Fourth grade, Porter Elementary School. I still remember the sign-up sheet that was passed around the classroom. So many choices for an eight year old. I could have very well ended up a tuba player. Well, as fate would have it, I was destined to play the drums.

Many of my teenage years were spent in the eighties, and for many of us, that meant long hair, leather jackets, and Motley Crue. Everyone wanted to be a rock star. Several bands over several years made me a realist rather than a dreamer.

There are a probably only a few people who understand just what kind of work ethic, attitude, and chemistry are required to make a band successful. When I say successful, I do not necessarily speak of fame, fortune, or even being a paid musician. I refer to a band that is capable of staying together for any real length of time without wanting to kill each other.

After several years of despair, I took a break from the music scene. My next few years consisted of very little playing, except an occasional jamming session with some friends. Looking back on a phone conversation that I had with a friend, I remember blowing off an opportunity to meet Chris and Terry and getting together to play with them. When my friend told me that the music they played was "alternative" music, somehow this phrase came to mind. "Freddy is a frog, he jumps around. He leaps to the sky and back to the ground." With that in mind I told my friend that I was not interested in seeing their acoustic duo at the time, The Noisy Boys. It was not for another six months or so that my friend dragged me out to see the guys play and meet them. When I saw Chris and Terry play, I was very impressed with their musicianship and their fun-loving energy. You could see it in the music they played and on their faces as well. I went out to their shows a couple more times and I became more and more interested as well as inspired to play the drums once again. By this point I had a couple of brief conversations with Chris about getting together to play for fun, and there would be a couple more conversations before we actually did. I was hoping that they were possibly considering the idea of forming a full fledged band with electric guitars, a bass player, and a drummer (hopefully me). I tried not to be too excited and was simply thinking of jamming and possibly get to play out a few times with their acoustic duo. THEN IT HAPPENED! The big meeting. Top secret information was revealed...a can of worms opened....the word was out.....there was a band to be formed. The rest is supergush history.

Bringing my individual story to present, let me simply say that I have a total appreciation for the situation that I am in now. I love the music that we as a band create. I love the fact that although we are four separate individuals in our own sense, that we know how to be a team. We have similar goals that we all work toward as a team. Most of all I love the fact that I can once again dream with the same spirit I had as a child, believing that what I am a part of now, is part of my dream.

For as long as I can remember I have been interested in music and entertaining people. Surviving Catholic school for twelve long years was not easy. I often found myself inventing new ways to entertain my peers and make them laugh. It's ironic that one of the only things that I take seriously in this life is a direct product of my years spent tormenting the nuns at Sacred Heart School. I consider myself living proof that being the class clown and playing in the campus band can pay off somewhere down the road. These years helped to shape who I am today and have provided the experiences that I bring to supergush. Thanks to all of the sisters at SHS who kept me in line with their strict rules and of course, the almighty paddle.

I met one of my closest friends (also a product of Catholic school) in that campus band back in the summer of 1992, Terry Clifton. Ter and I spent that summer on campus at LeMoyne College working for the school full time. We were constantly broke, getting into trouble, and singing Doors songs in the basement of our dorm to the beat of a strobe light. Fast forward four years, a few bands, and several encounters with the school bursar, and you have supergush. We have been successfully playing music together and getting into trouble ever since.

Many rainy days for me in the eighties were spent hanging out at the Hamilton Street Boys Club. Years later in life I would meet Rick Borczuk through a mutual friend. He was one of the other West End kids who grew up at the boys club. We never knew each other back then and to this day can't figure out how it is possible that we did not. Rick knew all of the kids that I hung out with and I knew all of his friends as well. Our co-existence without meeting back then remains an unsolved mystery.

Reflecting back on meeting Joe Sauvé I can't remember a specific instance. Joe was this guy who was a friend of Terry's from work. He had a good sense of humor in a very quiet, round about sort of way that you would often miss if you blinked. And if there was some sort of state-of-the-art electronic gadget, Joe had it. That was Joe. My next recollection of Joe is in our basement where Terry, Rick, Joe and myself were playing a couple of songs together. By then it was the winter of '96-'97. You fill in the rest.

What were the first albums you owned?

The Knack: Get the Knack: I remember carrying around a handheld tape recorder and playing “My Sharona” over and over. I thought I was the coolest kid in the neighborhood. My mom to this day cringes at the opening bass line due to my frequent overplaying of the song.

Def Leppard: Pyromania: Gunter glieben glauchen globen! Never knew that was German until I was twenty something. I thought that the album was cool and I would constantly draw the crosshairs with the burning building in the background in school at another attempt to be “coolest kid in the neighborhood.”

Herbie Hancock: Future Shock: I remember catching the Centro bus from my house near Park Ave in the city and taking it all the way out to Fayetteville Mall. Record Town was still the coolest place to get albums and I was addicted to “Rockit” and needed to have it. Herbie was my idol with the drum fill that makes you remember the song. Every kid in school claimed he could pound it out on his knees in perfect rhythm. Of course, I was the only kid who could.

