Photo of Joel Decatur

Joel Decatur

Joel Decatur Radio

Music

FEATURED SONG
Trespass
  1. Play
  2. Play Next
  3. Add to queue
Trespass
Album:
Released: Aug 2, 2011
Label:

General Info

  • Genre: Japanese Classic Music / Rock / Showtunes

    Location FORT COLLINS, Colorado, Un

    Profile Views: 45692

    Last Login: 3/30/2012

    Member Since 2/3/2009

    Website www.reverbnation.com/joeldecatur

    Record Label ZOZO Productions

    Type of Label Indie

  • Bio

    BIO: Passion drives the human spirit. Creative forces align in harmony to develop material from the heart. For Joel Decatur, he looked within his own family to step outside of a heavier musical past and pursue the roots of Rock, combined with a folky edge, with this debut solo album. .. You see, it's all about Trust. .. At the age of 8 Joel already developed a diverse taste in artists that hit his stereo- from Kenny Rogers and Nat King Cole through Michael Jackson, The Beatles and James Taylor, he knew his world would soon move into active instrumentation. 3 years later, after short lived attempts to learn the piano and saxophone, the guitar captivated Joel and started him on the road to even more diversity. .. "Essentially I cut my guitar playing teeth with a heavier approach," Joel explains. "Although, innately I was firmly planted in the blues structure of playing and often played that style when practicing. I remember at an early age Robert Johnson having an impact on me after receiving a boxed set of his entire catalog. While I have always loved and appreciated technical ability, I have always felt stronger connection for music that had passionate delivery, regardless of musical prowess." .. Refining his chops in a progressive metal act from a small college town in Keene, NH Reading Zero, Joel gained the opportunity to record a series of albums, developing a strong fan base from all corners of the globe. Rave reviews in all the great European magazines plus fan mail from the Far East to South America, as well as sharing the stage with some of the heavyweights in the business through the premier power/ progressive metal festival in the US, ProgPower, allowed Joel to discover deeper relationships on all aspects of touring, playing, promotion and performance. .. Leaving the music business after the band members moved to various parts of the United States, Joel focused on life in Colorado with his wife and son Trust. Then at the urging of his wife Laura, Joel embarked on the opportunity of a lifetime: singing for the world renowned rock act Blind Melon. .. "I submitted a few demos as an audition to Blind Melon to be the singer. The demos consisted of the Blind Melon songs "Change" and "Mouthful of Cavities" as well as a song I had specifically wrote for the band called "Trust". Within a few days I had received an email reply as well as phone calls from members of BM. It was a trip talking to these guys as I have been a huge fan since the mid-nineties. I was extremely familiar with their songs and history so it seemed like it could be a good fit - from both sides." .. Joel flew out to Los Angeles and spent a few days with the group, working on older and newer songs vocally as well as considerations for future impending tours here and abroad. Alas, the timing just wasn't right- yet Joel discovered through the process a new avenue to showcase his immense talent. .. "One thing this did for me, was to put my vocals in the spotlight, something I had never done before. So to get such praise from a band I have huge respect for was the push I needed to forge a new path. So, I started to concentrate on writing acoustic songs, taking vocal lessons and really finding my place. It was a huge revelation for me to figure out I can actually sing my own songs. I guess I'm a late bloomer. A whole new world has opened up to me and I couldn't feel more comfortable within that world." .. Joel delves deep into his soul for many of his lyrical inspirations on this album. "I like a lot of dark, romantic imagery- which makes a fair amount of appearances on these songs. A great example of this would be the song Losin' My Mind. It explores a story of a guy losing his grip on reality to the point where he thinks he is dying." .. "Another good example would be the song Ain't Nothin' Gonna Cut Us Down. This is a ballad written for my wife from a slightly different angle. The lyrics put me in the position of having died, but still longing for the company of my wife, my love. Even in death, love can be inspiring." .. As for Trust? Joel's son, living with autism and diagnosed in August of 2008, continues to be a beacon in his life and through this material he hopes to not only make his family proud, but also bring awareness to a community seeking out the best care and answers possible to develop healthy, happy hearts for all. .. "The thing is that 1 out of 100 kids are diagnosed with Autism and the number keeps growing. I'd love to see these kids get the same treatment and therapy as Trust- but it starts with diagnosis. Once there is a word to associate with the symptoms, help is out there and getting better all the time." .. Matt Coe, August 2009

  • Members

    .. For this project, I recruited a top notch team to help produce a dynamic and eclectic group of songs. .. The Team: .. First, I found producer and engineer, Kris Smith. Kris has worked with such artists as: James Taylor, Natalie Merchant, Josh Ritter, among many others. With years of experience at one of New England's top studios (Q-Division), he was a no brainer for this project. .. Kris, then hired an amazing engineer to help capture the basic raw sounds - Joe Tooley. Joe also has been at Q-Division for years and brings a vast amount of experience with many bands and styles. With guidance from Kris, Joe's input and hard work helped this project achieve sonic greatness. .. Musicians appearing on the songs: .. Kris Smith handles all the drum tracks. Kris has some of the steadiest and hardest hitting hands I have heard. Check out Losin' my Mind for a 3 minute snare-roll masterpiece! .. Matt Tahaney handles all bass duties, save for one track. His style is most reminiscent of Paul McCartney. Matt truly added wonderfully melodic and dynamic bass lines, tightening the rhythm section to precision. .. Sam Kassirer of Josh Ritter's band laid down all the piano, keys, organ and vibraphones. Sam is one of the most well-rounded players I have ever met or had the pleasure of playing with. His B3 work is worth the price of admission, alone. Whether the piece called for subtle piano lines or jamming organ bad-assery or beautiful vibes, Sam nailed it! .. Brad Smith from Blind Melon makes an appearance on bass on the track, Trust. What can be said about Brad? He is an amazing bass player with style oozing from every note. I originally wrote Trust for Blind Melon so it was fitting that he plays on this track. .. Nick Duarte from local band Post Paradise adds some guitar and vocals to Bitter Days and additional guitar to Dancing On Our Graves. He has an amazing voice and really added a cool vibe to these tracks. Definitely Check out Post Paradise for some awesome modern rock. .. Amy Morgan, also from Post Paradise, adds some beautiful cello to the track, I Won't Ask. Amy adds such a beautiful melody to this song that it elevated an already pretty song to gorgeous! .. Ryan Spraker from Eli "Paper Boy" Reed & The True Loves, offers some great chicken pickin' banjo in an old school country rocker called Run, Run, Run. Although the song doesn't appear on the EP coming out soon, it will stand on it's on sooner than later. .. Jason Lawrence from NH band, Flawd, provides some great electric violin atmosphere in two cuts, Bitter Days and Dancing On our Graves.

  • Influences

  • Sounds Like

Comments

Post a comment...
10 of 939More

Login

Forgot password?

Need an account? Sign up