biography
So, who is GrandpaJoe?
GrandpaJoe is NOT a band comprised of the four guys in the pick-up. That photo was taken on an Earlham School of Religion faculty trip to Honduras in January 2006. GPJ is the guy in the yellow shirt. The rest are his colleagues on the seminary faculty. Yes, his day job is teaching graduate students in pastoral studies; that is, how to be a pastor. Believe it or not, GrandpaJoe is a pastor himself at the greatest little Quaker meeting east of the Mississippi: Williamsburg (Indiana) Friends Church.
GrandpaJoe IS Phil Baisley. He used to write poems and songs in high school and college (back in the Dark Ages). As a matter of fact, he was the guy who’d write the poems other guys would give to their girlfriends (Cyrano LIVES!). He also sang in a folk/rock/gospel duo with a girl named Debbi with whom he is still friends. (Debbi and her husband run a Christian camp in southeastern Kentucky.) Then marriage and family responsibilities stepped in and GrandpaJoe stopped writing (except for a few children’s songs) for over 30 years. Through the influence of the Richmond Civic Theatre and people like Kathy, Katey, Kellyn, and Rita, the music came back in October 2005; and even though the song “At Midnight” is about someone who lost their music, it’s been with him every day since then.
GrandpaJoe is NOT a singer or a musician (you probably figured that out by now), although he does most of the music and all of the vocals on his recordings. He is first and foremost (maybe even only) a songwriter. While he practices as much as he can for the live performances he loves, you will find his heart and soul in his lyrics. That’s why every song on his profile will have a lyrics blog. These blogs contain not just lyrics but the story behind the song and a few comments from people who have said nice things.
So who IS playing on the songs? Like I said, GPJ plays most of the instruments: keyboards, bass guitar, harmonica, melodica; he even programmed the drum machine in “All About a Girl.” With one exception, the guitars are played by Jeremy Conatser, who also plays bass on a few of the songs. The other guitarist, playing on “If the World Would Just Spin Backward,” is Craig Dove. GrandpaJoe would love to get some Richmond area musicians together to form a real band and would welcome a message from anyone interested in joining him.
So that’s GrandpaJoe. I hope his songs speak to you. They come from his own life, loves, joys, and sorrows. If they strike a familiar chord in you, please leave a comment.