Joe Bacon

My name is Joe Bacon. I sing, I write, I play.

I started in classic rock cover bands at sixteen, playing guitar in the bars and beer halls. The nights were long…I had lots of fun. Seven years of that was enough.

At twenty-three I started an original new music band called High Noon with two dudes. We rocked like the Clash jamming with Gene Vincent on a surf board. We were as cool as the titles of some of our songs: “Fins and Chrome”, “Life Off the Gun”, “Black Lace & Leather”, “Holy Boots” and “Eight Inch Fins”. We broke into the underground scene in Buffalo in clubs like “The Continental”, “The Jam Club” and “The Cabaret” at a time when the Goo Goo Dolls and Splatcats were just breaking out.

At the same time as High Noon I was playing in an avante garde string quartet/quintet called “A Host of Others”. We played theaters and art galleries including Carnegie Hall and Symphony Space in NYC as well as Hallwalls Art Gallery and Essex Street Art Gallery in Buffalo .

My next band was the zany “Mr. Wonderful Surprise?!” We had a lot of fun toasting pop culture and arguing politics. Our great love of Two-Tone ska , classic reggae and new wave was our muse. We recorded one CD called “What Ja-Makin ’?!” The CD was fantastic and the band was off the wall live.

After MWS?! came Major Healy. Major Healy was ska /punk and our first disc was called “NONSTOP! ”. The band toured the northeast and played Bangor , Maine to New York City with bands such as Smashmouth , Sponge, G. Love and the Special Sauce, RUN DMC, Sister Hazel, The Verve Pipe, Moby, Citizen King, The Flys , the Toasters and even Vitamin C.

The big break came when Major Healy was invited to play as the house band for a season of “Premium Blend” on the Comedy Central Network. The host was the hilarious David Alan Grier. We filmed the show in New York City in late August/early September of 2001. The experience was great, the people were fantastic and we tore up the city. It was a great time in New York City , only a week before the City and the world changed considerably.

After Major Healy I played in a great band with singer/songwriter Maria Sebastian. We loved to hang out, play, talk and drink the drummer’s (Cave Wilson) beer.

Right now I'm in “Poor Ould Goat”. Poor Ould Goat plays Celtic music, drinks Guinness and has plenty fun. The music has traditional flavor with modern energy. We play some interesting instruments in this band. My main instruments are the accordion and tin whistle. I sing and play acoustic guitar as well. The rest of the band is Chris McGonnell (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodrhan ), Brian Carney (vocals, mandolin, bouzouki, acoustic guitar) and Jeff Jankowski (of Mr. Wonderful Surprise?! on djembe , doumbek , traps and assorted percussion).

Poor Ould Goat plays all around and has done more for the sale of Guinness in Buffalo than happy hour ever could. Our first CD is recorded and being mixed in between life, work and shows. So it’s not being mixed all too frequently.

I’m not worried; I’m having fun.