Album Notes

Joe Zelek is quickly earning a reputation as an engaging songwriter and a seasoned live performer that combines his high-energy yet easygoing stage presence with songs that have first-time listeners singing along by the second chorus. Both Joe and his music are proud products of “Small Town Ohio,” specifically the rural town of Mt. Pleasant, OH where he was born and raised.

Joe has built a large and dedicated regional fan base that began in the tri-state area of Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania and is now expanding across the country. He has sold thousands of CDs independently leading to a regional distribution deal with Wal-Mart. Three of his singles have made regular rotation nationally on XM Radio’s Nashville Ch11 and he is one of the top played artists on the largest Clear Channel Country Station in his region, 98.7 WOVK with multiple singles appearing on their “Top 98 of the Year” Countdown for the last two years.

Joe and his band have performed in front of audiences as large as 50,000 after earning a spot next to the biggest names in country music as a main stage featured act at the legendary Jamboree In The Hills festival in Morristown, OH for the last two consecutive years (www.jamboreeinthehills.com).

Joe’s latest CD release “Glad To Be Alive” was recorded with a cast of Nashville’s finest session musicians and features “Part Time Country Star” and “Brought To you By Drinkin,” both of which have made regular rotation nationally on XM Radio’s Nashville Ch11 in addition to being bona fide hit songs on Joe’s hometown station 98.7 WOVK. From hard rockin’ tracks such as the title cut and “Get Our Country On” to the introspective “On My Better Days” and the touching tribute to a military veteran in “Priceless,” the ten song independent release transitions comfortably between the cutting edge of modern country and a fresh take and respect for the genre’s traditions.

A self-professed football fanatic, “Football Friday Night” is Joe’s tribute to high school football being “more than a sport, man it’s a way of life” in his native Ohio Valley region. His hometown NBC affiliate, WTOV-9 adopted the song for their pioneering high school football “Game Of The Week” coverage and filmed a full-length music video featuring thousands of Joe’s fans in addition to his alma mater Buckeye Local High School’s football team and cheerleading squad. The song is now reaching high school football fans in small towns and big cities across the country via both radio and television. WFTV (ABC) in Orlando, FL is featuring the song as part of their top-rated high school football coverage in addition to Fox Sports West in Los Angeles, CA using it for their “Toyota Game of the Week.”

“I’m proud of where I come from and owe everything to the people in the Ohio Valley and Pittsburgh areas that supported my music before anyone else and afforded me the opportunity and inspiration to develop my songwriting and shows in front of amazingly receptive audiences,” says Joe. “I’m certainly looking forward to where this road will lead next but I can honestly say that if it all ended right now, my music career has already been a dream come true thanks to the people of the Ohio Valley.”

“This is where I learned to take a stand and when to just let it go
It’s where my old man took me in the backyard and taught me how to throw
It’s all that I am, all that I’ll ever know
I’m proud to be a simple man straight out of small town Ohio”
-from the song “Small Town Ohio”

And no matter where that road leads next, it all started way back in “Small Town Ohio.”