Joe Rivers
Like many, Joe started playing music at a young age;(piano lessons, jr high band, stumming folk songs on a cheap guitar, and even playing bass guitar in a garage band) but in all those cases, he soon lost interest. Music didn\'t play a serious part in his life until he was about 30 years old, when he started playing bass in a praise band in a little church in San Antonio, Texas. He picked up another guitar and from time to time he was able to lead the praise and worship music at his church and sing a few solos. His style was a little different, covering tunes by christian music pioneers like Larry Norman, Barry McGuire, and Glenn Kaiser. He hooked up with a few friends, Steve Seamone and Steven Todd, and the formed their own praise band and also took there music to the streets, playing in town squares, street corners, and on parade floats.
In 1994 the US Air Force transfered Joe to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey where he lead praise and worship at the base chapel for four years. When he got back to San Antonio, he picked up where he left off but this time he was joined with a killer drummer and a sax player that is out of this world. After he retired from the Air Force he moved to Ohio and once again, he was soon leading worship in a small local church.
One year while traveling down to New Orleans during Mardi Gras with a ministry called No Greater Love (as he had been since 1989) he had the opportunity to play in a \"Street Church\" band, and played with them several years. The last few years at Mardi Gras he took what he learned from doing \"Street Chruch\" and put it into practice as a solo street performer.
When listening to Joe\'s music it\'s not hard to tell he grew up listening to the music of the 60\'s and 70\'s. While most of his songs are heavily rooted in blues, you can also hear the influences of southern rock and folk. Lyrically he runs the gamut from overtly christian to comical parodies and is best described as \"in your face with a smile.\" After serving in the Air Force for 20 years, Joe settled in Springfield, Ohio with his wife Sheila. When he\'s not touring the region or playing in New Orleans during Mardi Gras he helps lead the praise and worship at New Song Fellowship in Fairborn, OH.
Statement of Faith:
\"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He lived a sinless life, died a horrible death on a cross, was buried, and rose from the dead the third day. I believe that the only way to be reconciled with God is through the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed when he died on the cross. I believe that one day soon He is coming back to gather those who have put there faith and trust in His holy name but in the mean time, we are to strive to be like Him.\"
\"I believe that we are to live by the great commandment, to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that we are to be about the great commission, to go into the world, making disciples in every nation.\"
Influences
Musical: Barry McGuire, Larry Norman, various blues artists
Life: Charlie Houston, Fred Bishop, Darrell Hibbs
Sounds Like...
A mix of blues, southern rock, and folk.