New Jersey singer-songwriter Joe P (aka Joe Parella) has been working in music for quite a while, but it wasn’t until this year that he released his debut full-length album. Released August 23, 2024 on Atlantic Records, Garden State Vampire was recorded mostly in Parella’s basement in northern New Jersey. Now the record is out in the world, Joe P will soon be goin on tour in support of the new album. He checked in with The Current’s Jill Riley to talk about Garden State Vampire, and about why he’s so proud to be from New Jersey.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: You're listening to The Current. I'm Jill Riley. For this morning, we want to take a listen to a brand-new song from Joe P. Now, before we get there, instead of me setting up the new song, we thought, well, let's check in with Joe P. You may know him for the song "Off My Mind"; it's one that got a lot of play on The Current when it came out. That's artist, producer and multi instrumentalist Joe P has released his long awaited debut album. It's called Garden State Vampire, and Joe P joins me on The Current's Morning Show. Hey, Joe, how you doing? 

Joe P: Hello. How are you?

Jill Riley: Not too bad. You're kind of in preparation mode where you're getting ready to hit the road for a tour. You've got this new album. You know, up until now, you've been releasing singles, and for some reason, in my mind, I'm like, "Well, this can't be a debut album," but it certainly is. So the new record, let's talk about the name of the new record, Garden State Vampire. Can you tell me a little bit about about that?

Joe P: Sure. Yeah, that just, that, really, it came from a lyric. So I wrote the lyric that said that first in one of the songs on the album. And so I had no title yet for the album. I had no clue. I always wait till the last second, and I go through all the lyrics and titles and see if there's anything there. And that one I just looked at, I was like, "Oh, that's perfect," because it was, I wrote that line anyway, because I was, I essentially waited till the last, you know, four weeks before the album was due, just like anything else in my entire life.

Jill Riley: Sure!

Joe P: I waited till the last minute to, like, really cram it all in, as far as, like, I'm gonna have to now, like, lock myself in this basement for four days, for four weeks, and just not sleep. And my sleep schedule completely reversed. So that's where the vampire thing came from. So it came, the lyric came from, like, a really, real place of that. And then I saw it, and I was like, "It also just looks good as a title. Let's do it. It's perfect."

Jill Riley: And Joe, I mean, you're a New Jersey guy. Do you want to talk about that a little bit? I think, especially in the world of TikTok and the way that you've been able to connect with fans through streaming and TikTok, I think there's something to be said that songs that go viral or people that find out about artists on social media, it's like time and place can kind of disappear a little bit. But you being from New Jersey, that's really important to you, isn't it? It's a big part of your identity.

Joe P: It's funny because to me, when you grow up in New Jersey, you grow up thinking it's the greatest place in the world in the sense of, like, I don't know, you're just like, "This is where I live," like anyone else's hometown or home state. And then you soon realize everyone was making fun of you this whole time. And I didn't know, and I was like, "No way." So I learned everyone was making fun of New Jersey, you know, as the years went on, and I just couldn't understand. I was like, "What do you ...? It's ..." And I grew up in North Jersey, where there's, like, woods everywhere, and it's really nice, like, you know, like, things like that. And then I moved down more to, like, Central Jersey, Asbury Park, where, like, the beach is, and I'm like, "This is also cool. What's everyone ... ?" And the food is, like, the best food ever. And you can get to New York or Baltimore or, you know, Florida, you can do anything you want, you know, in a car. So I just have so much pride for New Jersey, I guess that I didn't really know I was kind of, like developing, but I, over the years, have just had to defend it I feel like so much after going on tour and people being like, "Where are you from?" And I think just everyone I know who plays music seems to be from, like, L.A. or something, like anybody I talk to is always like, "Hey, you want to meet up. Where are you based?" And I'm like, "New Jersey." And they're like, "Never talk to you again." It's kind of funny, but, so I'd rather than feel kind of like, what am I doing here? I've just like, leaned into it more and literally gone under the ground, into the soil, to be like, "All right, I'm here. This is what I'm doing." So, yeah.

