If you swung by The Stray’s outdoor pop-up event on Oct 3 you would’ve seen artisan tents taking over 43rd Street, the beginnings of our mural painted on the wall, and you might’ve heard the “retro-alternative” sounds of John and Joe carrying out from our hand-built stage, bringing you to an older era of music.
John and Joe are a duo born and raised in Washington state, and now located in Nashville, Tennessee. The two driven, life-long friends create a sound that ranges from 80’s alt-rock to an early 2000’s pop punk. Not letting themselves be locked to one specific genre, they pursue any songs that “get [them] excited and make [them] feel things."
Songs like “Hearts Unknown” will transport you into a synthwave 80’s dream while “She Moves Around” and “Hey You” (our personal favorites) will give you all the hopeless romantic angst you could ever want. The duo also pays respect to their influences with covers like “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”.
When asked about how they got to where they are now, John wrote:
“Joseph and I are 27 now and have been playing in bands together since our freshman year of High School. Back then, we were both just getting a grip with songwriting. Dave Grohl (from Nirvana) once said something like ‘everybody needs to just get into a garage with a few people and be loud and suck’. I would say our High School days were when we did that, as well as learned how to bounce ideas off other musicians and how to communicate with a band. These things have proven to be super important as time has gone on. Since then, we've grown as songwriters, played in a few bands together and finally found Nashville TN and writing as a duo to work best for us.”
For our HOT TAKE question, we asked John and Joe:
The Stray: “What secret conspiracy would you like to start?”
John: “COVID was created by restaurant workers to make their hours shorter and the sympathy tips bigger. Trust me, I am a bartender. It's an inside job.”
Don’t miss John and Joe’s newest release, “Don’t Worry About Me” coming out on December 24th, available on all streaming platforms, as well as the music video on Youtube! Keep up to date with their band and any related news by visiting their website or following them on Facebook and Instagram. They have plenty more planned for the future.