Local StoriesSeptember 30, 2022

Check Out Joel Jorgensen’s Story

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Jorgensen. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Joel grew up in a musical family but didn’t start thinking about music as a career until he moved to LA in his early 20s. He sold everything he owned and packed up his car, and drove to LA with a dream of becoming a rockstar. At 24, Joel signed his first major record deal with Sony USA as the lead singer for his rock band, Angels Fall. Through that experience, Joel learned a lot about the music industry and songwriting. Just as his career started taking off, Joel was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, which ultimately made it impossible for him to tour. Unable to leave his home, Joel studied music production and began producing music on his own. Once in remission, Joel packed up everything he owned, setting out on a cross-country journey on his Harley that brought him to Nashville, where he resides today, writing and producing music full time.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
The best way to explain the lifelong obsession with music is to start at the beginning. I grew up in a musical household. Both my parents played guitar, and my father was a professional musician in Colorado and California, so I got the bug early on, so to say. I currently still perform with his 74 Guild D25. I have vivid childhood memories, barely able to get my arms around it, let alone play anything palatable to the human ear. He gave it to me when I was 13 years old, has traveled the world with me, and has written several thousand songs since.

At 15, I had my first band experience, which was fun. Thankfully one of the members was old enough and had the forethought to make everyone wear earplugs because black metal music is loud, and we played for hours and hours on end. Ultimately everything fizzled out, but I was hooked. I knew that music was the only thing I wanted to do and would travel anywhere or go to any lengths to get it.

So at 17, I set out to become a rock star. I went to the mountain and watched the guys play covers at the ski resorts and learned from them how to hold a room, perform, and show people a good time. After two years of that lifestyle, I knew I needed to move to a bigger city if I was ever going to get discovered, so I moved back to Colorado springs. This is where things hit high gear. I joined a few bands and became known as the rock guy who could sing his ass off and would drive his bandmates crazy with five nights of rehearsal and constant show. Those bands lasted the longest of 6 months, and I joined another band, drove them hard, and then they would fizzle out again. So I set my sight high. To be a rock star, you must move where they are made. So I packed what little I had into my car with my Guild guitar and headed to Los Angeles. What a city it was. I’d party at the rainbow room drinking with Lemmy (Motorhead). I’d rub elbows with the biggest rock stars of that era while working two jobs to pay for my couch in the Hollywood hills. I was moving furniture during the day, bouncing at The House of Blues at night, and not sleeping. I finally got around to writing and had a closet to record in, so I began to create. Lord knows, with the little sleep and crazy party life, I had plenty of growing pains to write about. I didn’t know how to record, so all of my first demos were pretty bad, but they got the point across just enough to get the attention of a management company. Life sped up again, and I found myself standing in Manhattan in front of the biggest labels in the world at that time. Capital, Virgin, Sony. Ultimately I signed with Epic Records. Epic built a band around me, and I named it Angels Fall. What a ride, I was homeless and still working. I’d surf couches, sacrificed relationships, and became one long screaming note of energy and music. It wasn’t long before my body started giving out. I didn’t know how to handle the stress of it all. Travel, no sleep, no one to rely on but myself, and me being the guy with no life skills, just a ton of songs, a voice, and willingness doesn’t add up to good health and longevity. The years flew by, and if you asked me what I remember about my mid 20’s, I’d say not much. It was a blur, and it all came to a screeching halt when my body finally gave up.

At 29, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, and my career and what seemed like my life was over. Five years of pain, starvation, terrible side effects from medication, and loneliness and embarrassment no person should go through. I had lost many friends in Los Angeles, and I wasn’t going to give up the ghost. I was 125 lbs flat broke, unable to work or create.

All for the love of music, right? I was living in a junkyard in Compton. At night I could hear the homeless on the tracks on the other side of the fence battling each other and their demons. Finally, my family stepped in and saved my life. They shipped me south, found good health care, and got me a doctor specializing in my illness. I never touched my guitar or sang a note, but I curiously started meeting people from Nashville. Like every day. Random places my doctor nurses people at the grocery store. I started feeling that burn in my stomach, a hunger I had forgotten about. I was ready to start creating again. My health was stable, and I was getting better each day; about a year had passed, and a friend called that I hadn’t heard from in years and said to come to Nashville. You will love it. So I did. I spent a couple of weeks hanging out wherever I could find music, and boy, I found it. Everywhere. Grocery stores, street corners, Broadway everywhere. I fell right back into love with my passions. I even got to play the Bluebird, Tootsies, and Belcourt Taps. I headed back to California, sold everything, and shipped a couple of changes of clothing, old Guild guitar, and road cross country alone on my Harley to start the next chapter of my life!

What a trip it was. I was ready to rise from the ashes. And that is what I have done since. It still has been challenging, and I even ended up homeless for a couple of weeks, but the community sticks together out here, and a friend took me in and helped me get back on my feet. I have been playing at least two weekly rounds and writing as much as possible with as many people as possible I met my beautiful wife playing a gig at Rippy’s Honky Tonk, and my life has never been the same. She is my support, cheerleader, and rock when I am weak. She pushed me to do music full-time, which is exactly what I did.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Music Producer, Songwriter, Performer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Career Coach. Joel writes and produces tracks for artists across multiple genres, including country, pop & rock music. He has had several artists over the past 2 years nominated for Josie Awards in Rock & Americana. He is known around town for his sultry voice and honest songs that can quiet any room in town. For 2 years before the pandemic, Joel ran a weekly writer’s round at Belcourt Taps called East of the Row, where he built a community of diverse & extremely talented artists that became close friends and family.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Music Producer, Songwriter, Performer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Career Coach. I’ve lived in Nashville for 7 years and played every venue, including the Country Music Hall of Fame, Third and Lindsey, The Listening Room, The Local, and Cabana Tap. I probably should write down all the venues, but it would take up the rest of the page. Lol. I am a full-time music producer and (Track Guy) plus songwriter and multiple instrumentalists. I’ve been blessed to work with many artists, most notably Carlyle Griffin, Jack The Underdog, Mac Greer, Clair Cunningham, Henry Conlon, and many more. I produce music in multiple genres at my home studio and also work out of Blackbird or whichever studio the budget permits. The artists I work with have been nominated for Josie Awards two years in a row, have amassed millions of streams, and moved on to their own record deals and full-time careers.

Along with my production services, I offer guidance in registration, publishing, and releasing music, and I help fill in the blanks when artists have questions, and if I don’t have the answer, I’ll find it! In a nutshell, I produce a develope coach and give guidance in everything I had to learn the hard way. My success is the byproduct of the artist I am working with.

Final Note:
I work with musicians in many stages of their careers, so if you are interested in my services. Please contact me through the link in the interview. I love what I do, and it is my life’s passion to create music and help others build theirs.

Contact Info: