Joey’s style is wide-ranging, and is often described as soulful, slide guitar-infused, Americana, ranging from ballads that are stripped back to just his voice and guitar, through to fully-fledged band arrangements, with soaring, dirt-laden guitars and stacked vocal harmonies; and we feel ‘Hindsight’ offers rounded insight into the breadth of his repertoire.
In support of his newly-released solo record ‘Hindsight’, Joey came to the UK on tour, putting on a string of sold-out shows across the country, allowing spectators to witness the album’s live debut, first-hand. And we got to witness some of it first-hand, too. Seeing our beloved store crammed full of people – deadly silent – as Joey captivated us all with his stellar performances, was a moving experience. Once again, Regent Sounds relived its former glory as a hub for musicians to hear and experience music, just as it once did for many of the world’s musical greats who wrote and recorded here.
We had set up our beloved ’64 Fender Tremolux, with its original, matching 2x10” cab, together with a Source Audio True Spring reverb pedal, dialled in just right, for some of the fattest, most polished tone we’ve heard in ages. Joey’s guitar is an interesting one. A copy of a 1954 Goldtop Les Paul that he fell in love with, the instrument is hand-built by Alex Sorokin, featuring a pair of throwback P90 pickups. Together with his signature rockslide, and Stringjoy unspeakably heavy strings, these are some of the sweetest, fullest and most powerfully expressive tones we’ve heard in ages.
Soon after arriving and plugging in, Joey launched into a performance of his Ry Cooder cover: ‘I Can’t Win’. Falsetto-led, and usually performed with his trio, featuring three-part vocal harmonies, Joey uniquely offered us his stripped-back, solo version; and it was perhaps all the more moving than usual. A confident vocal delivery, exceptionally controlled falsetto and a tasteful slide solo in the middle; we managed to capture a sincere, magical moment with this song. Check out the full video on our YouTube channel – it really is musical gold.
We were also treated to performances of the new record’s title track ‘Hindsight’, along with perhaps Joey’s most well-known song, ‘Whiskey’. When asked by a member of the audience what the song was about, Joey poignantly reflected on celebrating four years of sobriety; adding that the song was a love-letter to the drink he once struggled with.
After many in-depth questions were answered, Joey took the time to hang out with people individually at the end of the event, answering questions, taking photos and chatting with his many fans. He also left our store with a brand new Myriad fuzz pedal from Vemuram to add to his board – a sound choice, indeed.
Our in-store was followed later that evening with a yet-again packed-out show at The Garage in London, where Joey was reunited with his bandmates, offering us the full live experience. Plugged into a Revv head, a Two-Rock Bloomfield Drive and his full pedalboard setup, Joey tore up the atmosphere with thunderous tones, and immense playing, to boot. We captured some photos of the night on film here, and can confirm that everyone in attendance was blown away by the musicianship on display – not only from Joey, but also his talented bandmates.
From all of us at Regent Sounds, we would like to extend a warm thank-you to Joey, Reunion Blues, and all the amazing people who came to our in-store event. This day was a huge success, and we cannot wait to see you all at the next one. Just you wait until you hear who we’ve got lined up for some music - live at Regent Sounds - for you, this summer…