Alternative folk rock - as if the Beatles met Wilco while vacationing in Australia.

13 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Folk Rock, ROCK: Acoustic



Details:
With the release of his fourth album, "Blanco", Joel Stein continues to captivate the worldâs ears with his music. Produced by the prolific New York singer-songwriter himself, "Blanco" features the multi-talented Stein singing and performing nearly all the instruments on the record. As on his previous CD, "Marionette", "Blanco" features several of Joelâs talented musician friends, including members of the bands of Rufus Wainwright, Sean Lennon, and Duncan Sheik. Joelâs songwriting is his best to date, subtly reflecting the sound of his long-time influences The Beatles, and that of more recent influences like Wilco, Travis, Ron Sexsmith, Radiohead, the Beach Boys, and Crowded House.

Citysearch.com describes Joel as âLed Zeppelin and Bob Dylan rolled into one, making rockin' folk music that picks you up and takes you on a journey to Woody Guthrie-land, with stops in Velvet Underground-ville.â The Houston Chronicle says he âflirts with many musical styles, flitting energetically and effortlessly from Dylan's poetic storytelling to Bowie's epic lyricism to Ben Folds Five's sassy piano-driven jaunts and all points in between.â

Since the release of his last CD, Joel has been featured in TIME magazine, voted "Best Houston Guitarist" by Ticketmaster/Citysearch.com, and nominated "Houston Songwriter of the Year" by them as well. He has garnered six ASCAP Awards for his songwriting, performed at the CMJ Music Marathon and Songwriters Hall of Fame showcases in New York City, and appeared on a national tour with the Three Irish Tenors. Joel also founded Green Zebra Records and became Creative Director of Inca Coda Publishing.

A demo Joel recorded in college caught the attention of GoldRhyme Records, and the songwriter signed with the Texas indie label while still a music composition student at Rice University, in Houston. The relationship saw the subsequent recording of three CD's of original alternative folk-rock. Joel and GoldRhyme parted ways soon after the release of "Marionette", which was produced by Brad Albetta (Rufus Wainright, Martha Wainright, Sean Lennon) and recorded with drummer Matt Johnson (John Mayer, Jeff Buckley) and bassist Jeff Allen (Duncan Sheik).

Joelâs live shows range from intimate acoustic folk numbers to full-out loud, soul-stirring rock and roll. Whether solo or with his band, The Totems, Joel continues to attract audiences across the USA and Europe.