Jill Riley: Yeah. It sounds like maybe you've had a little pressure almost to go, OK, well, if you're going to, you know, really get this, you know, music thing going, like, you gotta move to a Nashville or a New York or L.A. or whatever. But I really appreciate hearing this, because I think it is relatable for anybody from, you know, a place where it's like, "Well, isn't that the kind of place you want to leave?" And I know, like, even as Midwesterners, you know, I'm born and raised in Minnesota, I live in the Twin Cities, it's like, we we have a lot of pride from where we're from.

Joe P: I actually think, if anything, my favorite stuff usually comes out of, you know, people who stayed in places where it's like, nothing happens there. You know? It's like, I think, like the Black Keys are from Akron, Ohio, right? So it's like things like that where you're like, there's something about having not much to do or to work with, or really, like, feel like there's no competition. Because if I lived in L.A., every day, I'd wake up and I would go get a coffee after working on a song for an hour, let's say, and think, "Oh, look, that guy in line looks just like me." And, "Oh, he's a musician too." Like, it would just bum me out. I'd feel like, how am I ever gonna win? How am I ever gonna get past the, you know, notch number one. Where, when you stay in your own pond, you're kind of, you can be delusional and think, like, "Man, I'm the greatest in the world," and it allows you to kind of artistically, for me anyway, I kind of need those blinders. I'm such a, like a horse like that. Like, I'm like, I need to just be like, "No, there's no one else making music, that would be crazy!", you know. And then when I go to places like L.A. or New York, I always feel so overwhelmed because I'm like, "Oh, this isn't my element." I need to prepare, and then I can go there. But I could never, I don't think, like, make my every day have to be in this place where everyone else is, like, racing to the carrot that I'm racing to. I just don't want to, I don't want there to be a carrot. That's kind of it.

Jill Riley: Sure! I'm talking with singer songwriter Joe P. We're talking about the new record, your debut, Garden State Vampire. We're talking about Joe's home of New Jersey. Joe, I want to talk about this new song. The new single is called "Violet." Now, you did go out to L.A. for part of this, right? Can you tell me a little bit about the making of this song?

Joe P: Yes, I was sent to L.A. for like, a 12-day trip, because that's what, you know, like, labels love to do. They love the idea of, like, "We'll send you with all these different writers and see what happens," and get in a room. And I was really against it at first, because I was so used to just doing everything myself. But it ended up being great, because I kind of went into each thing. I started learning that it's just like a band or something, like, you're just getting together with someone and jamming and whatever. And I think I put out the vibe to every person I wrote with that I was like, "If nothing comes of this, that's OK, that's what's supposed to happen." Like, you know, this is just magic still. Like, we're just little kids still trying to make it work in our parents' garage. And everyone was really cool with that. And one of the people I wrote was Josh Block, and we met up and we just, it was, like, the most organic thing I'd done where it was, like, he just set up microphones and we just played, me, him, and this other guy, Steve, who ended up being for my hometown in New Jersey at the end of the whole day. We were like, we somehow discovered ... he's like, "Where are you from?" I was like, "Oh, Sparta," which is, like, this little town in north, north, North Jersey, like in the woods. And he was like, "That's where I'm from." I was like, and I never met him, of all who in L.A., like, just crazy. But yeah, and we just kind of worked on this song, and it was super organic and like a jam, and we just laid it down. And there's like six tracks on the whole song. And it took us, like, a couple hours, really, and then my friend's daughter was born in the moment I was recording it, and he said her name was Violet. And I was like, "Oh, this is crazy. I have to work this into this song somehow," you know. So this song was written and recorded on that day, and I just kind of put it all together.

Jill Riley: Isn't it funny how all the pieces will just fall into place in a way that you wouldn't have expected. It's almost spooky.

Joe P: It's so weird, you can never ... The harder I try, the worse things get, I've learned. So all you can do is try to, I don't know, you got to try to have fun and try to make everything, like every day has to be worth like, "Oh, the whole point of this is to just enjoy this, and, you know, get something out and make something," you know. Because when you start that, again with the L.A., if I lived in L.A. thing, like, I think when you live somewhere like that, you can start to think otherwise and think, "Well, today's about networking, and I need to climb up the.." and it's like, you just, I think you'll lose it. So, yeah, stuff like that is always so cool to realize, like, "Oh, I didn't try..." Just, like, there's two songs on the album, "Lily" and "Violet." I didn't know until yesterday, because, like, my aunt or someone was like, "Oh, so what's the deal with like, the flowers on the album?" I was like, "What do you mean?" They're like, "Well, then you have two songs." I was like, those are two real people, and it was a coincidence that I even named a song after them, and I had no clue they were about flowers. So it's just weird stuff like that where you can't plan anything, I don't think. I don't, I really don't think you can.

