The first unsigned recording artist to perform live on the Ellen Degeneres Show, Joe Cameron and his band followed that up with their 2nd national TV performance in a 12 month period on the WGN America network.
Joe recorded his 3rd independent release, the VanCity EP, in Vancouver with producer Bill Bell (Jason Mraz, Tom Cochrane, Justin Nozuka) and just released his 4th, an EP titled Laugh Until We Cry. Joe is currently touring the college market.
Originally from the Indianapolis, IN area Joe Cameron moved to Los Angeles in 2003, but has been writing his melodic pop/rock tunes for over half his life. With booking by the Acoustic Playhouse Agency, Joe performed around LA including Sunset Strip performances at the Viper Room, the Rainbow Room, the Larchmont, and the Cat Club. Joe also won a 2004 USA Songwriting Contest Showcase in Los Angeles.
Drawing from influences such as Matchbox 20, Guster, Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw, Ben Folds, and John Mayer, Joe strives to write music that is intelligent, fun, and layered with harmonies and counter-melodies. With his mix of summer-time BBQ rock and mainstream Adult Contemporary/Top-40 style of music, Joe’s new single “I’m Stuck With Me” has garnered commercial and college radio play all over the Midwest while the lead track of his “In Transit” album, “Ungrounded,” has been listed as one of independent internet radio’s top 10 most requested pop songs.
Releases:
- In Transit, LP 2004
- I’m Stuck with Me, LP 2006
- VanCity, EP 2007
- Laugh Until We Cry, EP 2009
Live national TV performances: Ellen Degeneres Show; NBC (1 song), Lunchbreak; WGN America (4 songs)
Universities recently played:
- Indiana University
- Syracuse University
- Purdue University
- Southwest Minnesota State University
- Drake University
Internet presence:
- Official Website: www.JoeCameronMusic.com
- Myspace: www.myspace.com/JoeCameronMusic
- Sonicbids Electronic Press Kit: www.sonicbids.com/JoeCameronMusic
Music sold online at: iTunes, Target, Amazon, CDBaby, Napster, Rhapsody, etc…
2. "In A Moment" - I wrote this song during the summer of 2004 in Los Angeles after breaking up with my girlfriend at the time. I had always wanted to write a break-up song and the situation provided the best opportunity to do so... she was ....uhhh, how do I say this nicely? The girl was nuts. So I decided that the music should be just as nutty...which is why the bridge randomly switches to a reggae type feel. Definitely a fun song to play live.
3. "Down This Way" - This song is the story of when you fall in love and then after a long relationship things just fall apart and you can't explain what went wrong. Then you reconnect with your love and things pick back up again. She tells him that she wants to get married and everything seems fine until seemingly out of nowhere she picks up and leaves again. The song ended up being about what he would say to her in that situation.
4. "When I Go" - I wanted to write a song that had a simple chorus...so simple there aren't even words...just a sound. Something people could easily sing along with. I mean, it can't be hard to memorize the word "oh." I wrote the rest of the song about meeting someone right before moving away. That bittersweet feeling of everything in the relationship immediately clicking but you know your lives are leading you in totally different directions. Basically it boils down to a song about bad timing. This is last song I wrote for the CD...in fact we were almost done and I was like "hey guys...there's one more...we HAVE to record this one." I'm sure there are still some pissed off musicians and studio engineers over this song.
5. "Lucky Day" - I actually wrote this song the same day I finished writing the song "I'm Stuck With Me." This started out as a guitar part that I would play when I was bored. I decided to write lyrics to it and it took all of about 15 minutes. I made an effort to write a song that didn't have to do with any of my relationships...I thought of the lucky day theme right away and went to work. It started out simple enough, but by the end I had written a song about how blessed I feel with my life.
6. "Annie" - This was the first song I wrote after the "In Transit" album. I was in my apartment in LA one summer day in 2004 and decided to write about how I would feel if I actually did fall in love the first day I met someone. "Love at first sight" is something that had never happened to me, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. The name of the girl in the song changed about eight times before I settled on "Annie"...we sang every name from Trina to Betty to Latoya at shows...it got to be a joke between the band members.
7. "True" - I actually wrote this song back in 2003 and intended to add it to the "In Transit" CD (in fact it was on the original demo CD that eventually made up the "In Transit" album), but there was something I just didn't think was ready with the song. I'm glad I waited because I re-wrote the chorus lyrics and by the time the band got a hold of it and we played it live for over a year it took on a whole new personality. I really love the way this song evolved...especially the ending.
8. "Celebrate this Beauty" - I had narrowed this CD down to eight songs...all guitar driven songs...and then last minute decided I wanted to add some piano songs to the album. This was the first one I sat down to write. I wanted people to try and visualize what it's like for a father to watch his little girl grow up (even though I don't have a daughter myself, only nieces). I really like the imagery of how watching a little girl dance can capture everyone's attention and then follow that same little girl to her wedding day. I've never been to a wedding where the father didn't shed a tear and I know I'll probably cry like a baby when I walk my daughter down the isle if I'm blessed with children.
9. "Reborn" - This was another song written in my LA apartment during the summer of 2004. It took performing this song a lot and re-writing the third verse (incidentally my favorite verse in the song) before I liked this well enough to put on the album. The idea for the song came from hearing someone tell me that I'm "in love with love." I just kept writing the song from there as if to say it's OK that I'm like that. Wait...is it OK that I'm like that?? Now I'm confused.
10. "Wait" - I thought if Damien Rice could get away with writing 7 minute long acoustic ballads then by God I could too! Actually I didn't know what the hell I was doing when I sat down to write this song. In fact, I don't remember writing it at all really. I do know that the lyrics are autobiographical...it's about an actual relationship I had with a girlfriend. This was the first song we recorded for the CD and one of the most memorable. It was supposed to be simply an acoustic/vocal type song but we just kept layering and making it more dynamic towards the end...I really like how it turned it out. It's also the perfect ending to the CD with the way the vocal holds the word "wait" at the end and slowly trails off.
