9+1 Q&A with Joe Friend Band

What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

As early as I can remember, swinging my legs in my car seat while my mom played Supertramp, George Harrison, Stevie Wonder, etc., I feel like the music was in me.

For JFB current incarnation, after a series of moves from Philadelphia, to New York, to Los Angeles, I was out of touch with the local music community and decided to pursue songwriting as an independent artist.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

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Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

JFB creates Independent Alternative Psychedelic Rock. “Seven|Seven” is an 11-song album in the vein of Stone Temple Pilots “No. 4”, The Apples In Stereo “Fun Trick Noisemaker”, Pavement “Crooked Rain / Crooked Rain”, The Dandy Warhols “Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia”, and other independent alternative psychedelic rock staples.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

The sound of JFB is a driving, hovering between psychedelic rock and, at times, shoegazer, with some stylistic diversions across the 11 tracks; the lyrics are the tie that binds.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

– Albums: Miles Davis, In A Silent Way; The Beatles, Abbey Road; Smashing Pumpkins, Siamese Dream

– Movies: Chinatown, Jaws, Blade Runner *either

– Books: Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice; Mark Leyner, Et Tu Babe; Graham Greene, Our Man In Havana

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

I wax and wane on this over the years – presently I enjoy being in the studio to give time and space for ideas to evolve and take shape.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

We performed one night as the opening band for a not-to-be-named headliner at a club in Philly and just blew the doors off the place… so much so, the headliner came on stage and made mention of not bothering to top that.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

While an album is never truly your own, given producers, engineers, the ear of the mastering pro, I think that Haircut is a lot of fun – it has a poppy crunch and hook, but I was glad to keep a nice, repetitious ‘space jam’ in the middle.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

To keep making music.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

What are the dials featured on the ‘Seven|Seven’ album cover?

Those dials are the front plate of my old 1969 Fender Twin Reverb. I bought this amplifier from a coworker whose father had it in his attic for decades. It was the loudest thing I’ve ever hear and there was no way to dial it back to play it at even a reasonable volume for practicing and such. Plus it weighed about a thousand pounds, the bottom portion was basically a lead plate to keep the thing from tipping over. It moved with me from Philly to New York, but I could not justify shipping it across country when I move. It was sold to a wonderful jazz musican, who I hope is appreciating it to this day.

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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