Joe Wilson
Bogota, New Jersey, United States | SELF
Music
Press
“ONCE UPON A TIME makes Feeling Left Out a twosome worthy of some
spotlight. Hell, the album drew me in from the get-go.”
- SKRATCH Magazine - SKRATCH Magazine
“This is made for a road trip, wind the window down, let the sun burst down upon you and crank up the volume and see where the music guides you.”
- Static Domain - Static Domain
“FLO never restrict themselves to the "rules" of acoustic music. They add a wide range of musical devices to make each song complete.”
- The Punk Site.com - The Punk Site.com
It's amazing how different one guy with a guitar can sound from another; happily, Joe Wilson arrived in the mailbox among the Jack Johnson and American Idol wannabes. He brought with him post-emo lyrics and catchy melodies, opening with a sweet manifesto: "Go quit your job Joe and do what you do ... write that brave song that strong song the 'I did nothing wrong song.'" And then he sings of loss and loneliness over charming acoustic pop. - meredith - 75 or less
Joe Wilson and Andy Badac
i keep telling joe and andy i wake up with "steady hands" in my head in the morning. it's such a killer song. this was andy's first time playing at bar4 and the first time these two have played "steady hands" live. so that alone made it a landmark night. the blend between joe and andy's voices is just incredible. i could hardly keep still. meanwhile one of the PA guys was going into some kind of ecstatic frenzy, screaming, knee-slapping, falling all over the couch, calling joe and andy's names, calling for a cover of "hallelujah." calling so loud that the cops came. sweet jesus! a regular walked by and said, "is it ok that i'm a little bit in love with joe right now?" and i said, "of course it is. EVERYONE in here is a little bit in love with joe."
andy writes these incredibly singable, catchy tunes. especially "steady hands." i've listened to that song way too many times. it just makes me happy.
joe is in every way an inspiration to me to work harder and do more. he has built a strong, loyal fan base all on his own with a combination of talent, brains, and hard work. meanwhile, he's getting ready to go out on a tour of the US and completing a new album. i'd be completely and totally jealous if he didn't so completely deserve it. his voice/playing/songs are freaking awesome and he will rock your face (ha!). - Local Correspondents Website
Discography
Feeling Left Out Running on Empty – 4 Song Demo
Released April, 2001
1. My Heart Is In Your Hands
2. Goodbye My Friend
3. Rocky Dennis
4. Spilled Milk
Feeling Left Out Mr. Everything I’m Not – 6 Song EP
Released November, 2001
1. Last But Not Least
2. Telephone Wires
3. Gravy Fries and Dirty Lollipops
4. Most Accidents Occur 10 Miles From Your House
5. Best of Both Worlds
6. At Arm's Length
Feeling Left Out Wish Me Luck – 6 Song EP
Released November, 2002
1. Enough About Me
2. Would You Like Something to Drink?
3. Unspoken Word
4. Amanda's Poem About Unicorns
5. Keep Me Company
6. Without Regret
Feeling Left Out Two to the Chest to Remember, One to the Head to Forget – 14 Song LP
Released August, 2003
1. Enough About Me
2. Would You Like Something To Drink?
3. Gravy Fries And Dirty Lollipops
4. Tell Me Where It Hurts
5. Unspoken Word
6. Telephone Wires
7. Last But Not Least
8. Best Of Both Worlds
9. Goodbye My Friend
10. Amanda's Poem About Unicorns
11. Spilled Milk
12. Keep Me Company
13. At Arm's Length
14. Without Regret
Feeling Left Out Once Upon A Time – 8 Song EP
Released March, 2004
1. Intro
2. Goodnite
3. Replaceable Parts
4. Razor
5. Crowbar
6. If Only To Hear Your Say
7. Once Upon A Time
8. Breathe
Joe Wilson A Day In My Shoes – 11 Song LP
Released April, 2006
1. The New Song
2. You Can't Be Wise And In Love At The Same Time
3. Even The Flux Capacitor Can't Save Us Now
4. Facing The Wall
5. Furniture
6. Stay Happy
7. If You'd Let Me
8. I Wish You Well
9. The Last 3 Years
10. My First Heart Attack
11. You Can't Be Wise And In Love At The Same Time (Alternate Version)
Joe Wilson On The Mend – 5 Song EP
Released June, 2008
1. Seattle
2. Downtown Oakland
3. A Different Life
4. If Everything Is Truly As It Should Be
5. This Time Next Year
Joe Wilson To Build or Burn - 10 Song LP
To Be Release March, 2011
1. In The Safety of Sleep (Who You're Giving Your Love To)
2. Severed
3. Our Ending
4. My Jersey Girl
5. Sometimes
6. Give
7. The Safest Place
8. Jump Ship
9. Seattle
10. The Ballad of Billy
Photos
Bio
A Fender Telecaster guitar hanging over the shoulder of a New Jersey born singer is a familiar sight, and the sound that emanates from those six strings is just as recognizable. Joe Wilson is very aware of the footsteps he is following in and the sound he is trying to create with his band: a traditional American Rock and Roll sound. It only seems fitting that their first show was at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ - right across the street from where Wilson met Bruce Springsteen.
