It didn't take an expensive image consultant to come up with the name, Joe Mejer (pron. "major"). That's his real name. Besides, who would need to worry about "image" when they create music that's already fashionable in itself? Donning a motley of musical influences from Arlo Guthrie to Outkast, Joe Mejer's music fuses the fun with the madness, the anxiety with the despair, and the revolution with the guitar. Learning how to play the guitar at age 16 boosted Mejer's interest in soundscapes. Over the next few years, having mastered the congas, maracas, and bongos, he'd find himself doubly enmeshed in South Bend, Indiana's burgeoning, local-music scene by playing in both a church worship band and a “jazz/funk fusion" jam band, Different Folk. Mejer then relocated to Durham, North Carolina. Only a few years later, and with the addition of electronic drums and synthesizing, he carved out his first solo LP, Experimentation. The title, Experimentation, may come off as a disclaimer, but Mejer's guitar-plucking instrumentals, accompanied by a lustful penchant for futuristic folklore, speak for themselves. Without sounding too distant, Mejer finds a way to hide inside of his songs, blending in when necessary, but peaking out when he wants you to find him or to feel what he's saying. Currently, while working with other musicians, he's working on a solo EP more grounded in live instrumentation.

Author: Eric M. Tullis