Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
This band has no press
Discography
Everywhere You Go 2004 Children's CD
Great Big World 2001 Children's CD
I Am Baby 1997 Children's CD
Joe Ho Ho 1992 Children's Cassette
Look What We Did 1990 Adult Music Cassette
Grains of Faith 1988 Adult Music Cassette
Anything Is Possible 1988 Children's Cassette
Einie Meenie Minie Joe 1986 Children's Cassette
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Biography Contact: Louise McDermott
(512) 339-9528
Joe McDermott
Joe McDermott is a nationally recognized childrens artist based in Austin, Texas. In 1982, after graduating from the University of Texas with a bachelors degree in Fine Arts. Five years later, he opened his own preschool, The Phoenix School, in Central Austin. Since childhood, Joe has possessed a notable talent for music. He learned to play the drums at eight, and the guitar in his teens. While teaching pre-school, Joe realized that children were an unending source of inspiration for songwriting. His first childrens recording was a tape he and the school children recorded as a Christmas gift for the parents. To date, he has written and released five childrens recordings. His first nationally distributed CD entitled, I Am Baby, won a Parents Choice Recommended Honor in 1998; and his 2001 national release, Great Big World, and his 2003 release, Everywhere You Go, have both won the esteemed Parents Choice Silver Honor Award. Joe was honored with his first NAPPA Gold Award for Everywhere You Go, which includes the Childrens Music Web Award winning song, Baby Kangaroo. This song also captured a second place prize in the International Song Writing Contest, Childrens Division in 2005, and is in regular rotation on the childrens channel of XM Radio.
McDermotts proficient songwriting abilities enabled him to compose music for childrens video games and educational software. One project teamed Joe with Stan and Jan Berenstain, authors of the classic Berenstain Bears books. Impressed by Joes work, author Stan Berenstain enlisted him to adapt ten of their books to song. After working with Joe, Stan Berenstain said, Joe McDermott is not only a magnificent songwriter, hes also an absolute wizard at communicating with children through music.
Spring of 2004 was a particular high point as Joe was the featured guest for the Austin Symphony Orchestras Spring Family Concert, in which six of his songs were converted to full symphonic arrangement under the expert wand of maestro Raffaele Ponti. Intrigued with sharpening his composition skills, Joe hopes to arrange more songs for orchestra, and tour this production throughout the United States.
Residing in Austin, Texas with his wife and three incredible children, Joe balances an active performance schedule along side a continuous writing and recording schedule. He is personally involved with several charities that serve the local children. And once again, Joe finds himself sharing his musical skills and experience to a future generation as a Music Faculty member at Austin Community College.
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