Joe Firstman

Last updated

Joe Firstman
Joe Firstman at Monday Monday 10 07 2013 -12 (10162548464).jpg
Background information
Born (1979-12-12) December 12, 1979 (age 44)
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Occupation(s)Singer, musician, songwriter, visual artist
Instrument(s) Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Bass guitar
Years active1990s–present
Labels Atlantic Records, 1stman Music, ATO Records
Website http://www.joefirstman.com/

Joe Firstman (born December 12, 1979) is an American multi-genre singer, songwriter, and late-night bandleader. [1] He was the bandleader from 2005 to 2009 on American late night television program Last Call with Carson Daly broadcast on NBC. Firstman is now recording and touring with Cordovas, the band he founded in 2011.

Contents

Early life

Born Joseph Mark Fuerstman ( /fɜːrstmæn/ FURST-man) in Charlotte, North Carolina, the middle son of a professional opera singer mother and a championship chess player father, Joe Firstman began to teach himself piano at the age of 12 and quickly developed an insatiable love of music. [2] [3] He attended Northwest School of the Arts where he studied cello and visual arts.

Joe Firstman began to achieve musical notoriety with his eponymous band Firstman (formerly Isabel Sol) gaining success through the 1990s opening for national acts. [4] In 2000, Firstman boarded a Greyhound bus relocating to Hollywood, California. Almost immediately Joe Firstman was named "Singer-Songwriter of the Year" at the 2001 Los Angeles Music Awards. He sold-out shows at venues such as The Troubador, Viper Room, and Whisky a Go Go, amassing the attention of music executives and industry insiders.

Musical career

In 2002, Joe Firstman signed a major-label deal with Atlantic Records. He released a widely praised EP Wives Tales , and later that year, a full-length album, The War of Women , revealing the full scope of the then-23-year-old's prodigious talents. [2] In support of this record, Firstman and his band toured nationally, opening for acts such as Jewel, Sheryl Crow, and Willie Nelson. Unheard of for a warm up act, his brief, eight-song set earned him a standing ovation in New York City's Radio City Music Hall. [3] Joe Firstman received public praise and admiration for his "amazing bluesy voice," "walloping the audience with his energy" and for having the "audience hung on his every word." [5] That band is notable for having helped launch the careers of My Morning Jacket guitarist Carl Broemel, Lady Antebellum guitarist Slim Gambill, and Rival Sons drummer Mike Miley.

In 2005, Joe Firstman left Atlantic Records to become the bandleader for NBC's late-night program, Last Call with Carson Daly . In November 2005 Joe Firstman became the official house band leader for Last Call. Notable members of his band include Kamasi Washington, Thundercat (musician), Kenny Aronoff, Mike Miley (Rival Sons), Brian Wright (musician), Zane Musa, Zane Carney, Mark Bryan, Marc Ford, and Ryan Porter. Firstman wrote the majority of the material the band performed. "His new gig didn't prevent him from continuing to write music, and in 2006 he released the EP Live at the Sandbox. He would continue to self-release records throughout his tenure on the show, releasing DrAMA! in 2007 and Fell Swoops in 2008. In 2009, NBC decided to go in another direction with Last Call", [1] ending the in-studio format, [6] freeing up Firstman to focus on songwriting. Firstman continued to self-release albums including the LP El Porto and the EP Live at the Treehouse, both in 2010, and Swear It Was A Dream in 2011.

In 2011, Joe Firstman formed the band Cordovas in Nashville, Tennessee, and released the self-titled full-length album Cordovas [7] and a live album later that year. Cordovas played two sets at the 2012 Wakarusa Music and Art Festival in Ozark, AR. Cordovas are currently recording an album produced by Kenneth Pattengale of The Milk Carton Kids.

While consistently touring across North America, Joe Firstman continues "to draw on a rich tapestry of style and genre. It’s genre-blending to the point of genre-defying." [8] In 2014, he released Love Bravely. Brooklyn, NY based The Deli Magazine says: "In addition to being a bottomless well of natural songwriting talent with years of touring experience with A-list acts, Firstman can claim four years acting as bandleader for The Carson Daly show. The role required a high level of day-to-day adaptability, which plays strongly into the polish and cohesion of Love Bravely, going on to call the record "magic" and "magnetic." [9]

Discography

Solo

With Cordovas

Related Research Articles

Marilyn Martin is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1985 hit duet with Phil Collins, "Separate Lives", which went to number one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ATO Records</span> American independent record label

ATO Records is an American independent record label based in New York City. The label was established in 2000 by Dave Matthews and manager Coran Capshaw.

<i>Last Call with Carson Daly</i> Television talk show

Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with The Tonight Show and Late Night. In 2009, Last Call abandoned its studio-based format, and was retooled as an entertainment program featuring interviews and performances filmed on-location with Daly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Tutmarc</span> Musical artist

Shane Tutmarc is an American producer, songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morningwood</span> American alternative rock band

Morningwood was an alternative rock band from New York City. Founded in 2001, it primarily consisted of Pedro Yanowitz and Chantal Claret. Morningwood was signed to Capitol Records and released two albums. Claret went solo in 2012 and folded the band.

