West Side Joe & The Men of Soul - Keep On Climbin' (2021)

Loose, funky grooves and smooth vocals. Incendiary guitar playing and lyrics that you can't forget. Raised in Memphis, TN, Joe now does his thing based out out of Ft. Collins, Colorado with the help of two other soulful transplants: Steve Amedee, from New Orleans, LA and Taylor Tesler from Rochester, NY. Ya'll might remember Steve from The Subdudes, and Taylor from his touring with American Idol's Caesy Abrams.

As for Joe, he earned his recording and performing credentials with Memphis' Blues Rock Queen Reba Russell. After playing with Reba for five years, Joe took on the challenge of starting his own group, Minivan, which became a staple of the Memphis roots rock scene. He also took gigs with Memphis blues artists Earl the Pearl, Billy Gibson, and Big Joe Turner (bassist for Albert and B.B. King). Joe has shared stages with Charlie Hunter, Tower of Power, and James Cotton.

West Side Joe & The Men of Soul are similar to acts like Los Lobos, The Band, Mavis Staples, Alvin "Youngblood" Hart, and Tedeschi Trucks Band. How so? For these musicians, musical genre does not represent a limitation, but a possibility. "Does it feel good?" This is the question that determines where go The Men of Soul.

It's mostly blues, R&B, rock & roll, soul, and funk - the brilliant creations of African-American artists which most modern popular music is based on today. This is what inspires the band to write their material. The best way to understand is to get to a Men of Soul concert, but in the mean time, pick up Keep On Climbin', the 2021 masterstroke of original, blues-based music. For the album, the band enlisted a who's who of Colorado musicians such as Lionel Young, Cary Morin, Al Chesis, Bevin Luna, Vi Wickam, and Saja Butler, in addition to Joe's old friend from the Beale St. days, Al Gamble of St. Paul & The Broken Bones. It was recorded at Stout Studios in Ft. Collins by local engineer and drummer Darren Radach, and mixed by Toby Vest, Pete Matthews, and Dawn Hopkins (who used to run live sound for Isaac Hayes!) Mastered in Nashville at TrueEast by Alex McCollough (John Prine, Lucero).