FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
1. THE PONY INTERVIEW WITH JODY JOSEPH
2. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
This Week at The Stone Pony: Gary U.S. Bonds (Friday), Nutcracker Ball featuring Monster Magnet (Saturday)
Happy Holidays from The Stone Pony!
New on the Stone Pony Calendar: Steel Train (January 2), Models & Music "Unsigned Stars" TV Pilot Live Filming (January 3), Dirty Wednesdays with the Dirty Water Dogs (January 7 and 14), Mountain (January 17), Bad Medicine (The Ultimate Tribute to Bon Jovi) (January 23), Blue Highways with Buddy Cage (January 24), Gavin DeGraw (January 30), Bonnie Bramlett (February 21), North Mississippi All Stars (February 22)
The Official Stone Pony
Store now online!
We're proud to announce the debut of our brand new Official Stone Pony
Online Store! The store has a widely expanded assortment of items and is
ready to serve you right now with secure online ordering. Do your
last-minute holiday gift giving with a visit to the all-new
Official Online Store.
JODY JOSEPH AND THE AVERAGE JOES RETURNS WITH GARY U.S. BONDS TO CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS DECEMBER 26
A regular performer on the legendary Pony stage for fifteen years, Jody Joseph personifies the New Jersey musical legacy. Born with a musical pedigree, her family tree includes Jon Bon Jovi and opera singer Mario Lanza, Joseph was born in the Garden State and absorbed the rock, pop and soul vibes of the area and integrated them into her own personal and introspective songwriting. With her latest band, The Average Joes, backing her on a steady diet of gigs around the Jersey shore, Joseph and company were finalists in the Stone Pony House Band Search earlier this year. Now, supporting their latest CD, the band returns on Friday night, December 26, along with Gary U.S. Bonds and Matt Curran, to rock the Pony and celebrate the holidays. The Pony Newsletter spoke to Joseph about her history and current plans, and how she plans to spend the New Year.
The Stone Pony: Your current CD is “Ain’t Done Yet,” a collection of live tracks and demo recordings. Can you elaborate on the material on the CD, when and where it was recorded and how fans can get their hands on a copy? Does the band have any plans to put together a new studio album?
Jody Joseph: I slanted the sound to a "bluezier" feel influenced by my musical director / producer Dave Mac. A lot of people were asking for another CD with the material we are currently doing and we knew it would take awhile to get another full-blown CD out there, so we decided to release the bootleg. Some of the songs were recorded right from the sound board at the Pony; a couple were from a live radio show on WBJB 90.5; a few were from the live show at Brookdale College, and some were done with a microphone and a guitar in my house.
Copies can be had at any show we do and also by e-mailing me at jodyjoseph@aol.com. We plan on going into the studio in the New Year.
The Stone Pony: You’ve been performing for about 20 years. Talk about how you first got into performing and started writing music. What are some of your early memories of performing in front of people, and what was your first paid gig?
JJ: Boy, you want me to go way back. Uh, I was bartending at a local bar and the guy that was playing there gave me a shot at singing a song, and then it all began. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I have the same feeling now as I did then: I get paid for this?
No, really, I think it was a Ground Round.
The Stone Pony: When was your current band, the Average Joes, assembled, who are the members of the band and how was everything put together? How does this group feel in comparison to other players that you’ve performed with over the years?
JJ: Two years ago. Dave Mac, Kevin Ward, Joe Tripps, Hughy Tatlow, with occasional appearances by Gary Tripps. Joe Tripps and I are the original Joes, and as we kept moving forward we lost some in the travel and commitment along the way. These guys now have been with me the longest and I feel (for the most part) we’re all on the same stage. I think they're here for the long road.
The Stone Pony: Shortly after putting the Average Joes together, you participated in the Stone Pony House Band search competition at the club last year. How was that experience for you as a band, and what did it tell you about the state of the local music industry and your role within it?
JJ: I think that convinced us that we were more than a bar band. Don’t get me wrong, we still play the circuit (you almost have to to keep the band together) but it put us on the map and gave us faith in our original material. I have faith in what this state can do for an artist. I think it went away for a while, but now I'm seeing this change more and more. This is good.
