Joey Gaydos Jr.
While growing up, music was constant in my household. My parents were always listening to everything from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to ZZ Top and just about everything else in between. I was inspired by my father, who plays guitar, to start playing guitar around the age of 10. When I was 11 years old, I was fortunate enough to co-star alongside Jack Black in the Paramount film School of Rock. Not only did I get to act in a major motion picture, but I got to play my guitar in the movie, which is my first love. After traveling around the world doing promotion for School of Rock, I returned back to Michigan, and recorded a batch of songs that I had been writing. Those songs turned out to be my self-titled debut album, which featured an outstanding musician Donn Deniston on drums, and Joe Gaydos Sr., (my dad) on bass. The record was a great first effort, and was well received both locally and internationally. Through 2004 and early 2005, I continued to write new material. By now I felt it was time to form my own band with hopefully a group of like minded musicians. After a long and some what frustrating audition process, I was very impressed by the drumming skills of Nick Brandon. Although Nick would have been my first choice to fill the spot, I debated whether or not to try and find musicians closer to my own age. That idea went straight out the window after reviewing the audition tape, Nick was defiantly in. I still had not found a bassist until my dad suggested a guy that he had jammed with named Jonathan Redmond. A rehearsal was scheduled with Jonathan, needless to say he impressed both myself and Nick with his extraordinary musical abilities. The Joey Gaydos Group was, and is, now a reality.
Nick BrandonI graduated from Ohio State in 2002 with a journalism degree, and during my time there spent four years in the Athletic Band that plays at basketball games. This kind of rejuvenated my desire to play music, and, along with the events of 9/11, inspired me to write and record "The Phenol Red Solution" under the name Anders Ek during my senior year in 2002. Following getting a job with Heritage Newspapers, I spent a few months playing drums with a band called Bridgewood, and when that band broke up I vowed to record another Anders Ek album. Right as I was writing new songs for that, an opportunity came up to join Joey's band, and when early rehearsals felt good and showed a real chemistry between us, I knew this was the right next move for me musically. I'm excited to be part of his career from the beginning, and cant wait to play live with him and wow audiences.
Jonathan RedmondMusic was always in my family as my mother is a classically trained pianist and she spent her Sundays playing the organ at our church. Although this gig was never really my thing, I did spend some time playing acoustic guitar in church with her and some really amazing local indigenous musicians who were the consummate ear players. During this time my world was turned upside down by GNRS album Appetite for Destruction, which resulted in many electric guitars and playing loud raw rock. I decided to start playing bass at 16 when a friend of mine told me I could come to his lessons and jam on the bass there. I was immediately hooked and was able to develop quickly through good mentors, teachers, other band members, and through keeping myself busy by transcribing the bass lines of John Paul Jones, Flea, and Eric Avery. I am very excited about working in the Joey Gaydos Jr. Group as I am able to provide solid and melodic bottom end support for Joeys searing guitar riffs and Nicholas Brandons thunderous pocket drumming.
