ABOUT JOE ZELEK BAND:
Ah yes...the "artist bio." This is where I’m supposed to tell you about myself in the "third person" like some fancy publicist is writing it. Let’s skip that idea....here's my story:
I grew up in Mt. Pleasant, OH where my life revolved around drums, baseball, dirt bikes, 80's rock bands and country music. My hometown was just across the river from a unique little music scene in Wheeling, WV where you could see the best country music had to offer at the legendary Capitol Music Hall then walk down the street to the Civic Center and see Aerosmith, Bryan Adams, Poison, etc. It was only natural that my songwriting would later find a home somewhere in the middle of those influences.
After spending several years as a drummer including a stint with a major-label band, I decided to follow my true passion...songwriting....and started a band of my very own.
At the time there was a country band out of Pittsburgh that was skyrocketing in popularity. For some reason they took a liking to me and let me open numerous shows for them all over OH, WV and PA which is how I first started to build a fan base of my own. After one of those gigs I ran into the program director of WOVK, the local country music station that ironically was housed in the Capitol Music Hall on that same street in Wheeling that had been so influential on me as a kid. I handed him a song fully expecting the typical response in this business....nothing. Fast forward a couple months and friends started emailing and calling telling me I was on the radio. That’s how it started.
Since then not only did that first song become a regional hit...five or six more songs followed suit. Next thing I knew my band was playing the main stage in front of tens of thousands at Jamboree In The Hills...one of the most legendary and longest-running country music festivals in the country that is simulcast on the local NBC affiliate and also happens to be a couple hills over from where I grew up. I wrote a “Jamboree In The Hills” song which has became a huge regional hit and is played daily at the festial during the opening ceremonies and featured during the fireworks.
From there our regional popularity skyrocketed. A lot of people started showing up at our shows...and we started selling a lot of music and merchandise. We started expanding our touring base and eventually played the "big 3" venues that fueled my wildest dreams as a kid: the aforementioned Capitol Music Hall, the Wheeling Civic Center....and I’m proud to say this will be our fifth consecutive main stage slot at Jamboree In The Hills.
Our cd's showed up in local Wal-Mart's where Coca-Cola sponsored in-store appearances for us...2500 bobbleheads of my likeness were being given away as a promotion for a local hockey team...our song “Football Friday Night” was being used by my hometown NBC-affiliate WTOV as well as Fox Sports West and WFTV in Orlando, FL...XM Radio picked up on several of our songs...and I was signing autographs every time I turned around.
Fast forward again a couple years and I found myself in Nashville making a record with Joe West (a hit songwriter/producer whose credits include Keith Urban, Toby Keith etc.) and then jumping on a bunch of airplanes to promote my first official...but still independent...national single. A major syndicated DJ started playing the song on his afternoon show in Washington DC...ClearChannel radio selected us as an "artist to watch" for the month of January 2011...and suddenly we were making fans across the country.
I learned how tough it is out there for "independent artists" to cut through the static...but at the same time I learned to appreciate just how unique it is to do what we’ve done the past several years.
Every good thing that has happened for me in this crazy biz is because I wrote a song that people related to. So here I am....writing songs, putting them out there and seeing where it goes. Hope you’re up for the ride....I am.
By the way...folks have started saying some pretty nice things about us lately:
"There are a lot of talented newcomers out there, so sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart. That is not true with Joe Zelek. His music is definitely Country, sprinkled with sounds of his native Appalachia. But, there’s also a bit of a "Rock Star" attitude that filters into his music, giving him a sound all his own." - Chuck Dauphin, Music News Nashville
"Unless you live in the Ohio Valley or are within their current touring radius in the tri-state area of OH, WV, and PA, it's possible/probable you haven't heard of the Joe Zelek Band. Yet. The JZB now has a single at country radio (the title track), and probably at least four more on this remarkably consistent set. They sure sound like they're ready to break through to us." - Napster
"Who You Gonna Run To,"in texture is similar to the great Bryan Adams singles—hooky and simple—and stuff that you can’t get out of your head. It’s also the kind of stuff that you want to play over and over again—or have your radio station play over and over again for you." - Jim Asker/AllAccess.com
"Joe Zelek is one heck of a performer....with an appealing voice and an infectious camaraderie with the fans." - Bubba Kapral, Times Leader Newspaper (Martins Ferry, OH)
"The first time I heard the single by the Joe Zelek band, I was tapping my foot - big time! What a hook, what an infectious melody!" - John Sebastian/Program Director/The New Q!/WWQM Madison.
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