Joel Kent Oliver
Joel Oliver
Elizabethton
First off, don't be afraid to listen to these songs loudly, I do, lol, but, they all can be enjoyed at lower levels I assure you. Born in Elizabethton, Tennessee, I began by taking piano lessons and then decided that I wanted to play percussion as well. That made me to decide to start private drum lessons along with continuing piano. Then, I realized a cold, hard fact. These drums and piano sure are hard to take camping, lol! So, I set out to teach myself, with the help of a great many people, to play guitar. Hardest and one of the most satisfying things I've ever done. I've sat around many a campfire without needing or wanting a radio and been amazed at how many people suddenly want to join me around the fire. I started realizing then the power that music had over people and how it drew in people like a moth to a flame. After that, bass guitar seemed only natural to learn as well. I liked writing poems and songs are nothing but poems set to music, so, this presented another avenue of adventure. I have had over 40 poems published, some internationally. I started playing professionally as a drummer on a weekly music variety show in Johnson City, TN. and as a local studio musician( drums, keyboards, guitar, bass and backup vocals) in 1970. Joined the Navy in 1973, during Vietnam, received a medical discharge in 1975 and after the Navy, I lived and played all over the country with whoever and whenever I could before finding out that my musical heart was still here in Tennessee. I came back to Tennessee and couldn’t be happier about it. I found out early that the hardest thing about music was keeping a group together, so, I decided to record my own music and bring in other artists as I needed them. I fished and camped and wrote music at my own pace and I’m still doing the same thing today. I released the CD, “All Hopped Up “ in 2006 and am still working on bringing out more music. I enjoy writing songs with lyrics, but, I enjoy instrumentals even more because it lets each person create their own stage where their feelings put the words down for them.