Joel has a long and storied musical past playing with such amazing acts as Junior Drinkwater and the Thirst Quenchers, the Regulators and as front-man for the rockin blues act, The Hep Cat Boo Daddies.
Joel has performed with such great acts as BB King, AC Reed, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Foghat, Los Lobo, the Black Crowes, and Jimmie Vaughan. He currently is the leader and front-man of Joel DaSilva and the Midnight Howl, which released their second album in 2014.
Table of Contents
2:31 – If you had to describe yourself as a band, song or genre, what would it be?
4:20 – How did you get started in the music business?
16:28 – Looking back at your career, what stands out to you as your proudest moment?
20:18 – What’s been one of your biggest failures?
27:04 – Three things artists should be doing today to grow their fanbase and move their careers forward
If you had to describe yourself as a band, song or genre, what would it be?
Bombastic, blues-a-billy, high-energy, high-octane, soulful music.
How did you get started in the music business?
My older brother, Lionel, brought home an acoustic guitar. I was a heavy-set kid, maybe 350lbs–I was shy, introverted. I didn’t like people. He brought home the guitar and started plugging away at. When he would leave, I would secretly play it and I loved what it did to my soul. It really brought me out of my shell.
Looking back at your career, what stands out to you as your proudest moment?
There are two. Playing live with the Boo Daddies and opening up for BB King three times in really regal atmospheres. Getting to meet the man, and playing for all those people. Each night was magical and went perfect. The sound was perfect, the people were perfect, everything.
My proudest moment with my current band would have to be playing for 3,000-5,000 people at the Montreal Jazz Festival. There were so many people, like a see of people. Going on tour, meeting all the people, and playing all these different venues. Those are two of my proudest moments thus far.
What’s been one of your biggest failures?
It wasn’t a failure, but not going solo earlier in my career. I had a manager for the Hep Cat Boo Daddies, Don Cohen, who managed a couple of bands and owned a great venue in Fort Lauderdale called the Musicians Exchange. He passed away, but before that he told me to go solo. But I didn’t, and I put it off. I don’t know why, probably because I was afraid. That is probably my biggest failure.
The lesson for me was to always follow your heart, and always follow your gut. It may be the wrong decision, or it may be the right decision. Try to listen to your inner self. And try to surround yourself with well meaning people that care. Don’t be narcissistic, live in the moment.
Three things artists should be doing today to grow their fan-base and move their careers forward:
- Be tight as hell as a band onstage.
- Be honest to your music and who you are and don’t listen to anyone else. In the end, you are the one that is going to make the music, not anyone else.
- Follow your heart and (try to) get more money!
The best ways to reach Joel:
On the web:
http://www.jdandthehowl.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jdandthehowl?ref=br_tf
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jdandthehowl
Outro Music:
Nice and Slow
Dirty Howlin’ Blues Album
Joel DaSilva
Frtiz
Nice interview. Joel is a great artist, musician and a great person too. Much success to you in the future.