Joe Fournier is the real deal. He simply plays Americana roots music - funky, country soul, folk, rockabilly and blues - with stories that will make you laugh, cry and cringe, sometimes all in the same verse. You’ll find elements of John Fogerty, Bruce Springteen, Kris Kristofferson, John Hiatt, Shel Silverstein, Fred Eaglesmith - all covered in southern fried swamp rockin' blues and a good dose of Bakersfield twang. He plays all the instruments - guitars, drums, mandolin, banjo, piano, bass and produces as well.
Joe grew up stealing songs and stories from the many road-worn acts that rolled through the local beer joint his family ran in northern Canada. Every night he'd fall asleep to the sound of music filtering up through the floorboards and every morning a new Johnny Cash, Beatle or Creedence tune would be stuck in his head. It's bound to have an effect on a kid. His first appearance, at age 12, was filling in for the hired act who was too drunk to play the matinee at his folk's hotel. The people ate it up - plus it paid 25 bucks and all the soda he could handle. Joe was hooked. He soon found himself making good money playing traditional and then current (late 70's) country and rock in local bands every weekend. The next 25 years were spent on and off the road. Punk, pop, rockabilly, polka, blues, new country, old country, whatever... he played it all. Sometimes it was guitar, sometimes it was bass or drums. All the while Joe was learning about songs. How to write 'em and to record 'em.
Joe made his first CD, Raw Sugar Shed, back in 2001 at the ripe old age of 41. He and his girlfriend bought a cabin near Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia and turned it into a relaxing / recording retreat called the Eight Track Shack. While not exacty the best time in one's life to try a career in music, a chance encounter with an old publishing contact started the ball rolling and a Swedish record company came calling. Since then he's released four more critically acclaimed discs - Whiskey Stars (2003), Three Chord MacGyver (2005), Dirt Road Joyride (2008) and Truth & Twang (2009).
If you're a fan of great songwriting with lyrics as sharp as a broken beer bottle, sung over swamp rockin' country that's slightly cock-eyed - then Joe's your man !
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