joel

What started out as a small collection of songs based on some folk legends about cryptids, has now become a local mainstay of lore and indie rock music. Making allegorical connections between mysterious creatures (like the Mothman & Loch Ness Monster) and his own life, Joel's exploration of the paranormal led beyond just writing spooky stories, but rather to wrestling with existentialism, spirituality, and the human condition. While his original intent was simply to record 3 songs with no official plans to publish or release them, with the help of two long-time friends and drummers, Ryan and Jeremy, Joel produced a thematic collection of songs that would unintentionally change the way he engaged writing forever. Shortly after the spontaneous decision to release the Diversions EP, some of Joel's musician pals took notice, and a rag-tag band was formed. JOEL (the band) played a couple of small shows in 2015 and 2016 but would be short lived. Like the cryptids in his songs, JOEL faded into obscurity.

Then in late 2019, Joel was asked by a friend to be opening support for their album release. Joel and Ryan (drummer) collected the necessary musicians to play they gig, and with a few quick rehearsals, JOEL was back in action. The show was a hit, and just like that, the band had wind in its sails again. Plans were made to continue gigging into the following year… 2020. As was the case for many, in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the band fizzled. JOEL had come and gone yet again. 

Nearly 3 years passed. Late in 2022, with the slow reopening of venues and the return of live music, Joel began writing songs again and thinking about playing solo acoustic gigs. In a similarly unexpected turn of events as before, JOEL (the band) was suddenly brought back to life. Again, Joel and Ryan would seek out close friends, Ryan “The Wiz” to play bass guitar and Owen as a second guitarist. In February of 2023, the band JOEL stepped onto the stage again for the first time and hasn't stopped playing gigs since. Along the way, the band picked up lead guitarist, Greg, who was in many way the missing link to the sound of this new version of JOEL.

With the release of their new album “A Long Walk Home” on August 21, 2026, JOEL is still going strong and continues to build on their solid foundation of friendship and prioritizing time spent together having fun over any other kind of success.

Be sure to keep an eye on the band's local show schedule so that you can experience the spooky story telling and haunting sound of JOEL.