Joe Normal on "Jersey Heart Mersey Beat": "...I mean c'mon, how can you be from New Jersey and not like this song! Equally a tribute to the Boss and The Beatles. It almost slipped by me that you used the same chord progression as Born To Run! But seriously, growing up in Elizabeth and the Northern part of Jersey, we were totally influenced by the British bands and songs. The Beatles, Stones, The Who, The Jam, The Clash. I wasn't into Springsteen when I was younger, I didn't get it. When I got Sirius XM in the car in 2015 I discovered his channel and became a HUGE fan after hearing all the live shows in-between song banter and camaraderie. THAT is where I found the essential Bruce!..."

Joe Normal on "Shoot For The Stars": "...The guitars are great on this track, has a nice rock 'n roll Les Paul through a Marshall amp vibe, love the inspirational lyrics that remind us to never give up on our dreams. Gives me some Tom Petty meets Social Distortion feel good energy..."

Joe Normal on "Ode to the Chemtrail Pilots": "...Whatever people's opinions are on this topic, I think it is great that Rich wrote a song about chemtrails. It gets the conversation started and serves as a quick identifier of who has an open mind and who is likely a controlled mind. Weather Modification is real, and has been ongoing at least since the 90's. It's been confirmed officially in mainstream news time and time again over the last five years, yet the conspiracy theory stigma persists. LOOK UP. Talk about it..."

Joe Normal on "You Can't Push Over a Standing Rock": "...Now we're talking, Rich! I like the message here, "wake up sleepers... rise up", man, if people only realize what's going on here. And it's not just our Native Americans, we are ALL indigenous peoples from somewhere who's ancestors were truly free people that lived freely in the wild. That is our natural state, that is how Humans are supposed to live. We've all had our cultures and spaces usurped by power and money, and more recently we've been seduced and captured by technology. That's why it is so important to teach our youth about the outdoors and nature, that's where we all come from. That’s where we all belong to...."

RRL: As a long-time member of the independent music community, what lessons have you learned?

JN: I've learned that it doesn't matter where I live or how old I am. I don't need a manager or tons of money to do this like we used to think we needed. I create freely on my own and with my band because I can access simple tools like Garageband on a Mac computer. You can totally do this thing completely old-school-punk DIY style from your basement. You don't need a label anymore to get released or heard. You just gotta be genuine, never stop being passionate about making music and art, and remember to nurture the friends and community that support your work at any level.

RRL: What have you discovered about yourself in the process?

JN: I think the biggest thing I've discovered about myself in the process is that I can work independently. I can be completely self-reliant and be the "Producer" because of the technology that is available to us, and because I've been given the gift of songwriting and can write prolifically, I can decide which songs to work on solo or with my band. I don't always have to work alone, but I don't always have to work with a band. I can do both, and I love that.

RRL: What's a small moment of kindness you'll never forget?

JN: It was Joey Ramone. He was the first rock star I'd ever encountered. It was 1984, I was 20 years old at the Hanoi Rocks gig at the Ritz in NYC and Joey saw me in my paisley jacket and he came right up to me and said hello and we made small talk for only like a minute because I was so shy. He was like ten feet tall! His simple gesture made me feel so accepted, it made me feel seen like I had never been before. Any time I would face rejection from then onward, I would recall that moment with Joey Ramone, and everybody else could go F off.

RRL: What's something you didn't realize you needed until you had it?

JN: A home recording set up. My first experience was a borrowed Tascam Porta 4 track cassette studio in the late 80's, it was essential to helping me realize my songs and hearing what I sounded like. In the early 2000's I got a Zoom 8 track digital portastudio which I started using in tandem with Audacity for editing around 2010 and kept on that way for awhile. Then around 2015 a student lent me an older laptop that had Garageband on it, and I finally upgraded to a brand new Mac computer with Garageband in 2022. I'm making albums now on that set up.

RRL: What's a moment when someone surprised you in the best way?

JN: When Sammy Hagar called me at my day job to say he saw me performing my song on TV, and wanted my permission to release a song he wrote that was inspired by my hook "All The Money In The World". We split the rights to his version and I received a few nice paychecks right around the time my first son was born. That was really good timing for the struggling musician new dad that I was. I am so grateful for that kindness, but I still don't know how the heck he got my work phone number!

RRL: What are you currently working on? What's on the horizon?

JN: I have several projects going at once. I just released a single with Grammy Winning Songwriter Scot Sax (Wanderlust, Faith Hill) called "Maybe This Is All Made Up" which expresses disbelief in light of world events and we're about to drop a music video for that.

I am also planning consecutive EP releases from both my band The Anytown'rs and a solo Joe Normal release for the summer. I love a lot of new jangle pop and indie pop bands and for awhile had been thinking, "I do that too", but somehow all the rock and singer-songwriter-y stuff has taken priority over the years. So, I am recording a batch of jangly power pop love songs for the later this year.

Related Links: For more information on JOE NORMAL please visit the following links - Joe Normal on Instagram | Joe Normal on Tik Tok | Joe Normal on BandCamp | Joe Normal on YouTube

Originally published on 2026-02-27

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