Fans of Wilson's music through the years have always held a strong focus on the subject matter of his songs about new relationships, love gone wrong, and the joy and cruelty in the world. The songs on Wilson's first effort with his band titled, To Build or Burn - scheduled for release in early 2011 - are no different, summoning the lost love stories found on of Dylan's Blood on the Tracks and Springsteen's Tunnel of Love. Though the music and energy in which these stories are told sounds more like NJ heroes The Gaslight Anthem.
"Springsteen and Dylan have had a huge influence on my writing over the last few years. Aside from respecting them on a musical level, I also found myself connecting to them on a personal level after my life started veering off from what I had originally intended," says Wilson. "Once that started to happen, I turned to the albums they wrote while they were going through their struggles in hopes it would give me some guidance in my own life."
What emerged were a collection of songs that range from dealing with Wilson's engagement falling to pieces in songs like Our Ending, The Safety of Sleep and Severed to the hopeful optimism of The Safest Place and straight up catchy-as-all-hell chorus of My Jersey Girl.
Wilson has been around the block a few times. His first band Welcome Home Travis helped to shape the sound of the early 00's NJ indie-rock scene while sharing the road on multiple tours with Taking Back Sunday and the early version of A Wilhelm Scream. His next venture was acoustic duo Feeling Left Out (signed to LLR Records by Johnny Minardi - Paramore, Gym Glass Heroes) who supported Dashboard Confessional, Vanessa Carlton and Kevin Devine. After FLO disbanded, a solo-acoustic venture took him on a cross-country tour sharing the stage with the likes of Aaron Abeyta ('El Hefe' of NOFX), Anthony Raneri of Bayside, John Wesley Harding and culminating in a packed house at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, CA. From there Wilson served as lead vocalist in We're All Broken for a short stint while sharing the road with The Gaslight Anthem on their 59 Sound album release shows as well as sharing the stage with American Steel, Good Charlotte and The Maine.
Fueled by the energy he picked up during his trips to Asbury Park finally led him to the decision to form a band that would sound exactly like what he always envisioned: a traditional American Rock and Roll band. He asked his old drummer from We're All Broken, Casey Lee Morgan (of The Forever Endeavour, Lanemeyer) to back him on drums, enlisted guitarist Brett Algera (a friend of former FLO band-mate Andy Badac), and longtime FLO fan Matt Meola to round out the group on bass. The result: a traditional American Rock and Roll band rooted in guitar-driven melodies, driving beats, and honest, heartfelt lyricism.
Though Wilson has accrued over 1,000,000 listens online, been on multiple national tours, and sold thousands of physical CDs and over tens of thousands of digital downloads and song streams online, he's more excited about what the future holds.
"I've had some great experiences in the last decade of playing music and I'm totally grateful for all of it, but I still feel the best is yet to come," says Wilson. "I feel these songs are the best representation of where I'm at musically right now. "
Although this is the first album from Wilson and a new band, the songs and mindset are coming from an old soul looking to grow young again.
Career Highlights:
- Supported Vanessa Carlton, Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, Third Eye Blind, The Rocket Summer, Bayside, Hey Mercedes, Armor For Sleep, The Spill Canvas, Koufax, Copeland, Kevin Devine and others.
- Accrued over 1,000,000 listens on MySpace and PureVolume music websites.
- Played nearly 300 shows since 2001, completed over 10 national tours, sold over 7,000 CDs, accrued over 75,000 digital downloads/listens through digital distribution (iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, etc.)
- Ranked in Top 10 Unsigned New Jersey Acoustic Artists on MySpace Music Charts and Top 10 out of 100 Top Unsigned Artists on PureVolume Acoustic Charts
- Accepted into the 2007 Williamsburg Brooklyn Songwriter Competition for the song 'Seattle'
List of Colleges Played:
- Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY w/ Dashboard Confessional
- Siena College in Loudonville, NY
- Duke University in Durham, NC
- Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ
- Stevens Tech College in Hoboken, NJ
- NJIT
Links
