Today we’d like to introduce you to Joerilla Drums.
Hi joerilla, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story began with music, but it was never limited to music. As Joerilla Drums, I learned how sound, imagery, identity, and storytelling work together. When I had an idea but did not have the resources or the right person to execute it, I learned how to do it myself. That process led me into photography, design, video, branding, clothing, marketing, and creative direction.
One of the most important parts of my development was working with Jeff Staple. That experience helped shape how I think about culture, storytelling, collaboration, and building a brand that means something beyond the product. It taught me the difference between simply making content and creating something that can influence how people see and connect with a brand.
I believe one of my greatest abilities is seeing the marketing potential within a person, product, or idea. I can recognize the larger vision before all the pieces exist, then help develop the identity, imagery, story, and strategy around it. I was brought in during an early stage to help shape the character and creative vision surrounding Jelly Roll, contributing to the foundation that helped position him for a much larger platform. That experience reinforced my belief that audiences do not connect with marketing alone. They connect with an authentic identity, a clear story, and something they can believe in.
I was also one of the early people using online content and social media to give audiences an inside look at Nashville’s hip-hop and underground culture. Before that approach became common, I was creating and placing content online so people could experience the artists, personalities, places, conversations, and creative energy that traditional media often overlooked. I helped establish a blueprint for documenting the culture from the inside and presenting it directly to an audience. I continue building on that idea today because Nashville’s cultural story is much bigger than the version most people have been shown.
Today, my work reaches across several areas of music, fashion, branding, and media. I contribute creative direction to Phatkaps, helping with campaigns, photography, products, design, and cultural strategy. I also work closely with Small Axe Agency and have contributed to media projects involving Jason Hervey.
More recently, I began working with New Lost City Records in Nashville as the creative director for El Saint Chevelle, an up-and-coming artist I believe represents the future of Nashville music. My role is to help shape the complete creative world around him, including his visual identity, storytelling, content, image, and the way he is introduced to a larger audience. It is not simply about promoting songs. It is about building an artist with a clear identity, purpose, and lasting cultural impact.
All of these experiences come together through JOERILLA LLC. It is the structure behind my work in creative direction, photography, video, branding, design, music, marketing, media, and cultural documentation. I work with artists, brands, entrepreneurs, and organizations to take ideas that may only exist in someone’s head and turn them into something people can see, understand, and connect with.
At the center of everything I do is culture. I am not only documenting what is happening. I am helping create it, shape it, market it, and make sure the people building it are seen. That is what JOERILLA LLC represents.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road, but smooth roads rarely produce work that matters.
One of my biggest challenges was seeing the opportunity before other people recognized it. I understood early that Nashville’s underground culture deserved to be documented and shared online. At the time, there was no blueprint, large audience, or guarantee that anyone would pay attention. You created because you believed the story mattered.
Another challenge was skill stacking. People often tell you to choose one thing and stay in one lane. I chose to build a combination of skills that made me difficult to replace. Music taught me emotion. Photography taught me perspective. Design taught me clarity. Marketing taught me attention. Video taught me storytelling. Creative direction taught me how to bring all of those disciplines together around one vision.
Individually, those skills are useful. Stacked together, they became my advantage.
For a long time, people saw the individual services but did not always understand the complete value. I was not simply taking a photograph, designing a logo, or producing a piece of content. I was helping create the world around an idea and giving people a reason to care about it.
I also spent years doing valuable work behind the scenes while other people received much of the public recognition. That taught me that being close to an opportunity is not the same as owning your contribution. Talent alone is not enough. You must communicate your value, protect your ideas, and build something with your own name on it.
There were times when I had more vision than resources, so I learned whatever skill was necessary to keep moving. When I could not find the door, I built one. When permission did not come, I stopped waiting for it.
JOERILLA LLC grew from that decision. The struggle was never simply about being noticed. It was about becoming undeniable, creating ownership, and building a body of work that proves culture can be documented, marketed, and moved forward by the same people who live inside it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do not simply make content. I build belief around people, ideas, and brands.
Through JOERILLA LLC, I work across creative direction, photography, video, music, design, branding, marketing, and cultural documentation. My specialty is seeing the larger possibility inside something before everyone else sees it. I identify what makes an artist, business, or idea worth paying attention to, then build the story, imagery, identity, and strategy that allow an audience to recognize that value.
What I do at a world-class level is reveal the marketing potential of a brand. I do not begin by asking, “What should we post?” I ask, “What should people believe, remember, and tell someone else?” Once that is clear, the photography, design, video, campaign, product, and message all have a purpose.
My advantage is skill stacking. Music taught me emotion. Photography taught me perspective. Design taught me clarity. Video taught me movement and storytelling. Marketing taught me how attention works. Creative direction taught me how to bring those disciplines together into one recognizable world. Most people are hired to complete one part of the process. I can see how all the parts connect.
I currently provide creative direction for El Saint Chevelle through New Lost City Records. I believe he represents the future of Nashville music, and my role is to help build the complete creative world around him. That includes his visual identity, storytelling, image, content, and long-term positioning. I also contribute creative work to Phatkaps, collaborate closely with Small Axe Agency, and have worked on media projects involving Jason Hervey.
I am especially proud of the role I have played in documenting and shaping Nashville’s hip-hop and underground culture. I was creating online access to that world before social media made it an obvious format. I understood that people wanted an inside view of the artists, personalities, conversations, and places that traditional media ignored. That work was not simply content. It helped preserve a culture and gave people outside the room a way to experience it.
What sets me apart is that I am not observing the culture from a distance. I live inside it. I understand its language, history, relationships, and details. That allows me to recognize what is authentic, what is forced, and what has the potential to move people.
The final product may be a photograph, film, campaign, artist identity, clothing design, or brand strategy, but the real work is always the same: finding the truth inside an idea and presenting it in a way people cannot ignore.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was curious, observant, and independent. I paid attention to details, especially the things other people seemed to overlook. I was always interested in why certain music, images, clothing, and personalities could make people feel something. I did not have the language for branding or creative direction then, but I was already studying how culture worked.
I was born in Pontiac, Michigan, and moved to Spring Hill, Tennessee, in 1990. Moving from Michigan to a small Southern town gave me the experience of being both an insider and an outsider. I learned how to enter a new environment, study it, understand its language, and still maintain my own identity. Looking back, that became an important part of my creative ability. I learned to see what made people and places different because I was always paying attention.
Music became one of my first creative languages. It gave me a way to process emotion, communicate ideas, and connect with people who may not have shared my exact experiences. From there, my interests naturally expanded into photography, fashion, design, video, and storytelling. I was never interested in creativity as separate categories. To me, it was all part of the same conversation.
I was also the type of person who wanted to understand how things were made. If something caught my attention, I wanted to know why it worked. If I did not know how to create something, I would study it until I could. That curiosity eventually became the skill stacking that defines my work today.
I do not think I suddenly became a creative person as an adult. The tools changed, and the opportunities became larger, but the instinct was always there. I was the kid watching, listening, collecting details, and imagining what something could become before anyone else could see it.
Pricing:
- Custom project pricing is available following a creative consultation. Rates are based on the project’s scope, timeline, deliverables, and intended usage.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joerilla.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/joerilllaDrums
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/joerilla
- Twitter: https://x.com/joerillaDrums
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/joerillaDrums
