Bassist and 6+ year veteran of the Chicago music scene, Joey Vega is proud to add his name to the pages of Sacred Dawn's history. Best known for his involvement with The Storm, a local Chicago-area 80's Rock/Metal cover band, Joey has been surrounded by music from an early age.
From piano lessons at age 5 to Cello lessons at 9, then eventually settling on Bass in the 6th grade, his childhood was centered around the pursuit of music. Finding a home in the rhythm section, Joey became the "go-to-guy" and pretty much the only bassist for the majority of his Junior High and High School career. Participating in Orchestra, String Ensemble, Concert Band, and Jazz Band, he was exposed to multiple playing styles, as well as varying styles of music in general. He also furthered his musical education by participating in Choir and Theatre as much as possible.
Taking his education in a new direction, he entered college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying Film. While not pursuing music as a major, he still continued to play when he could, whether it was Open Mic Night, or University sponsored talent shows. Throughout his High School and College years, he played bass (and sometimes rhythm guitar or drums) in many bands, such as: Annurism, Duct Tape, The Lovehandles, Brimstone, Mike Ed and Mike, Last Minute, and Orange Jewlius. A final semester of college put an end to his days with Orange Jewlius; however his official emergence into the Chicago music scene was just about to begin.
After returning home from Champaign, he ran into an old drummer he knew from High School. A few short conversations later, they had started The Storm. After weathering (pun intended) multiple setbacks and lineup changes, The Storm finally settled into their groove and set out to establish themselves as the premiere 80s Rock/Metal tribute show in Illinois. Unfortunately due to personality conflicts within the band and the pressure of competing with the overabundance of similarly-styled bands, four years after it began, The Storm was laid to rest.
Since the dissolution of The Storm, Joey entered the next phase of his musical adventures, original music. Taking what was left of his old band, Joey helped found and create Afterlight, an all-original Power Metal outfit. For over 2 years, Joey and the Afterlight crew spent time writing and developing songs that would have brought a new style of metal to the Midwest, but once again, lineup issues kept Afterlight from reaching its full potential. It was through Afterlight and their association with Chicago Music United that he met Lothar and John of Sacred Dawn. When the word got out that Sacred Dawn was searching for a bassist, Joey jumped on the chance to be a part of the SD movement. After a few phone calls and a very promising meeting, Sacred Dawn decided that Joey Vega was the right fit and he definitely agreed.
"SD is outfitted with true professionals. I enjoy working with these guys and am looking forward to the many opportunities that being part of this crew will bring."
-- Joey Vega
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