The Stone Pony: In the past, you've spoken about the source of your songwriting coming from a “well of pain so deep ... [that] I can always dip into it and never, ever, have it be empty.” Do you find than when you’re singing songs written about difficult experiences, that those emotions come back to you? Do you find writing therapeutic for you and has it helped you to deal with issues from your past?
JJ: Sometimes, I get so caught up in that emotion, I cry. I don’t know if it’s from pain or a sense of relief that I’m not living that experience anymore. Writing has been free therapy for me; it is how I bleed, how I release. When something happens in my life that overwhelms me emotionally, the first thing I do is find my journal.
The Stone Pony: How does your songwriting perspective differ from other artists, since you’ve gone through a time as a single mother? Do you feel that your style of writing is more mature or better-developed since you have had these life experiences? Do you find yourself drawing into your past for new material, or are there things going on in your life today that you feel moved to write about?
JJ: I think, over the years, I have developed a more spiritual side to my writing. Sometimes I feel it’s a form of prayer. A lot of times, people think a song is to someone that has affected me, when, in fact, it’s to God. I want people to draw out what they need from my writing. I wrote it for me to understand me a little better; take what you need and leave what you don’t.
The Stone Pony: You’ve become a regular on the Stone Pony stage, and will be headlining at the show on December 26th. Can you remember the first time you performed at the Pony, and what have you thought about the changes at the club over the years? How does the Pony rank among the rooms you perform in on a regular basis?
JJ: Isn’t that a great thing? We love playing [the Pony]. I don’t know, maybe it’s the ghosts of all the legends that have graced that stage.
I think the first time I performed there was about 15 years ago. I’ve only noticed the changes over the past year. I like that they care about the local artists. I hope they stay true to that. It’s one of my favorite places to hang my hat on.
The Stone Pony: In addition to your on-stage career, you also teach music and performance in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. How does your experience as a performer translate to your teaching, and are there lessons about being on stage or navigating the business that you try to impart to your students? What is the first piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to have a career in music?
JJ: That I’m still on stage, I believe, has motivated a lot of my students. I can’t imagine not performing. I don’t paint a pretty picture for them, that’s for sure. I tell them straight up what they’re gonna be up against, and even if you give it all you got there’s no guarantee. I encourage them to cross train, so I teach not just singing tech but performing and some beginner guitar and piano. I strongly feel you need to have a very rounded background.
The Stone Pony: What have you done to keep your voice in performing shape for so many years, and what is the training that you pass on to your students to keep their voices ready to perform? How often do you practice and what sort of vocal exercises do you do on a regular basis?
JJ: Well, let's see. I do warm-ups with my students six days a week for about two hours a day, if I added it all up. They kinda keep me in shape.
My advice is that singing correctly is effortless. Relax, feel it and sing thru your eyes.
The Stone Pony: What are your goals for the band in 2004; and what new projects can fans expect to see in the New Year? Are you planning to perform or tour outside of the New Jersey area, and what are you hoping will be some of your musical accomplishments over the next several months?
JJ: Our goal is studio bound in the New Year. We hope to have the record ready for independent release by this summer. Also, to do more shows based on our original songs. We would love to go outside of Jersey. If the chance comes up, we’re spreading our wings.
Wherever my music takes me, that’s where I need to be. I believe that now more than I ever did.
Jody Joseph and the Average Joes' official website can be found at www.jodyjoseph.net.
Now at AsburyPark.net:
"Asbury Park ... A New Day," the latest column from City
Councilwoman Catherine "Kate" Mellina. "Asbury Park activism
definitely isn't for the faint-hearted, as we learned after opening a
gallery here in 1996. We'd been homeowners since 1988, but it wasn't until I
quit my professional job and started spending every day on Cookman Avenue
that we really began to appreciate what a challenge rebuilding Asbury Park
would be."
Thursdays at the Stone Pony: Ladies Night
The hottest Thursday night continues with Ladies Night
at The Stone Pony. Music by DJ Prime spinning the best in house, hip
hop, reggae and trance, 18 to enter, 21 to drink, ID a must! Doors
open at 9:30 pm, dress to impress! 25 cent Budweiser drafts 'till 11
pm, $1 drafts after 11, $2 shot specials all night. Comes see for
yourself why Thursday nights are the hottest with Ladies Night at the Pony!
