Joe’s Lonely Voice Meets it’s Match

It was May 2023 when I realized my voice had been feeling lonely. That’s right, my voice. Since the release of Halflight, I had been playing solo acoustic shows. They were a lot of fun, but never felt quite right, like a sketch that is somehow aware that it is supposed to be a painting. So I started playing around with ways to add more color, more sound. Loop pedals. Analog synths. Drum machines. Oddly enough, all these things lead me back to my acoustic guitar, and from all that tinkering the songs for the next album begun to take shape. It was inspiring. Yet I still had the same problem. Voice feeling lonely. Sketches wanting to be paintings. So, instead of building the new songs in the studio as Ryan & I did with Halflight, I started sending texts to friends. Want to be in a band that plays shows? I have a bunch of new songs. By late fall, I had recruited Brian, Jordan, Erin, Greg, and Ben. I sent them demos and chord charts, and the first song we played together (Highway Dust) felt sooooo good. My voice experienced a satisfaction it hadn’t in a long time, even the first time through when none of us knew what we were doing yet.

Since then, we’ve been busy and I’m super excited to tell you we’ll be sharing these new songs live on March 22nd opening for my friend Levi Ware who just released a song called No Easy Way.

If you’re in the Puget Sound area I want to invite you to come experience a moment with us. It's the moment we go from sketch to painting. The moment this band plays together in the company of others for the first time. The moment these songs fill a room of friends and family who are hearing them for the first time. It’s going to be special. Get your tickets here.

Levi Ware & Joe Day, Friday March 22, 8pm at The Conway Muse in Conway, WA (yes, the one in Skagit Valley)

What I’m Listening To

My wife & I are at that age where our friends kids are now adults. Recently, we had Emma and Chloe over for dinner. They’re the daughters of our life-long friends Moses and Noel. It was so much fun to eat stew and drink wine together and hear how life is going. Jentry & I made a playlist for the night. We wanted it to be something that would set a good dinner vibe and try to be a sort of handshake between our generations - a blend of timelessness and current sound that can live as a soundtrack, or as a perfect companion to a morning commute. It turned out great, I find myself going back to it, and I wanted to share it with you.

Listen to Dinner With Friends

Spotify | Apple Music

Also, have you heard Byland yet?

You might have noticed Byland popping into your favorite Spotify playlists recently, and for good reason. They’re great. The singles they’ve dropped are each so beautiful, textural, and sincere. And it’s always awesome to see a local band find success beyond our corner of the world. Their album release show is March 29th at 7pm at Easy Street records in West Seattle and it’s FREE! I plan on being there. You should too.

Listen to Byland’s song Two Circles

Spotify | Apple Music

Upcoming Shows

July 14th - Victoria, BC. More on that later.

Follow along

If you want to follow along, the only socials I’m on these days are Threads and Instagram. I might add Tik Tok into this over the summer since I’ve got some video ideas I’m working on, but for now, hit me up on the Threads and Instagram.

That’s it for now. Talk soon...