Josh Joplin Group

Josh Joplin Group
OriginAtlanta, Georgia, United States
Genres
Years active
  • 1995–2003
  • 2023–present
LabelsIndependent, SMG, Artemis Sony, Epic, Missing Piece Records
MembersJosh Joplin
Geoff Melkonian
Jason Buecker
Allen Broyles
Ani Cordero
Eric Taylor
Wes Langlois
Websitehttps://joshjoplingroup.com/

The Josh Joplin Group is an alternative rock band led by singer-songwriter Josh Joplin which formed in Atlanta, Georgia. Initially a trio, Joplin hired Geoff Melkonian (bass/viola/vocals) and Jason Buecker (drums/percussion/vocals) to accompany him to play shows together. They initially called themselves the Josh Joplin Band.[1] In late 1995 they began pre-production on their first album together. Recorded at Furies Studios with producer Ed Burdell (Magnapop),[2] Projector Head[3] was released on January 6, 1996.[4] Based on local critical success and some airplay on local radio,[3][4] Joplin, Buecker, and Melkonian began touring vigorously, starting in the south, continuing through the northeast, and beyond.[5]

Boxing Nostalgic[6][7] was their self-produced sophomore effort. It was released April 6, 1997 to a sold-out show at the Cotton Club.[8] The album introduced piano to their sound, and Allen Broyles, who played on the record, would join the band that same year.[9] The band continued touring and opening shows for Jump, Little Children, Five-eight, The Innocence Mission, Ben Harper, Nathan Sheppard, Kitty Snyder, among others.

In 1998, having played the Roxy Theatre (Atlanta) opening for Shawn Mullins, the Grammy-nominated songwriter of "Lullaby", the band discussed making their third album with their friend and Mullins signed on as the producer, hiring Anthony J. Resta to create the beats and programming for it.[10] Mullins would later release the album, Useful Music, on his own SMG label.[6][11] Shortly after its release, Jason Buecker was replaced on drums by Ani Cordero,[12] then by Eric Taylor, who had drummed for the dream pop band Seely.[13] Deeds Davis was added to play lead guitar and sing.

The band was managed briefly by Nettwerk Music Group[14] before making a slight name change to the Josh Joplin Group when Artemis Records, headed by Danny Goldberg[15] and Daniel Glass,[16] signed them. They were picked up by Russell Carter, known for managing Indigo Girls and Matthew Sweet.[17]

The Artemis re-release features an alternative version of Joplin's ballad "I've Changed". It was produced by Peter Collins at the Ocean Way Nashville recording studio, with Kenny Aronoff playing drums.[18] A slightly more successful collaboration came when Jerry Harrison (formerly of the Modern Lovers and Talking Heads) was brought on to produce the opening track "Matter" and the new song "Camera One".[19][20][21]

The album came out on January 30, 2001[22][23] to strong reviews[24][25] and sold over 100,000 records in its first week.[26] Its single, "Camera One,"[27] was the first independent release to go number-one at Triple A radio and went to number 22 on the Billboard Top 40 chart in 2001. It won the "Single Of The Year" award by the American Association of Independent Music. Useful Music songs were featured in many of the top rated shows of the time, including Party of Five, Dawson's Creek,[28] and Camera One was a feature of an episode of the comedy series Scrubs.[29]

The Josh Joplin Group toured the US, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and all of Europe. They played shows with countless bands, and artists including Travis, Old 97's, Matthew Sweet, Uncle Green, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lifehouse, Pink, and Smoke,[30][31] and had finished performing a German festival in Cologne, when Green Day burned their drums on stage.[32][33] The band has also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Panel (Australian TV series), The Mike Bullard Show, Viva TV (Germany), MTV, VH1.[34]

In June 2002, Josh Joplin began working on demos for songwriter turned producer, Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger. Schlesinger was tapped to produce the group's sophomore Artemis release. He recorded 12 songs acoustically at Stratosphere Sound, (owned by Schlesinger and James Iha).[35] And although the timing didn't work out for the two to work together, Josh and the group, sans Davis, did end up recording The Future That Was.[36] with Atlanta producer, Rob Gal and engineers, John Holbrook and Rudyard Lee Cullers[37][38][39] at Stratosphere. On this record, the musical styles were similarly varied, ranging from slow piano- and acoustic guitar-driven pop to upbeat keyboard- and electric guitar-based rock.

The Future That Was received critical acclaim[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] but it sold poorly and Artemis released dropped the band from their contract. Artemis released two singles from the album, "I Am Not the Only Cowboy" and "Wonder Wheel," but neither one took off. In the fall of 2003, the band announced that it was breaking up and would play its final two shows in Atlanta in December of that year.

In 2023, the Josh Joplin Group reunited to release the album Figure Drawing on Joplin's own label, NarrowMoat.[48]

The band released the album GpYr on April 4, 2025 on the label Missing Piece Records.[49]

Discography

Josh Joplin Band

  • Projector Head
    • Release Date: January 6, 1996
    • Label: Self-released
  • Boxing Nostalgic
    • Release Date: April 6, 1997
    • Label: Self-released
  • Useful Music
    • Release Date: May 25, 1999
    • Label: SMG Records

Josh Joplin Group

  • Useful Music
  • The Future That Was
    • Release Date: September 24, 2002
    • Label: Artemis Records
  • Figure Drawing
    • Release Date: March 29, 2024
    • Label: NarrowMoat
  • GpYr
    • Release Date: April 4, 2025
    • Label: Missing Piece Records
    • Featuring: "Goodbye Berlin," "One More Someone," "I'm With Gorillas"