Bob Florence was an American pianist, composer, arranger, and big band leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Lucca</span> Musical artist

Anthony James Lucca is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is perhaps best known for starting his career on The Mickey Mouse Club. After the Mickey Mouse Club, Lucca went to Los Angeles for a brief career as an actor, then became a full-time musician. He has toured with several acts, including Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, *NSYNC, Marc Anthony, Sara Bareilles, Matt Duke, Tyrone Wells, and the late Chris Whitley. He finished in third place on the second season (2012) of the American reality television singing competition talent show, The Voice, broadcast on NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Seefried</span> American singer-songwriter

Chris Seefried is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of the bands Gods Child, Joe 90, and Low Stars, and as producer and co-writer for the neo-soul band Fitz and the Tantrums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Simes</span> Musical artist

Frank Turner Simes is an American musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, composer and record producer. Simes is the musical director for Roger Daltrey, and has recorded and performed with Mick Jagger, Don Henley, and Stevie Nicks.

Ray Suen is an American musician based in Los Angeles, California, best known for his work with Childish Gambino, Lorde and Mariachi El Bronx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thom Donovan</span> American musician, producer (born 1974)

Thom Donovan is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and writer. His first novel, The Twin Affair, was published by Pegasus on September 28, 2023. He has released five solo albums and was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Lapush. His international performance career has included concerts across the United States as well as cities around the world. Donovan has performed with Brandi Carlile, Ruby Amanfu, Will Hoge, and worked with Wyclef Jean of The Fugees on his single, Shipwreck. Donovan's music frequently appears in film and television. He had a recurring uncredited background role in the ABC musical drama series, Nashville, as a musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lapush</span> American rock band

Lapush is an American rock band, formed in 2002 in St. Charles, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Reynolds</span> American musician

Lucas Fitzpatrick Reynolds is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, artist, writer and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Long (musician)</span> British singer-songwriter (born 1985)

Bobby Long is a British singer-songwriter, whose largely acoustic body of work has its roots in folk. Born in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, he moved at the age of four to Calne, Wiltshire, where he grew up, though he still holds deep roots in Wigan. He currently resides in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javier Colon</span> American singer-songwriter from Connecticut

Javier Colon is an American acoustic singer-songwriter. He has referred to his style of music as being "acoustic soul." He was a member of EmcQ and The Derek Trucks Band, and worked with many musicians before going solo. From 2002 to 2006, he was signed to Capitol Records, known as artist Javier. In 2006, however, the contract was terminated and Javier Colon became an independent artist with his own label, Javier Colon Music. In 2011, He is the winner of season 1 of American talent competition show on NBC, The Voice, receiving $100,000 and signing a recording contract with Universal Republic Records. Colon eventually decided to part ways with Universal Republic in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey Jack Cones</span> Musical artist

Mickey Jack Cones is an American record producer, engineer, session musician, singer and songwriter. Raised in a musical family, he is the grandson of Glenn Gray Orchestra singer Jane Cones and son of Jackie Cones of The Cones Sisters; Produced by Barry Beckett for RCA during the late 80's. Cones moved to Nashville in 1996 to finish his BBA at Belmont University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kopecky (band)</span>

Kopecky is an American indie-rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2007. The band consists of Kelsey Kopecky, Gabe Simon, Steven Holmes, David Krohn (drums), Markus Midkiff, and Corey Oxendine. Their debut album, Kids Raising Kids, was released in October 2012 and then rereleased by ATO Records in April 2013.

<i>Live at the Treehouse</i> 2010 studio album by Joe Firstman

Live at the Treehouse is a live-in-the-studio album recorded and released by Joe Firstman on Rock Ridge Music. The album includes rerecorded songs from previous albums, but it also contains a new song, "Middle Ground." According to Mark McDermott of the Easy Reader News, the new recordings show Firstman's "transformation" as an artist from the "full band ensembles of his early years to just his voice, guitar, and songs alone on the stage," additionally remarking that the songs are written by a younger Firstman but performed by a slightly older and wiser artist. To give the recordings a live feel, Firstman sings and plays at the same time, and the album has no overdubs. Live at the Treehouse contains a number of guest performers, as indicated in the track list below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beach Slang</span> American rock band

Beach Slang was an American rock band from Philadelphia formed in May 2013. The band underwent several line-up changes, with lead vocalist/guitarist James Alex serving as the band's leader, figurehead, chief songwriter and sole original member.

Glossary is an American rock band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee that formed in 1997.

References

  1. 1 2 "Joe Firstman - Biography". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Joe Firstman Biography - ARTISTdirect Music". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Joe Firstman - Upcoming Shows, Tickets, Reviews, More". Jambase.com. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Joe Firstman - Tickets - The Walnut Room - Walnut Street Location - Denver, CO - August 24th, 2013". The Walnut Room. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Joe Firstman w/special Guest Charlie Mars Tickets at Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte, NC - Zvents". April 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  6. ↑ Last Call with Carson Daly. NBC. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  7. ↑ "The Cordovas". Cordovasband.com. 2011.
  8. ↑ "Tending to the dream in Joe Firstman's Garden". Easyreadernews.com. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Cordovas, "Do No Wrong" — nashville". Nyc.thedelimagazine.com. August 12, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.