Q: Are you on Facebook?
A: Okay, okay. I finally broke down and did it. I have a Facebook presence
here. Be sure to hit "Like" down by the Jukebox on this page, too. If you must know why it took me so long to get a Facebook page, allow me to direct you to
this article,
perhaps the most sincere thing that has yet been published in cyberspace. Please take ten minutes and read it. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Q: I can't find you're (sic) blog.
A: My blog is called Debbie Gibson Owes Me Fifty Bucks. I didn't update it at all last year; I was out of town and nothing that happened to me there was relevant to what's happening here. But I'll start updating it again, now that I'm back.
Q: Yeah, I noticed you were gone. Where were you?
A: My day job requires that I work under an NDA. I was made an offer that I couldn't turn down. Unfortunately, it involved temporary relocation.
Q: Who are your influences?
A: As a horn player, Big Jay McNeely, Plas Johnson, Joe Houston, Houston Person, Scott Page, Michael "Tunes" Antunes, and Clarence Clemons. As a songwriter, Chick Willis, Randy Newman, Adam Duritz, Ray Charles, Bo Carter, Mark Dufresne, and Victor Borge. As a keyboardist, Jonathan Cain, Nicky Hopkins, and Josh Wilson.
Q: What kind of horn / mouthpiece / reeds do you play?
A: I play a custom Dukoff S-series mouthpiece opened to .145 on a 1956 Martin tenor saxophone. My baritone
is a Low-Bb Conn 12M with a refaced vintage hard rubber Brilhart. I play Rico Plasticover baritone sax reeds on both.
My sound reinforcement is about as low-tech as you can get; I use a Sennheiser E604 on a mount that I fabricated myself and run an XLR straight into the board.
Q: So if I get this horn / mouthpiece / reed, I can sound like you?
A: Sure.
Q: Really, though. Any advice for sax players?
A: I wrote an article a few years ago that's still up at the Sax On The Web instructional pages. Also, watch my blog. I'll be putting some more stuff together as I figure out how I do it to begin with.
Q: So, 9 tracks? This album is, like, 40 minutes long.
A: Yeah. It's an LP. CD's are dead, and the length of an album is arbitrary, anyway. The LP has a specific order and flow to it but since the music is available digitally, you're all just going to pick the songs you like & buy those, anyway. If you really want to share my vision, buy the vinyl this fall.
Q: Is that picture real? Do you really play on your back?
A: On my back, behind my back, jumping on tables, duck-walking down the bar, yes. I once lit my horn on fire with a shot of 151
in the bell but I won't be doing that again anytime soon.
Q: Is it true you refuse to play Mustang Sally?
A: No. Joey the Saint and The A-Men will play Mustang Sally, but it requires $100, cash, in my hand, in advance. The price is not negotiable and you have no mediation options. If the song is as great as you think it is, then taking up a collection from the club patrons shouldn't be all that hard.
Q: Who's your tailor?
A: Thank you. Brooks Brothers in Seattle.
Q: Your blog is called Debbie Gibson Owes Me Fifty Bucks. Why does Debbie Gibson owe you fifty dollars?
A: Get me drunk and I'll tell you all about it.
"Batting it out of the park with nasty juke joint saxophone."
-- Blue Suede NewsHonkin', growlin', screamin', and wailin', Joey the Saint’s hallmark tenor style has become a fixture around the Pacific Northwest from roadside bars and juke joints to the Gorge Amphitheatre. His aggressive sound, electric stage presence, and showmanship hail back to the 40's and 50's honkers and shouters.
Joey cut his teeth in the Seattle Blues and R&B scene as a saxophonist and vocalist with the internationally acclaimed jump blues combo Tim Casey & the Bluescats. He has performed with such legends as Frankie Lee, Charlie Musselwhite, Rusty Zinn, John Nemeth, Mitch Woods, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the JB’s, and has been nominated for Best Horn by the Washington Blues Society for his work with local heroes including Polly O'Keary, Nick Vigarino, and The Fabulous Wailers. He is featured prominently on the soundtrack of the cult horror smash RetarDEAD from 4321 Films, and remains a steady call for recording projects in Seattle and L.A.
Joey is currently playing with Hot Rod's Blues Revue and is available as a saxophonist and keyboardist for sessions, lessons, subs, and roadwork.