References

  1. ^ Walton, A. Scott (April 5, 1995). "Peach Buzz". The Atlanta Journal. Retrieved April 10, 2020. Alternative music by the Josh Joplin Band and Smoke will be performed in the High's atrium…
  2. ^ Burdell, Ed. "All Music". AllMusic.
  3. ^ a b DeVault, Russ (May 3, 1996). "Weekend Preview, Guide to Music Midtown". The Atlanta Journal. Retrieved April 10, 2020. Josh Joplin Band: The irresistible debut CD, Projector Head…
  4. ^ a b Hamilton, Doug (January 5, 1996). "Weekend Preview, Concert Preview". The Atlanta Journal. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  5. ^ Gambill, Rex (December 27, 1996). "Projector Head: Josh Joplin Band". Coshocton Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  6. ^ a b News Staff, Mtv. "Shawn Mullins Inks Deal with Josh Joplin Band". MTV.
  7. ^ "Music Around Town". The Atlanta Journal. August 1, 1997. Retrieved April 10, 2020. Josh Joplin Band – Folk-rock trio gets serious on its sophomore CD Boxing Nostalgic…
  8. ^ Hamilton, Doug (April 4, 1997). "Joplin Learning Reality of Recording Business". The Atlanta Journal. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  9. ^ Hamilton, Doug (May 21, 1999). "In Concert This Weekend". The Atlanta Journal. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  10. ^ Resta, Anthony J. "Useful Music Credits". AllMusic.
  11. ^ Hughes, Kim (February 1, 2001). "New and Notable Releases". Now. Archived from the original on December 17, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  12. ^ Rogovoy, Seth (October 17, 2017). "Rogovoy Report 10/6/17". WAMC. Archived from the original on December 17, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  13. ^ "Seely". Discogs.
  14. ^ Eldredge, Richard L. (August 16, 1999). "Peach Buzz". The Atlanta Constitution. Retrieved April 10, 2020. The occasion: the signing of the Josh Joplin Band to Beverly Hills-based Nettwerk Management.
  15. ^ Boyce, Kevin (January 27, 2003). "King Midas". CMJ New Music Report. p. 8. As the Chairman/CEO and co-owner of Artemis Records, Danny Goldberg oversees one of the most successful independently distributed record labels in the country.
  16. ^ Sarig, Roni (August 1, 2001). "Paper Tiger". Creative Loafing. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  17. ^ Black, Alan (June 1, 2001). "Music Midtown 2001" (PDF). Technique. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  18. ^ Aronoff, Kenny. "Kenny Aronoff Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  19. ^ Warburg, Jason (February 15, 2002). "Useful Music – Josh Joplin Group". The Daily Vault. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  20. ^ Jenkins, Daniel (December 16, 2000). "Josh Joplin Group Serves Up 'Useful Music' on Artemis Set". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  21. ^ Josh Joplin Group (2000). Camera One +2 (Booklet). Artemis Records.
  22. ^ Sperounes, Sandra (January 27, 2001). "Ten On Tuesday". Edmonton Journal.
  23. ^ Lindquist, David (October 11, 2001). "Joplin Spins Musical Tales".
  24. ^ Jenkins, Daniel (December 16, 2001). "Josh Joplin Group Serves Up Useful Music". Billboard.
  25. ^ Hughes, Kim (February 1, 2001). "Now". Now Toronto.
  26. ^ Schwartz, Daylle Deanna (2003). Start And Run Your Own Record Label. NY, NY: Billboard Books. p. 151. ISBN 0-8230-8433-7.
  27. ^ "Hot AC Chart 2001".
  28. ^ "Dawson's Creek Episode: Promicide". Tunefind. May 2, 2001.
  29. ^ "Scrubs Season 1". TuneFind. November 6, 2001.
  30. ^ Harrison, Shane (September 17, 1999). "99x Main Stage Preview Have Your Cake". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  31. ^ Gincel, Richard (April 6, 1995). "College Night at The High Museum". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  32. ^ "Every Concert Ever". August 17, 2001.
  33. ^ "Concert Archives: Bizarre Festival Line Up 2001". August 17, 2001.
  34. ^ Owens, Clay (January 11, 2008). "The Pursuit Of Happiness". The Star-Democrat.
  35. ^ Hiatt, Brian (April 30, 1999). "A Studio A Smashing Pumpkin Can Call Home". MTV. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016.
  36. ^ Scarrone, John (January 7, 2003). "Future That Was' One Of 2002's Best". Poughkeepsie Journal.
  37. ^ Gal, Rob (August 1, 2002). "The Future That Was". All Music.
  38. ^ Holbrook, John (August 1, 2002). "The Future That Was". All Music.
  39. ^ Cullers, Rudyard Lee (June 1, 2002). "The Future That Was". AllMusic.
  40. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 9, 2003). "Robert Christgau Dean Of American Rock Critics". Robert Christgau.
  41. ^ "Goings On About Town". The New Yorker. November 18, 2002.
  42. ^ Moye, Jay (April 1, 2003). "The Future That Was Review".
  43. ^ Knodel, Lisa (October 4, 2002). "The Future That Was (Rocked!)".
  44. ^ Eldridge, Richard (September 23, 2002). "Joplin Letting A Little Optimism Be Heard". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  45. ^ Fuller, Cam (April 10, 2002). "Joplin's Insight Raises The Flesh". Star Phoenix.
  46. ^ Leslie, Karl (November 28, 2002). "Josh Joplin Group Future That Was Review". St. Cloud Times.
  47. ^ Kreicbergs, John (October 31, 2002). "Josh Joplin". The Pitch.
  48. ^ "Josh Joplin Group: | Daily Vault". www.dailyvault.com. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  49. ^ "Josh Joplin Group". Missing Piece Group. Retrieved May 7, 2025.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.