What are your favorite bands?

• Toad the Wet Sprocket
• The Doors
• Martin Sexton
• Black Lab
• Athenaeum
• Tragically Hip

What is your favorite supergush song?

My favorite supergush song is "Surface of the Sun" because it was a song I wrote for my wife when we were first dating. I was nervous to tell her that I had written a song about us. I was so proud of how it came out lyrically that I could not wait for her to hear it. I often compare some of our new works to this one as a barometer for lyrics. If I think that they get across the meaning that I want to convey the way that "Surface" did, I am happy with them. If they don’t, I go back to the drawing board.

What was your favorite supergush show?

One of my favorite supergush shows to-date was our second CD release at the Hotel Syracuse in April of 2000. It was a show where everyone in the crowd was there to see us and hear our music. We had a great turnout of over 350 people, all there to celebrate with us. All of our friends, family, and fans were there to support us and it meant a lot to the band.

What is your favorite reading material?

I really enjoy any reading that has to do with travel. One of my favorite things to do is travel to new places and learn about new parts of the world. When I get motivated to read and don’t have the time or money to travel, reading about it is the next best thing I guess. Some of my favorite books are:

• On the Road by Jack Kerouac
• Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks
• Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon
• Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson

What are your favorite movies?

• Star Wars
• The Naked Gun
• The Shawshank Redemption
• The Jerk
• Pee Wee's Big Adventure

The most rewarding aspect of music for me is the emotional element. Mood affects music so much that it is really essential to have the right attitude. Some days you feel like you can do no wrong, and other times it is just the opposite. "Maybe I should take up another profession," you say to yourself.

It is the greatest feeling to share something as powerful as music with three other guys that are as dedicated as myself. In addition, our friends and family are literally the "fifth member". They inspire us, give criticism we don't always want to hear, and support us like no other people I know. It makes me feel confident and driven to strive to the highest level I can reach. I owe it all to my bandmates as well as my friends and family.

I take the responsibility of being in a band extremely seriously. Anyone who knows us knows that we treat supergush as a full time job; a fun job like no other, but a job nonetheless. Attitudes and egos; there just isn't room for these. That is why I believe in my heart that we will succeed in all of the goals that we set. We just have to follow through...and we love to follow through!

What were the first albums you owned?

Van Halen II: Van Halen II: Awesome album. I love every song on it to this day. I especially like the guitar solo "Spanish Fly" -- and you can even hear Eddie set the guitar down at the end of the song! I used to listen to this album as I was cleaning on Saturday morning during my chores. Hmmm...maybe that's where I developed the knack for cleaning!

The J. Geils Band: Besides the popular songs like "Freeze Frame" and "Centerfold", I remember the one song I heard in the car with my parents. The chorus was "Piss on the wall!". Yikes!

Def Leppard: Pyromania: A staple in the eighties along with tight rolled pants.

The Fixx: Reach the Beach: My brothers owned it and I loved the song "Heart of Stone". I played it all the time and finally scratched the hell out of the album.

Van Halen: Diver Down: I didn't realize until much later that the songs were almost exclusively covers!

Honorable Mentions: America: You Can Do Magic, Styx: Mr. Roboto

What are your favorite supergush songs?

"Nepenthe": The song wrote itself and it was a cool lick on the guitar. I remeber practicing in the garage during the winter and it was really cold. We just banged it out and there it was. The true test is how fast your blood is pumping after you finish a song.

"Surface of the Sun": I remember writing this neat acoustic part during the summer. It wasn't even going to make the last album because it was much too late. We were technically done writing for the studio. I showed it to Chris and he had lyrics and a melody a few days later. We said "All right, it must be meant to on the album." Done.

"Deep": Bad recording, great song. I like how the lyrics play with the chord changes during the chorus.

"Murder in the Afternoon": Again I like playing the riff for the guitar. That doesn't always do it for me, but in this song it really sets the mood.

What was your favorite supergush show?

I liked the first Party In The Plaza we played. You cannot beat playing in the summer.

My musical background: I was classically trained (French horn, believe it or not). I used to belong to the area's youth orchestra and I met my wife Jeannie there. I also went to summer music camps for classical music study and did the county and state music festival scene while in school. That got me a chance to earn a scholarship and study music (both French horn and bass) at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. I abandoned French horn though, and concentrated my musical talents on bass guitar (I always thought I played bass better anyway). I started my electric bass career in 8th grade in order to play in my dad's school jazz band. There aren't many parts for French horn in jazz ensembles, and yes, my dad is a music teacher. I have been playing ever since.

Now: Besides playing bass in supergush, I make money by supplying equipment for a number of karaoke and DJ shows (Karaoke Joe's Video Karaoke Show and DJ Services).

P.S. They call me "Papa Joe" because of my two kids, Noah and Zoe!