Jill Riley: I love that. I'm talking with Joe P about the new song "Violet" from the debut record, Garden State Vampire. So we talked a little bit about you creating the actual song, but there's a music video that goes with this. And you know, is that something that you really like to get into, like, kind of the visual for the song?

Joe P: Yeah, I think it's like, I thought at first it was about, "Oh, I can't wait to pair some visual with this music and give those people an experience." But it really, truly, is just me and my friend Tony, who's the director of all of them, just so excited to... It's almost like we just needed to make the song so we could go make a video for it, and we just have so much fun doing it. And then we love, you know, doing whatever we can to make, because it's still the coolest thing. It's like getting together with your friends in the woods and making a video for science class when I was a kid, was like the same feeling. You're just like, "This is so exciting to make something!" that's like, you can watch it. It's cooler than a song, I think. So. Yeah, we're always just excited to get it done for the least amount of money possible, and, like, no resources, and just see what we can push the envelope too. So, yeah, we made a video for "Violet," and it was like, all of our ideas are always just like, one-sentence ideas. We always try to say, without a gazillion dollars, you know, you have to make something like that OK Go video where it was all the treadmills. It's like, if you have a good idea, the money part won't matter quite as much. So, and even if you have a lot of money, if you don't have a good idea, it doesn't matter. So, yeah, we had this idea of, like, tying me to a car, the car drives away, and that's kind of the whole video. And then we made a whole music video out of it, but then we posted just the one take of it, of the car driving away with the rope running out, tied to my leg, and it like blew up on the internet with all the, and people just going crazy, like, "Wow! What??" You know? And we, again, didn't plan that. I just posted that because I had to promote the music video. And then I look and I have millions of things, and Coldplay commented on it. I'm like, "What is going on right now?"

Jill Riley: I'm talking with Joe P talking about the new record, Garden State Vampire. Congratulations! I mean, your debut full-length record, that is to feel pretty good.

Joe P: It's really cool. It's ... but at the same time it's like, one of those things where it's like, once you finally do it, I'm like, "Cool. I want to write the next thing." I want to move. I gotta keep moving.

Jill Riley: That's good. I love to hear the motivation there. Hey, Joe, before I let you go, which I've got to soon, we're running out of time here, but we're going to play the song "Violet," the brand-new single from the debut album. You've referenced your basement a couple times. Now, people can't see this on the radio, but I'm doing a video call with Joe right now, and so I'm looking into your basement. It kind of reminds me a lot of my basement. You referenced the window. I have those really short like, I don't think I could get out of it if there was any sort of emergency in my basement. But since I can see you, I've noticed on your arm, is that like a Led Zeppelin tattoo I'm seeing there? OK, maybe this is a hard question, because I have a hard time answering this one if anybody asked me about my favorite band and what my favorite song is: What is your ultimate Led Zeppelin jam?

Joe P: Um, I want to say, and this is such a like a snobby answer, but it's the BBC live version of "Thank You." That's the truth. It's really just this amazing, live version of this song, that's just, I don't know what it is. It just sounds like them playing, like there's just, it doesn't even sound that great. It just kind of sounds like them in a room playing, and you really hear them for what they were: no production, no fancy anything. And, yeah, I always turn that on when I just want to hear and be reminded that like, you could do so much with four people in a room; like, you could really, you can really bring a lot to the energy of a room. So I listen to it a lot, like on tour and stuff, to get the live energy in my head.

Jill Riley: Excellent. And that's the kind of answer I would expect from a guy with a Led Zeppelin tattoo on his arm. I don't know that I have the BBC live version, but we'll throw on "Thank You" after after hearing this one. Hey, Joe, thanks so much for checking in. Congratulations on everything, and good luck on the road.

Joe P: Thank you so much. Thank you.

Jill Riley: This is Joe P with "Violet," and it's on The Current. (See music video above to listen to song.)

Credits

Guest – Joe P
Host – Jill Riley
Producer – Nilufer Arsala
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor

External Link

Joe P – official site