We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joe Savidge a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Joe, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I’m in a three-piece band on Whidbey Island called Budge. I play guitar, Donald Singleton plays bass, Brian Pike plays drums, and we all write and sing rock-and-roll songs of love, heartbreak and punk rebellion. Our collective rock-and-roll DNA is heavily composed of blues, country and punk roots, and a jazzer’s instinct to weave and improvise around each other. The most important ingredient lies at the core: FUN!
My band history is short. I co-founded and was in The RagAbouts from 2006-2009. I co-founded The SawTones in San Diego with Tony Ford in 2021, for only a few, but important, months. I played many acoustic dinner shows with Tony through that year, which was perfect training for 2022, whereupon I returned to Washington State and did a string of solo shows. I got to a point where I didn’t have the steam to continue and stayed home writing and playing. Last October, Donald and I finally made plans to jam after over a year of orbiting around each other. He said he knew a drummer that would fit well. Enter Pikey! He goes from Charlie Watts to Keith Moon in a wink of his eye. Each of them are brilliant songwriters. Donald holds down mountain-heavy, melodic bass lines with shining accompaniment. Both of them can expand into space and come back for the big bang. It’s been a true blessing to play with these cats and witness our music and friendship grow. We did a few unadvertised, nameless shows, then one day realized we’d been playing weekly for seven months! We became Budge and have our sixth official show since May coming up soon.
After so many years between bands playing and writing by myself I remembered in The SawTones how special it is to share music with others. And now in Budge we co-write songs, weave, and make each other laugh and smile as we ride the waves of rock and roll. It’s what music is all about, the brotherhood and sisterhood. That we spread messages of love, fun and rebellion, and that we initiate catharsis for the heartbreak and loneliness of life, provides extra-meaningful spark.
Joe, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
As a kid I never had musical ambition or talent but I always loved listening to music. Potent, clever lyrics and ripping guitars always spoke to me. Memorizing lyrics was a must. Music brought a strange mix of levity and defiance to this youngster’s soul. I picked up a guitar at age 15 and every time I put it down it nags me to pick it up again.
My musical grab-bag is blues and rock-and-roll with all its rootsy accoutrements. I perform solo shows and also with the band called Budge. I am a bluesman traveling this path sharing stories of my heart’s experiences through song. My aim is to heal people with music, whether the emotional-release method is love, freedom, heartbreak, happiness, sad-bad blues, fun, rebellion or free-spiritedness.
I’m most proud that last November I released the last track of the JUMPIN’ BLUES EP, recorded March 2023 at Inner Groove Studios in Minneapolis, MN, and of the four tracks, “Pretty Penny” and “Jumpin’ Blues” were played by rock pioneer and soul sister Genya Ravan on her once-monthly show Goldie’s Garage on Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel on Sirius XM! It’s an incredible honor to have hit her ears. Her kind words reinforced my mission at hand and injected a boost of action into my work ethic, which was good timing with the origins of Budge. Thank you, Genya! You and your music bring me light!
Soon I’m releasing my second rap single “Pressure”, beat made and produced by Ike Watson. It’s the long-awaited-follow up to my first rap single “H.B.I.C.” released a year ago. I’ve spent a year off this project. I put massive effort into writing eight of fourteen tracks the first half of last year, and recording weekly, but I wasn’t achieving recordings I liked. Per my contract with Ike Watson, I get one vocal take per track. It’s tough to get a smooth take through verses and choruses all at once. A live, raw spontaneity shines in each track. Tony Ford told me I had one demo that made him feel like he was cruising down the highway listening to Snoop, while others were like watching Gallagher. Haha! He knows how to make a person think. I ripped into the raps with a bit too much rock-and-roll gas a la “Pretty Penny”. I burned out on the project and let Tony’s advice marinate while adjusting my tonal delivery. I’m also proud that I recently recorded “Pressure” at Rockin’ Dolphin Records, the recording studio I built into my 1985 Dolphin RV. Tracks will be recorded there, then mixed and mastered by Tony Ford of LongShot RockStar Records.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Having tuned into a way of expressing myself that creates emotional response in others and makes people move really floors me. It’s magical and I treasure the experience.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Society should fill its homes with great lighting and surround sound, then buy more music, paintings, books and artwork. The more society treasures its creative people, the more demand there will be to support and pay attention to the artistic talent brimming over on Earth. Being a part of society, artists also have a role in furthering society’s interest and engagement. It begins with the individual artist bringing forth their crafts and dreams from the pit of their heart. And I believe the more that artists work together to build vibrant scenes, and the more we collaborate with our peers on projects and share mutual goals and visions, the more reach we will have into all that great lighting and surround sound that fans and aficionados can’t live without. Great artists turn neutral observers into active participants. Next thing you know, society makes love not war. Sounds dreamy, right?
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/joesavidgebluze
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100073987237857&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: linktr.ee/joesavidge
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@joesavidgebluze9318?si=_5DaeB_2a9TkyG-h
Image Credits
Bekah Zachritz
Tony Ford
Sophie Dudley
Joe Savidge
Frank of Ogre’s Brewing
Gregg Fergel
Budge poster by Loretta