A bit of a deeper Bio:
I grew up on the road with my father who is a Japanese Musical Evangelist. From as young as I can remember I watched my dad perform hundreds of gigs, on street corners, train stations, churches, and bars. Growing up he continually discouraged me from following the path of a musician as he had so although I always played I put most of my focus into figuring out how to make money instead of following my true calling as an artist. Whilst living a life I loathed in a cubicle managing IT infrastructure I was miraculously able to release my first solo album in 2013, "The Pettying Zoo" playing most of the instrumentation myself. I continued to be a mostly recluse recording artist and in 2015 I pivoted out of tech work to focus on full-time dad-mode, homesteading off-grid with my wife and two children. Throughout most of my adult life I have worked closely with my best friend and musical partner Jacey Beaucage, we've learned about harmony, family, and creativity together and finished our first master-work, "Songs Under a Cherry Tree" in 2020 right before the pandemic kicked into gear. Throughout the pandemic I taught myself how to make music videos and create a solid online presence for Kelp Monkey. However, a huge part of inspiration has been missing in my life and that is to play for you, in person, in the flesh, with all the immediacy, faults, and intimacy that it brings. I look forward to seeing you somewhere sometime soon!
Sincerely, Joe Jester
