We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joel Gibson Jr.. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joel below.
Joel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I’ve had a passion for music my whole life. When I got my first guitar when I was 17, and was taught how to chord and read music by a phenomenal musician. I was determined to be able to sing and play at the same time. Once I was able to figure that out, I started writing songs. I really had no direction as far as pursuing a musical career, so I spent many years just playing for family and friends. If I had more confidence in my abilities at that time, I may have started playing live a lot sooner. In my opinion, the most essential skills are confidence, professionalism, humility, and memorizing your music. The music industry can be pretty unforgiving when it comes to competition, so there’s not a lot of mentoring from your peers. You just have to be driven, watch and learn as much as you can and grow your brand and fan base.
Joel, 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?
I am a Country & Rock Artist from Silverdale, Washington. A chance encounter my Wife had with a local musician lead to me going to a local venue and singing a couple songs with him and his band. From that point, I was hooked and felt like I could pursue a career as a live performer. With the encouragement from my Wife, I started playing live in 2017, performing around the region solo acoustic. The positive feedback on my performances and demand for my original music lead us to recording our first solo acoustic EP “Here Up North” of original songs. As our fan base grew, so did the demand for more music, and the necessity for a band so we could book larger venues. In 2018 we found a few incredible local musicians and went into the studio to record our first full band album “Joel Gibson Jr.”. Following the release, we kept working hard to get our name and music out there. Just as our momentum was in full swing, the pandemic hit, and we were shut down and relegated to live streaming. We created the Couch Concert, live on Facebook and we reached so many people. We still do one quarterly, even today because we have so many fans that have never seen us live and look forward to interacting online. My Wife had the idea to do a “Tailgate Tour” and perform socially distanced concerts around our county, from my tailgate! We ended up doing 60 of those in 2020, and it was an overwhelming success. We decided to take it a step further and take the concerts to the water. Our first Anchors Down event drew in over 100 boats, kayaks and paddleboards! We performed live from a pontoon boat in Dyes Inlet and captured the event on video that we turned into our music video for “This Old Town” that can be viewed on our YouTube channel. In 2021, we recorded our second full bad album “Small Town Truth” at the world-renowned Robert Lang Studios in Shoreline, Washington. By the time the pandemic slowed down and live music opened back up, we were more than ready to start touring again. We’re really proud that we were innovative and didn’t just shut down like most other musicians and found ways to stay relevant and perform live. It was that drive that allowed us to be ready for all the opportunities that opened up. Playing in Nashville and Arizona for the first time was an incredible experience, and many of our incredible fans travelled with us to support us! We truly have the most amazing fans, and they continue to motivate us to keep chasing this dream. We are just so grateful and blessed to be this far just 5 years into this journey, and we are full throttle into 2023!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a songwriter is when someone connects with your music and lets you know what it means to them. To have people sing along to songs you wrote is a pretty incredible feeling.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When live music shut down during the pandemic, we shifted gears and found a way to continue playing live. The Tailgate Tour and Anchors Down events grew our brand when nearly everyone else stopped performing. The innovation kept us relevant, and musically sharp. By the time live venues started booking again, our demand was high and we were ready!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joelgibsonjrmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelgibsonjr/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joelgibsonjrmusic
- Twitter: @JoelGibsonJr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQmYyVvWF_Tw41xhR2t69Zw