Very little information has been gathered about Joe, so hopefully he and his new bandmates, will fill in the gaps.  Joe was an awesome addition to the concert 6/30/00 in the Twin Cities.   He began touring with Mitch only a week earlier but you would have thought by the way they all blended together, it had been years.  That's the gift of a talented musician.  Joe was simply spectacular.  It is an art when you can get percussion to add and not dominate music.  At that concert the percussions really brought the sound together and keep them all in unison.  He made the music fuller and mixed his work to perfection.

I had sent the interview request to Mitch and asked Joe if he would consider doing it.  His schedule is booked but he crunched it out and with the help of his girlfriend Rachel, you are not going to have to wait for it!.

Rachel wrote back this as an introduction on how Joe did the interview.  It has some cool insight. "He jumped on a plane early this morning to head to a show with This Train in Colorado.  Then he flies in on Wed and I pick him up only to head straight from the airport to Cornerstone until July 9th or 10th.  All of this to say..we answered your questions over breakfast at The Pancake Pantry in Nashville yesterday.  So I will type in the answers and let you have them for the web site.   If you don't know already..Joe is one of the funniest guys I know..so doing this interview was quite comical for the both of us due to his immediate responses!  I have tried to write exactly what he said."

I asked Doug McVicker, when he mentioned they were getting an addition for some gigs and he made this comment about Joe "He is a great guy.  Pretty laid back, Not all outward and talk talk talk like Mitch and  Brad." "HA"

The This Train site declares his birthday is March 15, 1973.  Visit his This Train website at This Train. Not a lot of background on Joe, but some cool pictures.

~ ok, my first question, of course has to be the name "Cobra Joe".. what is the story behind it please.

 Joe: It was a nickname given to me to pay penance for BAD joke telling.

Early years:

~ Can you tell us a little bit about where you were born and your childhood.

Joe:  I was born in the coastal town of Gulfport, Mississippi.  I was the middle of two brothers.

~ What were some of your hobbies or favorite pastimes?

Joe:  My hobbies growing up were beating on Mom's Tupperware trying to use them for
drums.

~ When did you start playing drums?  and or other instruments?

Joe:  I started playing the drums officially after the Tupperware.  I guess in the 7th grade.  I joined the school band.  I used sticks and practice pad because they wouldn't let you actually play drums till the 8th grade.  So I guess the 8th grade?

~ When did God first impact your life?

Joe:  The first time I remember is at a New Year's Eve youth group function in 7th grade.

~ What you most admire about your parents?

Joe:  I most admire my parents for the sacrifices they had to make to meet my needs
as a child and teenager growing up.

~ Any serious girlfriends in high school or after ~ you don't have to name them..(laugh)..

Joe:  No serious girlfriends in high school.  I had a few serious ones in college.  However now I am dating the love of my life--Rachel--a very sweet and loving girl that is also in the Christian Music business. Read a spin off story by Rachel on meeting Joe.

After high school years:

~This area is wide open for questions, because, other than your being with This Train, I'm clueless about your history.. ~ Did you go to College?

Joe: Yes, I went to college.  I attended a small private Christian College--Mississippi College located near Jackson, Mississippi.

~ How did you hook up with Mark and Jordan?

Joe:  The story of hooking up with Mark and Jordan of This Train is a great one.  My best friend (from home and college), Kevin Taylor, had bought one of This Train's independent CD's and loved their music SO much he called and booked them for a show.  The fellows agreed to the show as long as he could find a drummer to fill in.  Kevin then told me and I called to audition.  Couple weeks later during spring break I auditioned.  Then I moved to Chicago in June of 1995 to become the drummer of This Train.

~ If you were not doing music, is there another vocation you would pursue?

Joe:  If I were not doing music I would be a rocket scientist.  NO really I like creative fields so I would probably want to do Advertising.

~ Besides This Train, have you recorded on other records?

Joe:  I have recorded on a few other records:  Beki Hemingway, Calvary Chapel Praise Band Record (an IL Church) and tons of demos and other sundries.

~ Tell me about the Band This Train, what you liked the most about it?

Joe: This Train: I love it because it is truly unique.  When people see us live I don't know what question I get more..."Where the heck did that music come from"....or "What's with the clothes and hair?"  I also love This Train's silly humor/personalities and out of that has born some very loving and personal friendships with Mark and Jordan.

~ When and how did music start playing a major role in your life?

Joe:  Music started playing an important role way back in the 6th and 7th grade.
Listening to Russ Taff in the Imperials, the Altar Boys, Amy Grant and Michael W Smith.  I knew for sure I wanted to be a drummer in a Christian Rock Band.

~ Were you in a band(s) before This Train?

Joe:  Yes, I played in a band during college called Higher Call.  I also played a few show choir bands through high school and college.

~ How did you end up in the Christian Music industry vs secular?

Joe:  I ended up in Christian music because it was more familiar at this point and more of my background back then.

~ Percussion always adds dimension, depth and warmth to music.. I understand the basics of yeah, composing a song on piano, guitar, adding harmonica.. etc.. but when you add percussion to people's music, what angle or goal do you go for? ~ when you play a song, do you add different beats depending on the mood, or how it's being sung?

Joe:  Percussion definitely adds season to a song.  I try to stick out as much as possible.  No really I listen to the song and hear what it needs.  Similar to how you taste your food and decide if it needs salt or pepper before and you add accordingly.  I try to do the same when adding drums to a song.

~ Hey does this mean the guys will quite beating their guitars?.. the repair bills will be cut back.. of course I think the audience will still want one acapella song from them..

Joe:  Let's hope they quite beating their heads and guitars together--that explains
a lot....

~ Is This Train desolved? or on hiatus?..

Joe: This Train is on hiatus..we play a few gigs here and there.  On hiatus mostly due to the busy schedule of Mark and Jordan's commitment to the Ragamuffin Band.

~ So What has it been like, life on the road only a few concerts with these guys so far.. any comments?

Joe:  Sum up life on the road with Mitch and Brad in three words: POT ROAST HASH

 ~ Any first month travel stories to share with his fans?

Joe:  The only travel story is one night we were driving for hours and I looked over and Mitch accidentally pulled the pin in the hand grenade (we carry for security reasons)  And I had to pull over the van and save us....that was an incredible night.

~  What path is life leading you on in the near future?

Joe:  Near future?  Exploring a lot of possibilities with other musical facets, marriage, and touring with MITCH for the next 30 years of my life.

Miscellaneous - mostly nonsense category
(I gave Mitch and Brad this same list.. oh for fun stuff)

~ How tall are you

Joe: I am 7 feet 4 inches (really 6 feet and 3/4 inch)

~ Favorite soda

Joe:  ROOT BEER

~ A favorite fast food meal

Joe:  Jack in the Box TACOS

~ Color

Joe:  Yellow????  No--- green?  NO it is BLUE???

~ Favorite mom cooked meal

Joe:  Chocolate fudge casserole with Ham CHUNKS

~ Where do you like to shop

Joe:  Katy K's Ranch Dressing in Nashville, and Strange Cargo in Chicago.

~ Favorite Ice cream flavor

Joe:  Ben and Jerry's CHUBBY HUBBY

~ Favorite sport teams

Joe:  Miami Redskins---you know that one sport where they throw that thing and that guy tries to catch it.

~ Besides this bizarre list, what crazy things do the fans ask?

Joe:  Do you eat cereal with your left or right hand?

~ Is there something you'd like to tell people you haven't already?

Joe: One last thing....FANS ought to know that I AM A VERY STRONG SWIMMER.

Read The Story of Rachel and Joe meeting
 

The Cobra Joe Files