MP3 Brian Joseph - King Of Echo Park

East Los Angeles eclectic singer-songwriter acoustic pop. Randy Newman meets Los Lobos.

13 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Folk Pop, URBAN/R&B: Contemporary urban



Details:
If Elvis was the king of rock, and Michael Jackson the king of pop, who's the king of Echo Park? The answer is a tall, slim young man by the name of Brian Joseph.
In February of 2000, he abandoned all the glamorous
trappings of life as a Los Angeles actor for the glory and
prestige of being a full-time folk singer. For a decade, his acting had been met with critical acclaim and awards, including a Shellie award in 1999 for his portrayl of Rodolpho in "A View From The Bridge." Although he had been praised for his work in many stage, television and film productions, both domestically and internationally, he was more well known for his portrayl of Cheesy the Pizza Slice in a tv commercial than for his role as Roderigo in "Othello" or Dromio in "A Comedy of Errors." Not that he wasn't a convincing slice of pizza, but something was just not right. Being an actor had simply become a day job.
So in response to the demands of an increasingly pushy fan base, Joseph returned to his first love - music. In 1999 he recorded his first cd, "Somewhere It's True," a collection of his own jazzy folk compositions. It was very warmly received. Disc jockey Bob McWilliams (Trail Mix, KANU-FM) called it "...one of the best debut albums by anyone I have ever heard. Period."
He has since toured internationally, playing in venues from Havana, Cuba, to New York, San Francisco, and Wamego, Kansas. His stage show is simultaneously fun and soulful, combining extemporaneous songwriting, myriad forms of audience interaction and humiliation, and his own intelligent, politically conscious urban-folk sound, which falls somewhere between Paul Simon, Randy Newman and Mose Allison.
His first two recordings and his constant touring have generated not only rave reviews, but a stream of accolades and awards. Recently he has appeared on the main stage at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and The Kerrville Folk Festival, and won the prestigious Telluride Troubador competition.
this is Joseph's third cd, "King of Echo Park," produced by legendary songwriter and producer Wendy Waldman. It features the stellar musical talents of Danny Donnelly (Kenny Loggins Band), Kenny Edwards (Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley), Freebo (Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills & Nash), Asdru Sierra and Ulysis Bella (Ozomatli), Julie Wolf (Bruce Cockburn, Ani
Difranco), and many others.