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"This neighborhood guide gives both the local residents as well as out of town tourists a one-stop website for everything that is Chicago."
C. Bupp, Chicago
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Next Chicago Appearance: The Wild Goose, June 1
From the band:
Simply put, Mighty Joe is a musical powerhouse. With a strong vocal presentation, simple melodies, precise musicianship, & powerful lyrics, Mighty Joe is a singer with conscience. Accompanied mostly by an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, he has been compared to Woody Guthrie, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, and John Prine (just to name a few). Mighty Joe has a song for all occasions, his subject matter ranging from bigotry to alcoholism, abuse to patriotism, inner struggle to personal triumph. With insight & understanding, Mighty Joe possesses the rare gift of addressing issues (whether serious or comical) from his own point of view while speaking for others at the same time. He is truly a voice of his generation & generations to come. His only controversy is his determination to speak his mind through song in any situation.
With the idea of writing good song lyrics in mind, MJ received an English degree from Concordia University in River Forest, IL & was a high school teacher on Chicago’s south side before crossing over into full-time music in 1999. Since then, Joe has averaged 250 gigs per year. Awarded ‘Best Acoustic Performer’ by Chicagoland’s Suburban Nitelife Magazine in their annual Reader’s Poll (consecutively for 3 years), MJ’s performances promise spontaneity, audience response & participation, & a strong musical presentation which is both off-the-cuff yet professional. A good example of this is the ‘Mighty Joe Live’ CD, recorded in Blue Island, IL & engineered by Jeff Deeth. While performing mostly as a solo act, you may also find Joe performing with a backup band, as in his recently released 7th CD, a 2006 studio effort entitled ‘balance’. Mighty Joe CD’s are available at Val’s Halla in Oak Park, on CDbaby.com, & also at mightyjoemusic.com/discs.htm.
With family roots that go back to Northern Ireland, MJ calls the Oak Park area home, & performs locally, throughout the Midwest, & overseas as well.
©2007 The Local Tourist |