Born and raised in Chestertown New York Joe learned to play guitar as a teenager. He grew up playing with James Dower a local guitarist who was best known for his work with the Bolton Landing based band "The House Guests". While attending Ulster County Community College Joe was greatly influenced buy a local master of the stratocaster through an over driven Marshall stack ,John Wheeler. While living in Jersey City Joe was exposed to a wide variety of music performed in the New York City music scene. It is during this time he learned how to play harmonica. In 1998 Joe met Vinnie and was asked to play bass in the band soon to be known as Deja Blue.