music for thirty years. During his musical career he has performed and/or recorded with numerous Chicago bands including the Others, Question of Honour, and The Radio Hour. During the 1990s and early 2000s he honed his stagecraft playing to every type of crowd, from intimate coffeehouse sets to rowdy, boisterous fraternity parties, to the thousands of attendees of the 2005 and 2006 Chicago Auto Shows. His solo acoustic shows are always intense and compelling, as well as unpredictable. Joe loves to entertain; he's likely to bust into just about any song the crowd calls out for, if he knows it; he's equally likely to pull out an old song by Syd Barrett, Eubie Blake or even Dolly Parton and give it his own spin.

For full-band shows, Joe is joined by his brother Peter, the powerhouse drummer for Chicago hard rock act Braintree, as well as veteran fretless bass virtuoso John Toljanic and Mike Przygoda, guitarist for the critically-acclaimed Cynics. This lineup allows the musical depth and complexity of Joe's music to be fully realized onstage.