Joley Flowers

Joley: Where's the free food?

John: I am not a sissy.

Joe: Ahhhhhhh, retirement.

Dan: It's a Mach piece.

The streets of Austin. You never know who you might pick up. Just look on the No. 1 North Lamar city bus sometime.

Joley. La jefe, creator, inspirer, absentminded professor. Demented lefty. Band cook, when she remembers. Quick -- look busy!

John hosts Christian music night every Monday at Mozart's. One day I (Joley speaking) moved in on his scene and bribed him with endless root beer and home-cooked meals into playing my original songs. Why? Because he forgets to eat. He in turn said I was abusive and proceeded to work with me for the next 6 years. So here we are. Read below for the first-class miracles that happened between us...

John & Dan. They're sort of a package deal, since they played together in their long-hair days with Lust Control. John's long-hair days are still with us today -- but what about his Lust Control? Dan's married and doesn't have to address that issue... focuses instead on keeping us in giggle fits. Yes, guys can have giggle fits.

For some reason Joe relocated in Austin from San Diego (What were ya thinkin'?!). You can't prove he was in the military. Plays with a hip group called Mosaic, plus some crazy metal acts. Bring ear plugs for those groups -- scoff -- but not for us. Look carefully 'cos Joe could turn sideways and you'd miss him.

We fly Dan and Joe in when their other bands give them the night off. Otherwise, the duet thing is nice and mellow, with an occasional zing.

Now for the miraculous transformation portion of our bio...
Joley's originals sound like Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell, Sheryl Crow, Al Green, Carly Simon, Annie Lennox, Anita Baker, Swing Out Sister. So we've heard. What do YOU say? John had never played any of these, and I thought his easy-listening picking was trite. Hokey. Cheesy. But to get him to play my tunes, I had to learn his repertoire. When I deferred to his song selection, weird things happened.

Joley explains. "Playing with John has taught me the selfless art of tugging at people's emotions, moving them to tears of pure honesty, by playing the perfect song at the perfect time."

John echoes, "Joley began performing the sweet tunes I hold most dear, adding the magical missing element of flute, capturing the core of what I wished to put forth. Then, almost unexpectedly, her passion for clever, flashy jazz and heart-honest blues began rubbing off on me. She opens up hidden reaches of my talents and stretches me like a rubber band. The songs she writes amaze me, and I love to play them so the world can hear."

In short, we're good together because God turned both of us into saps.

Almost as sappy as our token satisfied customer, Jean: "My husband, Mark, and I first met Joley and John in 2004 when they were playing at Bistro 88. We stayed for several hours just to listen and to talk with them and even danced where there was no dance floor. Joley has perfected three beautiful instruments piano, flute, and her voice. John makes the guitar sing! The songs I enjoyed the most turned out to be Joley's original songs! I hosted a 50th birthday party for Mark a few months later and knew the only entertainment choice for the party was Joley and John. I did not tell Mark they were coming and the look on his face when Joley walked in was priceless. The birthday boy was thrilled. They performed outside on our deck where our guest danced and sang along and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Everyone asked where we found them, and one couple booked them that night for their Christmas party that was 6 months away. Their music set the tone for our friends' Christmas party, which was a huge success. The same friends hosted another Christmas party the following year. We had originally declined because we would be out of town until we heard Joley and John would be there again. We spent 8 hours in the car that day to make it back in time for the party! We left that night with Joley's newest CD. I had to leave her a voice mail message when we arrived home asking why we havent seen her at the Grammys yet. I fully expect to see her there soon (for once the show will be worth watching)!"

Joley's irresistable inspirations: The Beatles, Charlie Peacock, Stevie Wonder, Ashley Cleveland, Harry Connick Jr., Rich Mullins, Bonnie Raitt, Phil Keaggy, Annie Lennox, say when... No pluralism.

John's sissy faves: Waterdeep, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Jeni Varnadeau, Jaci Velasquez, Stryper

Dan & Joe: Guys? Um... , guys?